Holiday photos on Facebook - you are NOT going to get burgled

[TaterTots]

I've seen a couple of FB-related threads on here lately where the topic of holiday photos has come up. There have been several posts along the lines of 'why would you post holiday pics, you're letting the world know your house is empty, it's practically an invitation to burglars' etc.

Is it just me or is this a) ridiculously paranoid and b) blatantly not true for many reasons?

1. It's very easy to make your profile visible to friends only, which most people do. If you're worried someone on your friends list might take the opportunity to burgle you, why the hell are they on your friends list?

2. Even if you do have an open profile, surely you'd have to put your address on it as well to be at any risk? Surely no one is that daft?

3. Do thieves really trawl FB in the desperate hope of finding an open profile complete with full address, the owner of which conveniently happens to be on holiday? Wouldn't it be a better idea to watch actual houses in the area for signs of emptiness?

4. Who the hell has an FB friends list full of potential thieves?!

I know 1and 4 are essentially the same point, but I feel it's so salient that it's worth repeating.

I follow a couple of people on Instagram (not friends).

Both have recently moved house and both have been on holiday. They've posted photos of new house on Instragram so I could easily work out where they live and go and ransack the place while they are away.

But I wouldn't as I am a nice person....

Why would you take the chance though? Wait until you get home if you really want to share holiday snaps.

Sounds much riskier chatting about your holiday on the bus or in a shop than posting about it on FB, but I've never seen anyone suggest the former is dangerous.

I probably wouldn't advertise any empty house because while I have a very small group of friends on there, as someone said, they might 'like' it and their burglar FB friends knows that I am away and my full name.

No, if you make the post friends only it means ONLY your friends can see it. A friend liking it will not make it visible to their friends.

Go to 192.com and you can look up anyone's address.
No, 192.com only posts publicly available info, mainly from electoral roles. Mine certainly is not on there, because I care about security.

With the mix of public and private information, details like residential addresses, pictures of the interiors and the exteriors of homes are easily accessible.
Why on earth would anyone put that stuff on FB in the first place? Okay some stupid people do but it's hardly common. It's not like FB asks for a residential address.

regarding 192.com - if you forget to tick the 'opt out of edited register' box every year, your address will go up on it, and then spread to all the other sites that use it.

google yourself every so often and check. There's also a phone number site that gives full details - I was horrified to find several of my older relatives listed. Now, they aren't the type to 'check in' (nor do I!) but there's a lot of info out there.

BTW chatting about going away on the bus, getting off the bus and heading for your house is also a little silly. You'd have to be unlucky to be on the same bus as a burglar - but why take the chance?

its the modern day equivalent of not mentioning down the pub that you're going away, or not telling your friends who tell everyone's business to everyone they meet. This is actually advice from the police. Of course, it is unlikely that it will be the reason why you're burgled but it's a police suggestion to minimise the risk. I think Twitter has been a bigger concern regarding this though as it is public and people CAN search to see who in an area may have posted with keywords regarding holidays.

I think YANBU though as we are all adults and can decide for ourselves whether there is a risk to something or not.

I think insurers would struggle to not pay a burglary claim in the grounds of FB holiday photos alone, never seen a clause in a policy which would allow them to.

It's not mentioned explicitly in policies but can be included as something like "reasonable care in securing your home and its possessions."

OddBoots, highly unlikely a reasonable care clause would be construed that widely. Reasonable care clauses cover locking doors, shutting windows etc. - normal and reasonable precautions s policyholder should take. Insurers cannot regulate customers use of social media or if you tell your hairdresser you are going away for example. Insurers have to be reasonable too and IMHO (as a lawyer for insurers) such an interpretation would be thrown out by consumer regulations and the ombudsman.

It's fairly easy to get full access to the electoral roll. If someone is determined enough and knows your name and approximate location, they can get your full address and details of everyone living there. I wouldn't have thought many people have the forethought to opt out of the public register.

I've seen small businesses post on instagram and other social media they will be away on holiday. It wouldn't take much more than a quick google to find out the address, given a lot are run from home addresses.

Taking reasonable precautions to secure your property = locking doors and windows.

Posting to social media does not = an invitation to burgle property

I wonder how many people really have been burgled when on holiday as a result of photos they have posted.

And of those - how many have had insurance companies refuse to pay out?

I am not convinced tbh.
Should you never say you are away from home?
The same argument could be said for ANY social media comment made when not at home - every been to a wedding, meal out or a day out and commented even vaguely? Do they all count?
Heck - simply not having our cards parked outside our house is more likely to give it away to random burglars than a social media post.

Insurance companies have even paid out when people are in, and left their door unlocked and there has been an opportunist burglar trying locks. Or if they have an alarm and they've not put it on for some reason (broken, forgotten) Yes, sometimes they quibble - it seems it is their job to questioning claims after all. But I haven't known anyone not be compensated. This kind of thing would be similar.

How many random burglars will trail FB to see someone is on holiday, then search through their other posts to get clues as to where they live and when/how long they will be away, and then go to the electoral roll to find out names and addresses - and then turn up to have a scout of the place, and then re return to steal things?

Most burglars are either opportunist or stealing to order (i.e. car keys) - so actually FB posts don't really come into it.

Our first break in - pre social media - was opportunist. Least secure garden on the cup de sac, backing onto a field and covered pathway, no lights on, no cars, early evening.

Second was a steal to order. They were after DH's car and broke in, whilst we were asleep with a light on and an alarm on, to try and get keys. In and out they were - got the wrong keys in their rush after alarm triggered.

Agree with the above. It's take reasonable precautions, not all precautions.

I have a friend who works for an insurance company and when I mentioned this as a possibility, she said they have never refused to pay out over social media posts declaring that the owners are away.

Hmm not so sure I agree with the op.

I trust very few people to know I am away. Just because only your friends know, doesn't mean anything.

In our local police force almost an entire shift of policemen were suspended, some were later sacked, because elderly people were informing them they would be away and asked them to keep an eye on their houses. Those houses got broken into, it was traced back to the police officers and their dodgy mates. This was about 8-10 years ago.

So yes, I tend to think advertising to anyone can make you more vulnerable.

That said my dad loves our house and my sky package so often hangs out at mine while I am away. He Is also a clean freak so the house is spotless when I get back too. Win win!

I don't post pictures while we are away, but not for the above mentioned reasons. I just wait until I get home, look through the pictures and realise that 80% of the fantastic pictures are actually just OK and post a couple of the best ones.

Honestly, barely anyone looks at them anyway.

I should say that I don't think posting on FB should make you more likely to be burgled, and it may well be true that insurance companies haven't yet used social media posts to invalidate insurance policies.

But frankly I don't feel the need to take the chance.

We live in a quiet, safe area but you can bet your life we'll make sure everything's locked up before we go, and leave the light on a timer. Same principle, surely?

We won't have wifi when we're on holiday so I won't feel like hammering my data allowance, and in any case it's far easier to upload when I get home and can edit out blinks/smudges/shakes etc.

Plastering your home address all over the website for your small business and forgetting to tick the box to keep your details off the electoral roll are much more dangerous and stupid than simply posting holiday photos friends-only on FB

I guess there are people who just don't understand or don't think about online safety at all. For those people, who are already taking such risks, holiday pics could increase it.

While I under, unfortunately my best friends brother has been jailed three time for burglary. He has also when I first met her (and didn't know about this) been to mine for a cup of tea one time. He was very interested in my house and paid it lots of compliments. Later when I found out I felt uneasy. I knew that just because his sister was my mate it wouldn't stop him.

So I never tell my mate exactly when we are away, incase she says in conversation to her family, 'oh mermaids in Turkey this week, lucky bitch' (for example) and then he breaks in

Mermaid tears - I know of someone who has a dodgy brother and they live in my town. For this reason I am always vague when I am travelling. I mention only the month or say nothing until I return. Not willing to take the risk.

I never reveal I am going away on FB, not even a day trip or for meal at restaurant. I post photographs when I have returned. I have FB friends who post snapshots of their ticket, post maps of their destination and give daily updates of their movements.

Geeky bit following.....
When you upload any photo to FB or any other social media from your mobile phone, the upload includes EXIF data including the date and location the picture was taken. So, unless you diligently remove all EXIF data from your uploaded pictures, it's incredibly easy to get hold of someone's address from previous home pictures they've uploaded - this feature is freely available, you don't need to be techy or use any sophisticated software. I personally don't upload holiday pics or info whilst I'm away, although I will share them with friends once I've returned home. I think the most accurate social media comment on the thread was the PP who said they wouldn't put anything on social media that they didn't want to be front page headlines in a newspaper next day.

When I was a kid people used to be paranoid about answering machines being invitations to burglars.

open up not just me then haha it was made worse by said friend half jokingly telling her brother "don't think about burgling mermaid when she's out" ....I giggled nervously but felt uneasy after, as that was the first I'd heard of he's jail record

I agree it's not worth the risk.

I've just come back from a week abroad. I have friends and relatives all over the country and post the pictures - or at least the ones I look OK in!

But I don't check in at airport or hotel or announce I'm abroad.

I announce I'm home, I've done X, y and z, had a good week and here are pics of you want to browse.