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 do actually know a woman who went on holiday and her daughter (who stayed at home)mentioned on her facebook that her family was away and some of her 'friends' broke in and robbed the house and car while daughter was out. Saying that i always put holiday pics on facebook as my profile is private and i dont tag anyone so only my friends and family see them. Also i have a family member stay at my house with our dog when we do go away so it doesnt really worry me

My OH has a friend on Facebook. The friends husband has a business, I won't say what he does, but it involves having lots of stuff outside (a bit like a scrapyard type thing) Anyway, the said friend often puts on Facebook that her and her husband are off for another hospital appointment with their child. She says the name of the hospital, so we know it's a good 3 hour round trip. Twice while they have been gone the husband has had his yard burgled while they were gone. Coincidence or what?

Coincidence? He has lots of insecure stuff and you think Facebook is to blame?

Is it just me or is this a) ridiculously paranoid not at all paranoid. A genuine threat and b) blatantly not true for many reasons? it is a very real threat

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?
   Yes you can make your profile friends only but have your friends? If you tag a friend, their friends can see it too

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? no you don't have to put your address. It is incredibly easy to find out someone's address as you will have there full name and area they live in. Websites like 192.com will give you the details.

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? not trawl through for hours but definitely use Facebook. If a holiday pic has been posted to their news feed they will take the opportunity.

4. Who the hell has an FB friends list full of potential thieves?! more than you realise. A lot have old school friends and acquaintances that you may not know that well.

I am cautious about this sort of thing and make sure teenage kids also don't advertise on social media if we are away. Photos when back. But many friends are happy to post holiday snaps etc.

It has been common knowledge for a while that most insurance companies have added an addictions like clause to their policies, that if you post on Facebook that you are going/gone on holiday, then it invalidates your home insurance policy. I regularly share this with my friends, but not many take notice x

This was a topic that I looked at last year on my IT degree and TBH it is so easy to get information off of people or deduce things from the information that they post on Facebook.

Some people often post pictures of their houses and cars and in some areas it doesn't take much to find addresses.

Another thing people do is to put all of their personal data on Facebook like kids' names, pets' names and dates of birth. It is not hard with some people to then be able to deduce their passwords.

The other stupid thing that people do, usually at Christmas, is to buy an amazing new electronic gadget, usually a super size TV and post about how wonderful it is on Facebook.

They then add about how they are going away to see the relatives and then put all of the packaging out on the street for a few days to be picked up by the dustbin men while they are away.

It is then quite easy to deduce what is in which house and how long the occupants are going to be away for.

It shouldn't be like this but unfortunately nowadays there will always be people who are prepared to steal things from other people rather than buy them themselves.

So, why however small the risk would you make it easier for someone to come along and help themselves to the property that you have paid good money for?

Nope, Facebook automatically strips all exif data from all photos uploaded to their site. Twitter does the same thing. It's been a big controversy in the past.

Gunnyhighway the nature of his work means everything can't go undercover. Both times he was burgled the wife had posted on Facebook about hospital. One theft was emptying a tank of diesel. He's not been burgled for several years previously. Just seems too much of a coincidence to me.

Myself and my son are on holiday. My boyfriend and 2 adult flatmates are still in my apartment. Not everyone lives in a traditional setup.

Facebook automatically strips all exif data from all photos uploaded to their site
What I meant by the statement in some areas it doesn't take much to find addresses is that in my locality it is sometimes quite easy to deduce where someone's house or flat is by how it looks and then you can you other clues from what they post to narrow it down further.

An example is that they have built a new housing estate down the road with three roads in it so someone posted "New home....".

Given the fact that they are always posting pictures of their car and the fact that they always talk about leaving work between 5 and 6, chances are that if you walk round those three roads in the evening you will be able to work out where their house is.

An even simpler method is to simply look it up on the electoral roll.

It sounds like a lot of hassle but if you were a burglar and you knew that a certain house contained lots of things you wanted and you had a two week gap in which to steal them, you might think differently.

The EXIF comment was directed at the poster who said you needed to strip it out or the location would be available on FB.

The EXIF comment was directed at the poster who said you needed to strip it out or the location would be available on FB
Sorry about that, I had previously read page 1 but as the comment was directly under mine I just assumed that it was referring to my comment.

Makes sense now.

192.com only posts publicly available info, mainly from electoral roles. Mine certainly is not on there, because I care about security
Every town hall holds the electoral roll for that town which contains the addresses of all the properties in the town and the first name and surname of each person living there.

Even if you select the most private option when you fill in the form, you will still be listed in this index.

Yes, but 192 doesnt use that one, the 'open register' is the one they use. The full roll can be viewed under supervision.

I think the bottom line is that people need to be smart, take the time to educate themselves about the websites they use and what info they're putting out there, and use common sense. A lot of people really don't have even a basic understanding of how Facebook actually works and has we've seen on this thread there is a lot of misinformation around.

My SIL runs yoga sessions from her house. She has a facebook page which is wide open to the public. She has a map with her address on. She posted a link to a magazine article giving out the name of her 4 year old son. She posts pictures of her son. She writes posts saying "We are going on holiday for three weeks" then posts pictures of herself on holiday.

The woman is fucking mental and god knows how she hasn't already been burgled.

OP - I'm on your side. I only post photos when I've actually come back from holiday.

The full roll can be viewed under supervision
When I recently viewed the electoral roll for my town the lady behind the counter gave me the whole folder in a register and I could easily have made copies of it.

I actually surprised me just how lax they were with what (to me) contains a lot of personal data.

The woman is fucking mental and god knows how she hasn't already been burgled
Perhaps because the would-be burglars are expecting the house to be full of people doing yoga.

Not when she says "No yoga classes for three weeks as I'm going to France for my Hollibobs."

Not when she says "No yoga classes for three weeks as I'm going to France for my Hollibobs
Oh dear, it sounds like she won't be told but when (not if) she gets burgled you can say "told you so".

1) It's very easy to make your profile visible to friends only
Your FB profile is only as secure as your stupidest friend. Anyone on your friends list who has lost their phone, had their account compromised, leaves their account logged in at various locations, been cloned, has nosey friends/relatives etc - your profile could be visible to any number of people

surely you'd have to put your address on it as well to be at any risk? Surely no one is that daft?
Most people post more than enough information and photos to make it very easy to find their address. Loads of people post data about their runs, tag their home location, post photos inside and outside their house.

Even if I didn't post a single thing on Facebook, my kids would.
Then tell them not to and explain why!

Your FB profile is only as secure as your stupidest friend. Anyone on your friends list who has lost their phone, had their account compromised, leaves their account logged in at various locations, been cloned, has nosey friends/relatives etc - your profile could be visible to any number of people

1. I don't think cloning people has been done.

2. You missed off "abducted by aliens".

TBH, I think you are far far more likely to be the victim of an opportunistic burglar who has noticed that the house is empty rather than one who has managed to obtain the phone of an unlucky friend, identify that you are away and research where you live on order to break in.

I tag locations and post photos when I am several hours away from home.

Our car and garage got burgled while we were in the house watching tv!!