If you want to come home to your safe home, don’t let everyone know you’ve left it—that’s the advice from Irish and British police and private security companies who have noticed an uptick in burglaries when people advertise they’re on holiday.
Hillary’s, an interior decor firm, in a study quoted by The Irish Independent, says that one in twelve customers reported a burglary after posting vacation details, and alarm company ADT says that 78% of burglars use Facebook and Instagram to find targets (although it’s unclear how they calculated that figure).
Other suggestions, beside waiting to get home before posting pictures of the trip include not tagging others in posts and especially saying ‘no’ to friend requests from strangers.
Image: San Piedro Castle at El Morro , Santiago de Cuba (PHeymont/TravelGumbo)
Another angle to this came to the front of my mind recently. A female friend is doing a solo walk along a long distance trail through very unpopulated areas.
She attracted a lot of followers from her Instagram prepping, but soon became aware of a group of supportive women hikers advising her about known unwanted followers.
In particular she was advised not to post locations until they were long past so it would be more difficult to track her movements.
This could equally apply to any form of transport or accommodation, I suppose so it pays to be a bit cautious about saying where you are, as well as where you’re not.