Your NOT so private life…
We Tweet (Twitter), we have a Wall (FaceBook), we have a YouTube channel, some of us are “Mayors” on FourSquare, some of us check-in on Loopt, some of us are still on MySpace, a few of us are LinkedIn, and a few of us are Delicious! Well, some of us are sour too…jajajajaja!
Then we find out about “public domain data” sites (Spokeo, Zabasearch, etc.,) and freak out. What these sites do is match all your legal public information with something as simple as Phone Book records, other information such as email addresses, photos, & social media data, and compile a database with your name that’s accessible to EVERYONE. I know, I know…it’s pretty scary to see pictures of our homes via satellite, but what we do VOLUNTARILY on social sites are scarier than that – and we’re usually not aware that we are behaving in ways that can harm us.
Take “Scott” for example; Scott returned from a vacation only to find that his home was burglarized. He didn’t tell the concierge/security personnel of his condo complex that he was going to be out of town for a week. However, he told hundreds of “followers” (strangers really) on Twitter that he was going to Vegas for a week. Scott had 38 Tweets about his upcoming vacation itinerary (dates, activities, events, etc.,) and he even tweeted about “…have 2 turn off phone, plane door about 2 shut, Vegas here I come!” Even on vacation, he was tweeting every day. One of Scott’s last tweets was “…Vegas was insane, back n NY tomorrow, plane lands @4, drinks @6 w/ friends – cutting it close.”
So, some crook who “follows” Scott on Twitter took this info and robbed his home. Scott gave the crook a timeline of where he was and more importantly, where he wasn’t. He even gave the crook a specific “time” when he was expected to land in NY from Vegas.
According to the concierge, Scott’s “cousin” came to pick-up Scott’s cat, water all his plants, and collect his mail. The concierge asked, “Oh, I didn’t even know he was away?” and the crook said, “That’s Scotty for ya…well, he’s in Vegas for an entire week, but you know how he is about those damn plants. Hopefully ‘Chester’ didn’t destroy any of ‘em.” The concierge laughed and said, “Yeah, Chester destroyed some exotic something or another just last month…your cousin was so upset about it.” The crook walked towards the mailboxes waving some keys, then stopped, “Oh damn, I’ve been to the apartment, but what’s the apartment number?” The concierge, thinking he was helping said, “He’s 12F, should be the mailbox towards the lower corner there.” The crook pretended to open the mailbox (I assume his back was to the concierge) and supposedly pulled out a fitness magazine (probably from under his shirt) and an envelope or two and proceeded to go to “12F” and jimmied the lock on the door. He later walked away with a new iPad, 2 expensive watches, about 20 silk-imported ties, some gold jewelry, $600 in cash, and an XBox – all contained all inside the owner’s designer pet carrier (the cat and the plants were NOT harmed, thank goodness!)
It’s just that simple! This crook knew where Scott lived, knew Scott was not home, knew Scott had a cat (even knew the cat’s name)…he even knew that Scott was a plant-loving freak. Everyone knew – he told ALL 834 of us on Twitter and FaceBook, everyone except his building’s concierge/security personel.
Take “Andrea” for another example; Andrea was on her way to the Coffee house she frequents where she was assaulted by a woman named “Geri.” Before that incident, Andrea has been trying to get close to a dude named “Billy.” Billy has a very jealous fiance named “Geri.” On the Internet, Andrea has been stating that she did not know “what on Earth does Billy see in this disgusting, fat bride to be?” Andrea proceeded to tell cyber-space how “she’s better matched for Billy” and how she’s going to “steal his heart away from that pig” the first chance she gets. When Billy’s friends started telling him what Andrea has been writing on her “wall”, he quickly stopped “following” her and stopped being “friends” with her as well as avoided her in “real” life. Then, Andrea started sending Billy provocative pictures of herself to his email address. This was “the last straw” for his fiance, Geri.
By cruising Andrea’s information on Foursquare, Geri knew the spots she “checked-in” at, including time of day and duration. Andrea told at least 657 people on the Internet that she buys a very specific beverage at a very specific coffee-house at a very specific time of day – every weekday. Geri went to that coffee-house and waited for Andrea (she knew what she looked like from her profile “photo(s)”, then proceeded to beat Andrea’s butt in front of the place. (“Geri don’t play that!”)
The downside of social networking sites is that they allow others to know a person’s contact information, interests, habits, and whereabouts. Consequences of sharing this information can range from the relatively harmless but annoying—such as an increase in spam—to the potentially deadly—such as stalking and physical violence.
Criminals can use information provided about a person’s birthday, location, routine, hobbies, and interests to impersonate a trusted friend or convince the unsuspecting that they have the authority to access personal or financial data. They can even use such info to guess your account passwords—which is why you should never have a password that uses the name of your pet, favorite band, hobby, birthday, or something else easily known about you. And stalkers (common criminals as well as professional burglars) will really appreciate your help if you post your daily routine and whereabouts online!
So, when deciding whether to post something, remember that the more information malicious people have about you, the easier it is for them to take advantage of you. Choose wisely what you say on the NET!
NOTE: THE STORIES MENTIONED IN THIS POST ARE TRUE STORIES AS TOLD TO ME. NAMES HAVE BEEN CHANGED TO PROTECT THE STUPID INNOCENT.
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