Crime and Social Networking Sites

Social networkers beware: with the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday quickly approaching it is important to be aware of a growing problem in the world of social networking sites (SNS). Most SNS crime is associated with the solicitation of minors, but a growing trend is very relevant to the holiday season as millions of SNS users will flock home and desert their homes, or other habitats. Because of the seemingly constant and always revealing updates released by Twitter and Facebook users, it is important to remind users to keep some information to themselves. This applies especially to information that reveals detailed accounts about the user's location and plans. With ever-rising number of Twitter followers and Facebook friends individuals update to, it is important to keep in mind that some followers and friends may not always have the best intentions and could use the revealing updates for malice.

For example: if a share-happy Tweeter indicates in his updates (to his 400 followers) that he will be out of town for Thanksgiving visiting family afar, this may be received as an invitation for sinister followers to wreak havoc on the Tweeter's home. This problem of revealing too much information to a sometimes invisible online audience has been around for quite some time, and is becoming more relevant than ever with social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook that flourish with user's constant updates.

I can recall as a teen being apprehensive about a number of my friend's AOL Instant Messenger "away messages" that exposed in detail travel plans for anyone with a screen name to read. An satirical take on this may read: "Going 2 Florida for Christmas! Flight at 5:30 out of Logan... be back in a week from Monday! The key is under the mat! Happy Holidays!" With the ever-present issue of invisible audiences, teens may be putting their messages of holiday cheer out to the wrong people.

As a teen I thought I was being paranoid about the actual threat associated with revealing SNS updates. However a real-life instance of this problem that deals with savvy SNS users utilizing the medium to aid their crime is the recent crime spree against various members of young Hollywood like Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan and Rachel Bilson. The criminals collectively referred to as the 'Burglar Bunch' by blog TMZ used the constant Twitter and Facebook updates from the starlets to comprise a vast amount of information about their where-a-bouts. The group of teens who make up the Burglar Bunch used this information to find out when the celebrities would be out of town so that they could break into their homes and rob the stars of not only their valuable possessions but also of their sense of privacy and safety.

I realize the average SNS user may not have as many followers as Paris Hilton, but it never hurts to be aware of what you're indicating in your updates and who may have access to them. The impending holiday season makes this advice more relevant than ever.