Police in Nashua, NH, arrested three men who used Facebook to target and burglarize dozens of homes, looting between $100,000 and $200,000 worth of property and goods, Fox News reports.
The two teenagers and a Massachusetts resident used sites like Facebook to find people who were on vacation or away from town -- and then targeted their homes. In addition to featuring status updates, Facebook includes a feature called Places, where users can check in to a specific location, notably one that isn't their house.
In February, a website gained notoriety for highlighting the risks of such actions. It's name: PleaseRobMe.com.
Tech News Daily has some guidance on using Facebook safely.
- Do not include your home address in social networking profiles and set your general privacy settings to "Friends only".
- The default setting in Facebook for check-ins is "Friends only" but because most Facebook users have friends that are really only acquaintances or connected loosely to other friends, it's important to customize this setting. Open the dropdown menu associated with "Places I check in" and select "Customize." Add friends whom you know and trust.
- Next you'll need to adjust the "People Here Now" setting, because although you've limited your check-ins to specific people, anyone who checks in to a location where you have already checked in will see that you are there. Uncheck the box next to "Include me in 'People Here Now' after I check in."
- Finally, consider blocking the ability for friends to check you into a location to avoid practical jokes or worse. Go to the "Things others share" section, select the dropdown box associated with "Friends can check me in to Places" and select "Disabled."
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