Think twice before sharing details online

Police are advising residents to think twice before sharing details of their upcoming holidays on social networking sites.


Officers have warned people to be careful not to make their property vulnerable by advertising that it will be empty for a long period of time.

Ds Kev Hughes explained: “With the summer holiday season in full swing, we want to remind residents about home security, particularly as their properties may lie empty for a number of weeks.

“Ask a friend to call in at your home once or twice while you’re away and consider investing in devices like automated timer lights which you could set to come on at night.”

Ds Hughes warned of the dangers of writing about your holiday on websites like Facebook. “A lot of people now have upwards of three or four hundred ‘friends’ on these sites. Can you be completely confident that the information you write on your page won’t be passed on or read by someone you don’t know?" he said. 

“Make sure you have adjusted your security settings on these sites so that you can be confident about who you are sharing information with.”

Police are also advising owners of long-term unoccupied properties to contact them.

“We are asking residents to get in touch with us and let us know if they own a property which they know will stand empty for long periods of time,” explained Ds Hughes.

“We do unfortunately find that these buildings are targeted so it would be helpful for our Neighbourhood Policing teams to be aware of them so that they can include them on their patrols.”

If you would like to find out more about home security, contact your local Crime Reduction Officer on 0300 333 4444.

 

 

 

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