FourSquare Does Not Mean

Much has been said about the privacy and safety of tweeting or posting geo-location updates to sites such as Foursquare or Twitter.

Sites such as Please Rob Me are bringing light to this by showing how easy it is for someone to find out when your home is vacant.

From their Why page:

“The danger is publicly telling people where you are. This is because it leaves one place you’re definitely not… home. So here we are; on one end we’re leaving lights on when we’re going on a holiday, and on the other we’re telling everybody on the internet we’re not home.”

Really? If I am at Flying Star, who says my house is vacant for the robber? What about when I check in at the airport in another city? Is this the perfect time to attack my house and take my prized Get Smart DVD collection? Hardly. Who said my house is vacant? “I am not home” does not automatically mean my house is fair game. Maybe I left my husband and daughter home cleaning the glock collection. Could be that sister, the one with a black belt, is house sitting. Could be any number of things. Killer bunnies, attack sheep, or Larry the Vampire Fairy.

I think it’s time for a reality check, people. We have been putting ourselves at more risk in the past with traditional methods. How?

Funeral Notices:

Kendall, Hilda Marie
Born on March 21, 1929 in San Leandro, CA. Died peacefully at her Sacramento home on February 13, 2010. She is survived by her loving children and their spouses, Cynthia Miller (Norm), Linda Sands (Tim), and Brian Kendall (Kelly); grandchildren Brian, Steve, Julie, Danita, Renee, David, Jason, and Jack; and great-grandsons Brandon and Logan. She is also survived by her sisters, Margaret Schwarz and Maria Goggin (Jim), and close-as-siblings cousins Marie Schwarz (Max) and Reverend Anthony Cordeiro, O. P., and many nieces and nephews. She will be greatly missed by her family and friends, whose lives she touched with love and compassion. Hilda devoted her life to family, prayer, church activities, and bringing others closer to Christ. In her final days on earth she joyfully anticipated her return to the Lord. Rosary will take place at 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 17 at Lind Brothers Mortuary, 4221 Manzanita Avenue, Carmichael. A Mass celebrating her life will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Feb. 18 at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church, 5751 Locust Avenue, Carmichael. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her name to St. John Catholic Church, address above, or to the donor’s charity of choice.

The reader now has a detailed list of family members and the time they will all be at the services. I don’t know about most families, but in mine, we might not all go to Flying Star together—but we all went to Grandma’s funeral.

Wedding Notices, 50th wedding anniversary, parties, etc. We have been publishing our “status updates” in the newspapers for years and no one was worried about inviting would-be robbers to our homes.

Use common sense, but don’t freak out. You can find me on FourSquare.

I wouldn’t suggest visiting my house when you see me check in, however. Unless you want to talk with the couple next door who are retired county deputies, or my husband, who generally works from home. But feel free to say “Hi!” at Flying Star when you see me check in!

Thanks to Jeremy Jojola for the sketch of Larry the Vampire Fairy.

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Bob

It should not come as a surprise that thieves watch newspaper announcements for the very reason that homes of relatives tend to be vacant during funerals and weddings. In fact, police have been known to reccomendations that someone stay at a home During a wedding if wedding gifts are kept at the location.

But, as you point out, announcements do not mean you will be robbed. On the other hand, the fact that the odds are with you is no reason to provide potential thieves with information that will help target you.

And, the fact that your wife and child are at home while you are at an airpot in another city should not make you comfortable enough to post your location on Twitter. While the odds are low that your home will be targeted by a theif, that is also no reason to take the risk either. After all, how would you feel if the unlikely happened if they were home when a robber decided to invade your home.

One final point, the more recognizable your name is, the greater the likelihood that you will be targeted. So, if you are a nobody, you are most likely safe. But, if you are the single female news anchor at the local TV station, you should never post your location or about times when you are alone.
http://www.drakeintelligencegroup.com AshDHart

Bob – I don’t believe in leaving a roadmap for would-be robbers. On the other hand, I don’t feel the need to let paranoia cripple my day-to-day actives. Jeremy, who doodled Larry, is an investigative reporter. When he got married, everyone knew that he would be honeymooning out of the country. He didn’t get robbed.

My husband frowns on me having a wife, but I understand your point. I’m sure at some point during the day, people assume I leave the house. If they are that motivated, they can just park nearby and wait for me to leave. I speak, I go to events, and I will not let paranoia prevent me from talking about these. Speaker: Mystery Lady.
http://mikecandoit.com Mike Rohrig

Perfectly put.

Most people work 8-5. Robbers have been doing daytime robberies forever. A professional robber on Oprah said he liked to rob a home when people were there having a party. He could be upstairs unbothered.
http://www.sunriverhomeblog.com Thesa Chambers, Broker, ABR, CDPE

I am still trying to figure out how to use this program on my new phone apparently it is not so easy – but I just don’t get the attraction — YET—
http://www.comicfigure.info John

Bob – I don’t believe in leaving a roadmap for would-be robbers. On the other hand, I don’t feel the need to let paranoia cripple my day-to-day actives. Jeremy, who doodled Larry, is an investigative reporter. When he got married, everyone knew that he would be honeymooning out of the country. He didn’t get robbed.My husband frowns on me having a wife, but I understand your point. I’m sure at some point during the day, people assume I leave the house. If they are that motivated, they can just park nearby and wait for me to leave. I speak, I go to events, and I will not let paranoia prevent me from talking about these. Speaker: Mystery Lady.

+1
http://www.drakeintelligencegroup.com AshDHart

Tobi – Thanks, it\’s just a matter of balance.

Thesa – What kind of phone do you have? I can see some use at a conference or for other events.

Mike – Another good point. Daytime robberies while people are at work. I know let\’s not work outside the home then. It\’s too risky
http://patsylbailey.com Patsy

Ashley,

Great information. It is easy to let others frighten us without thinking. Thank you for information that lets us think. Maybe the robbers will use a geo-locator to let us know where they are and become mayor of a local institute.
http://wallingfordwired.com The Harriman Team

Good points, Ashley. Someone may be at the mall and tweet about it all day, but they may also have a couple of 100 lb. Rottweilers at home that they forgot to feed. Those dogs don’t tweet where they are…
Erin

Great! Then with your logic, someone can find an "enemy's" family members on foursquare and it'll tell them exactly where to find them. I, for one, am unlisted. So when relatives die and my name is in the paper, you'll have to really want to get to me.