Women sharing location and pictures on social media ‘like a gift to thieves’

One in three women jeopardise their home security measures at Christmas by sharing too much information on social media.

According to a survey by AA Home Insurance, a reported 80% of young women are ramping up home security this Christmas — but a third will scupper their attempts, thanks to oversharing on social media.

The survey, of more than 5,000 people, revealed women aged between 17 and 24 are most likely to take extra precautions to safeguard their homes over the festive season.

However, their love for posting images and information on their whereabouts means they could be undermining those attempts and presenting their family homes as key targets for burglars.

The survey found almost one in three of these young women are likely to upload images of their Christmas gifts for their friends and followers to see, while nearly 40% say they will likely alert their network, and possibly potential intruders, as to their whereabouts via ‘check-in’ status updates on social media platforms such as Facebook.

Other findings from the survey reveal 72% of people are going to take extra steps to boost home security. However, it is women (75%) who are more likely to roll out the measures as opposed to men (69%).

Men between 17 and 24 are slightly more lax when it comes to beefing up home security. Although 67% of young men say they will take extra precautions, they are the least likely to actively consider the security of their home, with 22% claiming they are ‘neutral’ on the topic.

Although the survey reveals young men do not appear to be as prolific on social media as their female counterparts, almost one in four say they will likely upload snaps of festive gifts. A further 31% claim they are likely to post information giving away their exact whereabouts over the holidays.

Commenting on the findings of the survey, AA’s director of consumer affairs, Conor Faughnan, said the most innocent of Christmas posts on social media can be a gift to a burglar.

“Social media is a great means of keeping in contact with loved ones, especially over the Christmas holidays,” he said. “But something as innocuous as posting an image of the expensive earrings you were gifted helps burglars piece together valuable information about you.”

Mr Faughnan advised people to be aware that their mobile phone gives away detailed information as to their location via GPS.

“We would strongly recommend disabling the GPS location feature on your mobile phone — a simple tweet or status update can inadvertently reveal your location to the network and possibly beyond,” he said.

AA Home Insurance also issued a series of tips to help keep your home safe over the festive period:

• Ask children not to post or tweet about family holiday plans;
• Remove wall postings from friends that may allude to your travel plans;
• Do not accept friend requests from people you do not know this Christmas;
• Review your online security settings to restrict access to your personal profile information;
• Use private DM or inbox facilities to communicate private messages;
• Do not tweet or post about your Christmas gifts;
• Wait until after Christmas to post your holiday photos and videos. Be creative with where you hide gifts in the run-up to Christmas — ensure it is difficult for thieves to make off with the haul;
• Develop a rigorous exit routine: Ensure windows and doors are firmly locked, the alarm set;
• Consider leaving a light on to give the impression that someone is home.