We love our social media! Whether we are posting, tweeting, liking, Snapchatting, pinning, or Instagramming, we enjoy seeing what everyone is up to and letting our friends know where we are at, what we are eating, and how we are doing.

Most of the time, we share with people we know, like family members and friends. However, there are also insidious people lurking on social media just waiting for clues on your whereabouts.

As summer draws to a close, many people may get the urge to squeeze in one last long weekend or a quick road-trip before school starts up for the kids. Many articles stress the importance of locking doors, alerting neighbors, stopping the mail, buying self-timers for the lights and other deterrents to make it appear that you are home, even when you are not.

Another way to keep a burglar at bay is to not broadcast that you are out of town on social media. By sharing real-time vacation pictures on your social media accounts, your letting people know your home is unguarded. Posting that you are in Hawaii for two glorious weeks, just sets up an opportunity for someone to find your hometown and start going by your house to see how secure it is. Technology can pinpoint homes on maps, find addresses and in one swoop, a burglary can happen.

Furthermore, it’s always important to check the security and access on your social media. Do you have your pages accessible by anyone? How often do you change your password? Keep your pages secure and know who your friends are!

So, yes, lock your doors, have your neighbors keep an eye on your house, stop the paper, and enjoy that trip. But take a few online precautions, ahead of time, to make your home sweet home even more secure in these last few weeks of summer.

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