Nefarious Social Media Usage

I just read a blog post in which the dangers of using geo-location applications were presented. Telling people where you are at any given moment is an invitation to being robbed or otherwise victimized, this fellow says. You're telling people that you're not home, after all, which invites them to go rob your house!

Danger! Danger!

OK, well, we all know this is possible. Just as we all know that you can be mugged while walking on the street in New York at night. And, remember all the urban legends about the robbers who comb the obits to burglarize the houses of the grief-stricken? 

But my question is this: how many people have been involved in criminal activity as a result of, say, Foursquare? 

Of the millions of location status updates (hundreds of millions?), how many have led to problems?

I don't know the answer to that question but as someone who follows social media very closely, I'm not hearing about alarming stories. 

Am I just missing them? 

It's easy to imagine nefarious uses for anything but the realities are often very different. 

Comments

[Vinny]

Hmmmm... In 1983, answering machines were gonna do the same thing...

http://consumerist.com/2010/02/1983-pleaserobme-1977-foursquare.html

[Tom Guarriello]

Bingo, Vinny. Thanks for that link!

[Ken G.]

I read an article a week or two ago about a website with title like "pleaserobmyhouse.com" (or similar). It uses the public foursquare feed to publish addresses of people who aren't at home. The point, according to the creator of the site, isn't to incite robberies, but to demonstrate the dangers of abusing foursquare.

Personally, I'm with you; sharing where I'm eating dinner doesn't really help anybody to rob my house, unless the robber is a neighbor or friend trying to gauge how long I'll be out. If that's the case, I've got bigger problems than just abusing social media.

That said, I do feel it's a bad idea to "check in" with foursquare using the real home addresses of yourself or friends. I just "check in" from public places.

[Tom Guarriello]

Of course thieves can use social media to engage in criminal behavior. But Occam's Razor and the laws of large numbers tell us that simpler methods will be used by more crooks than any of these elaborate notions that people cook up. But, the mundane is nowhere near as noteworthy as the spectacular. I mean, can you imagine a website called, igotdrunkandrobbedatastripclublastnight.com?

Hmm...

Thanks, Ken!

[Nina]

I have followed all things that you said. Thanks.
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[renaissance costume]

This is really possible. With the current situation of our society right now, that everyone will take advantage if they can do it, it is possible.

Social media makes our life better. But we should also be careful since many of those opportunists are just waiting for the right time to strike.

[Stomach Fat Exercises]

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