Tim Dimoff is a nationally recognized security expert. He said, in his opinion, thieves have more tools now than they ever did before. Dimoff said that while thieves still use tried and true real word tactics, he believes social media has the potential to help criminals even more.
“With social media can redefine that target and they can say this person’s bragging about a (big television), they can almost customize what they’re going after,” said Dimoff.
He said a simple status update, letting your friends know you’re out of town for a week, could be just what a thief is looking for.
“Basically you’re telling them, ‘Here’s where I am, here’s where I’m not going to be, how long — oh, and by the way I’ll just leave everything conveniently sitting on the floor in the corner by the Christmas tree,’” said Dimoff.
He said the best advice is to keep the details of your holidays confidential, and make sure everyone — including kids — do too.
Dimoff said on top of the digital dangers, people still have to think about the real world potential for problems. Boxes that contained high priced electronics shouldn’t be just left on the street, but rather broken down or even cut up so they aren’t an advertisement for a criminal.
“Criminals can drive up and down the street and mark your house — (which) seemed to have gotten a lot of electronics versus toys,” said Dimoff. “They see electronics, and TV boxes, and appliances once again you’re sending them a message of how to narrow downtown that funnel.
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source: Cleveland19.com
