Share With Friends Not With Thieves This Christmas

Online, December 21, 2011 (Newswire.com) - Queenslanders are inadvertently letting burglars know when they are out and about, with half of the state's smartphone users sharing their movements on sites like Facebook and Twitter, new research by NRMA Insurance has found*.

The insurer is warning residents against announcing and updating their daily movements and holiday plans on social networking sites, with many would-be thieves turning to technology to identify potential targets.

NRMA Home Contents Insurance Corporate Affairs Manager Sue Hawkins said a recent UK study found that nearly 80 per cent of ex-burglars strongly believed social networking sites were being used by current criminals when targeting households.**

"We'd expect this would be similar in Australia where social media is so popular," she said.
"It's a great way to stay in touch, but we're asking people to be a little careful with the information they give out as thieves can connect the dots about where you live and the fact that you're away from home.

"Many of us like to post online that we're on holidays or even just away for the weekend, but we need to be selective about what we post to avoid being the victim of opportunistic thieves."

NRMA Home Contents Insurance offers these tips to reduce the risk of thieves stealing Christmas:

• Turn off automatic locating functions on your social media sites.

• Review your privacy settings on your social media sites. Make sure you understand who you are broadcasting your information to each time you post. If you are not comfortable with what people can see about you, change your settings.

• Be careful of where you "check in" using your smartphone. Consider checking-in before you leave home.

• Never post your home address or birth year on a social networking site, regardless of your privacy settings.

• Make your family, especially children, aware of security risks and ask them not to advertise holiday plans on social networking sites.

• Maintain a lived-in look around your home. Ask a neighbour to park in your driveway, stop paper delivery, set-up timers for household lights and lock up.

• Never leave a message on your answering machine saying you are on holidays and never share holiday plans with phone sellers.
NRMA Insurance is a leading insurance provider, offering Home Contents Insurance, Car Insurance, Motorcycle Insurance, Travel Insurance, Business Insurance, Boat Insurance, Health Insurance and Caravan Insurance in QLD.