Facebook has led a revolution in the world of technology which has allowed its users to do almost anything in the confines of its website. The level of comfort that users have felt when using the website has reached peak levels, most of the time to the advantage of products and services connected to the website. On the other hand, the ugly side of this comfort level is that users seem to feel that it is alright to just do anything in these social networking sites. In some instances, personal security can be put at risk when personal information is placed in these sites and knowledge of these information falls into the wrong hands.
Facebook as possible link
Reports carried by several local news outlets have claimed that police in Nashua, New Hampshire arrested three young men for perpetrating more or less 50 house robberies in the area for only the month of August. Certain reports have noted that the suspects utilized information coming from social networking sites like Facebook to look for victims. The potential victims have apparently posted in their online profiles that they would not be home at certain times, giving the criminals a window to commit their misdemeanors.
A site that checks on the number of social networking subscribers who let everyone know that they are not home has reported that a lot of users actually do this. With the summer vacation in full swing last August, a lot of Facebook users did put in their status pages that they would be out of town for some time, some even for weeks, to the delight of the burglars.
So far, the reports have left a number of blanks in the story. So far it is not yet known what the exact nature of relationships exists between the arrested young men and their victims. Moreover, there are still no details if accounts of the victims on Facebook and other social networking sites were hacked or scraped so as to give the perpetrators sufficient info about their whereabouts. Lastly, it is not yet known whether the victims also posted their exact home addresses with their vacation itinerary.
Facebook Places
Technology experts have also considered that a new feature of Facebook, Facebook Places, which lets users log in their whereabouts, may have been utilized as well. Launched only last August, Facebook Places does not only inform a user’s contacts where they are, but also who is with them. This feature has sparked a debate, as some people obviously do not appreciate letting other people know of their whereabouts. While it is true that one can un-tag himself or herself from this feature in case a companion has tagged him or her, the process of un-tagging may take time as not everyone has ready access to Facebook all the time.
The thieves, identified as 17-year-olds Leonardo Barroso and Victor Rodriguez and Mario Rojas, 25 years old, had stolen items with value totaling more or less $100,000. They also had fireworks and ammunition in their possession when they got caught.
Facebook, on its part has claimed that they have been coordinating with the Nashua police. The police claim that one of those arrested had a friend on the site who posted about going out of town. Facebook claims that the crimes have not been linked with Facebook Places. The company stated, “The police confirmed that the other burglaries had nothing to do with Facebook altogether.”