Friends and thieves

INTERNET: Are you going on holiday soon? Most likely, you’ve told your "friends" on Facebook, Lokalisten, MySpace or Twitter all about your plans — where you’re going and how long you’ll be away. That information is very interesting to thieves, too.

Nearly 40 per cent of people who use social networking sites are careless about posting personal details, such as holiday plans. They show pictures of their newest electronic gadgets, or of the insides of their homes. Some people give their mobile phone numbers, and even their address. They are putting their property at risk, warns London-based insurance company Legal & General.

"People give away information about themselves to people they don't know," says former thief Michael Fraser.

In a report titled The Digital Criminal, Legal & General says that thieves are increasingly going to homes they learn about on social networking sites. The company is even considering raising insurance contributions when people put such details online. Users all too often accept people they don't really know as "friends", such as holiday acquaintances, or friends of friends. They may also share information "wall-to-wall", that is, outside of their restricted page.

Former thief Michael Fraser, who helped Legal & General prepare the report, said this kind of information was being used by professional burglars to establish a list of targets. "It scares me to see how many people are prepared to give away valuable information about themselves, to people they simply don't know well enough — if at all," Fraser told the news service Reuters.