Ride the Lightning
Cybersecurity and Future of Law Practice Blog
by Sharon D. Nelson Esq., President of Sensei Enterprises, Inc.
Please Rob Me! Posting Location Data on Facebook
March 1, 2012
Why oh why do people post their location on Facebook? I've bemoaned this before but still cringe when I see my otherwise brilliant friends on the lecture circuit post their whereabouts.
I know there's a saying that goes "that's so five seconds ago" but frankly I am content to be days late to the Facebook party in order to avoid broadcasting that I'm out of town. I am cautious even though we have two large dogs and a house sitter.
Over lunch with our Merrill Lynch financial advisors (and a shout-out is due them for taking such good care of a small company) this week, I heard yet another story illustrating why it makes no sense to tell your "friends" where you are. The family in question posted that they were in New York for the weekend – when they came home (yes, you've guessed it), everything of value (and much that wasn't valuable) was gone.
Here's the kicker: Days later, the victims were reading their Facebook page when, lo and behold, they stumbled upon a photo of their neighbors wearing their stolen college sweatshirts. Yup, their neighbors robbed their house and then had the monumental stupidity to post photos of themselves wearing the stolen apparel on Facebook.
This is why we sometimes say that we teach not Facebook: The Nuts and Bolts, but Facebook: The Nuts and Dolts.
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