Burglars are inviting Facebook users to become friends in order to find out when they are on holiday so that they can raid their homes, police believe.
Criminals in Crawley, West Sussex, are suspected of befriending as many people as possible and robbing their homes after they announce their holiday plans on the social networking site.
Police urged residents not to 'advertise' that their homes were empty after burglars targeted at least 12 homes in the past four months.
All of the break-ins have taken place when residents have been away for at least two weeks, giving burglars plenty of time to plan the raid in full knowledge that the owners will be away.
Detective Inspector Tanya Jones said this week: Don't advertise your up-and-coming holiday on Facebook.
I would like to advise home owners to tell neighbours, who they trust, when they are going to be away so they can keep an eye on their property.
burglars in the town centre of Crawley, added: The burglaries that have been reported to us have occurred in residential areas close to the town centre.
We believe they are linked and being committed by the same group of offenders.
Most of the houses have been broken into at the back of the house, with doors or windows being forced open or smashed.
It would appear the offenders are taking their time to search the premises.
A police source said that the gang were suspected of using fake names and photos on Facebook and befriending anyone from the Crawley area.
He said: Many people on Facebook just accept friend requests even if they don't know who they are.
This is very dangerous, especially when you announce your holiday plans online or post photos of you and your loved ones abroad.
It isn't hard to track down someone's address, especially given the amount of personal details some people put on Facebook.
Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technolo...ars-using-Facebook-to-target-empty-homes.html
Criminals in Crawley, West Sussex, are suspected of befriending as many people as possible and robbing their homes after they announce their holiday plans on the social networking site.
Police urged residents not to 'advertise' that their homes were empty after burglars targeted at least 12 homes in the past four months.
All of the break-ins have taken place when residents have been away for at least two weeks, giving burglars plenty of time to plan the raid in full knowledge that the owners will be away.
Detective Inspector Tanya Jones said this week: Don't advertise your up-and-coming holiday on Facebook.
I would like to advise home owners to tell neighbours, who they trust, when they are going to be away so they can keep an eye on their property.
burglars in the town centre of Crawley, added: The burglaries that have been reported to us have occurred in residential areas close to the town centre.
We believe they are linked and being committed by the same group of offenders.
Most of the houses have been broken into at the back of the house, with doors or windows being forced open or smashed.
It would appear the offenders are taking their time to search the premises.
A police source said that the gang were suspected of using fake names and photos on Facebook and befriending anyone from the Crawley area.
He said: Many people on Facebook just accept friend requests even if they don't know who they are.
This is very dangerous, especially when you announce your holiday plans online or post photos of you and your loved ones abroad.
It isn't hard to track down someone's address, especially given the amount of personal details some people put on Facebook.
Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technolo...ars-using-Facebook-to-target-empty-homes.html
