Beware! Facebook can land burglars at your house

Deepankar Sharda

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 16

Updating your check-in status on Facebook can land burglars at your house. Keeping pace with time and making use of the increasing popularity of social networking sites, Net-savvy thieves are regularly on the lookout for your check-in status!

The issue cropped up during an interaction between UT SSP Sukhchain Singh Gill and students of Carmel Convent School, Sector 9, here.

Based on investigations into cases of thefts and the recently busted extortion gang which used Facebook as one of the mediums to contact the victims (teenaged students), the SSP had a piece of advice for the students.

Many a time, youngsters update their status while leaving the town for other stations, which makes burglars aware of possible locked houses to strike.

Making students aware about using social networking sites in a restricted manner, Inspector Harjit Kaur of the Women and Child Support Unit, UT, shared a few incidents in which burglars had struck using the latest modus operandi.

Advising the students not to upload personal information on social networking sites, including the whereabouts of the family, the Inspector maintained that excess use of these sites by them helped miscreants.

“Miscreants use Facebook to befriend young kids and then track them. Using this information, they strike and vanish,” said Harjit Kaur.

The SSP said, “We are advising students not to reveal personal information on Facebook. The same holds good for their families and city residents. Burglars are familiar with technology and can use the information to pick up targets. The students should not accept friend requests of unknown persons,” said Gill.

More interactions in the offing

The SSP said more such interactions would be held with students. He said seven more interactions had been planned with students of government schools and other institutions in the coming weeks. “This is a good platform for making students aware about policing. Through such interactions, students feel comfortable in posing their queries” said Gill.