When I was in law school, I was an intern at a big city prosecutor's office. We saw the worst of society.

I won't bury the lead. One HUGE mistake I saw was people setting themselves up to be victims over the holidays.

Dec 24
Got all the whole family together for Christmas
(Photo)

Dec 25
Got a new big screen TV and a Playstation for Christmas!
(Photos of all the expensive gifts)

Dec 26
On our way to the Bahamas for a week. See you next year!
(Photo of a smiling family in front of their home with the address in the background)

Jan 3
Just finished the police report. Our house was robbed while we were away. TV, Playstation, everything. Gone!

When you see it in black and white, it's obvious. But believe me, it's not obvious to MANY people. Social media can be used by criminals to find easy victims. I don't really use social media, but I certainly don't post in real time. When I travelled a lot for business, I'd post pictures a few days after I got home. (Just got back from Thailand. The food was amazing.)

There were even darker stories of kidnapping victims. Parents love to gush about their children and all the things they love to do, their favorite toys, favorite movies, and other things that can be used by predators to lure children away.

When I was a new father, one of the biggest arguments we had at home was about posting details of our daughter online. I was 100% against it. My ex didn't see the harm. And our friends would use our daughter's name. I'd delete those posts. Maybe I'm paranoid, but I'll never regret being overly cautious.

I live in Tokyo. It's one of the safest cities in the world. I still lock my door when I take out the garbage and check the mailbox.

But be careful out there.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/26/2023 12:45AM by T-Bone.

Thank you T-Bone for this valuable information. I never thought about this before; it's shocking.

My husband and I have never liked the social media, and so we don't have Facebook or any of that.

I'm going to let my family know to be much more aware than they have been (and us also). They thrive on posting pictures and updates on their families.

Thank you again.

People also drive around neighborhoods looking for empty boxes for highly desired items. Maybe people could keep their empty packaging until the scheduled trash pickup is about to occur.

And many people have wolves within their own families and maybe everyone doesn't need to know about new purchases.

A wolf tail is worse than a ferret tail.

I also think it's important to tightly control your friends list. So many people accept everyone who asks them, whether they know them or not.

A good rule of thumb is that if anyone requests payment via a gift card, it's always a scam.

People often share WAY too much about their little kids, IMO. You can tell where they go to school, what they like, and endless pictures. Obviously that information can be used in several unsavory ways now, especially with AI.