Burglars Might Read Your Facebook and Twitter

Here's a little tip for those of you who are planning on taking a vacation in the next few months: writing about it on Facebook or Twitter could attract burglars who are looking for empty homes to break into.

Yahoo! News reports results from a survey conducted by insurance company Legal & General show which show an alarming number of people post details of their upcoming trips or new purchases on their Twitter and Facebook. Not only that, but apparently burglars are using these people's updates to find out who's going to be out of town and when.

According to L&G's research, 38 percent of users of social networking sites have posted updates about their holiday plans, while 33 percent have told people they are going away for the weekend. The study also showed that nearly a quarter of people discussed their vacations or trips on with friends via their walls. In other words, no control over who could see what they were posting.

The report went on to quote former burglar Michael Fraser, who appeared on the BBC's Beat the Burglar series. Fraise says, "There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that burglars are using social networks to develop relationships with people to identify likely targets."

Read more here.