Hazards of Social Networking Highlighted by PleaseRobMe.com
PleaseRobMe.com is an example of what could go wrong with social networking. A website, created by a Danish Web Developer, uses what people post on social networking sites such as Twitter and Four Square to reveal the location of empty homes. The sites original purpose was to expose the dangers of posting personal information on social networking sites.
The idea originated out of information posted from the social game called FourSquare, which is based on a persons physical location. Users automatically update the site on their whereabouts, which then automatically updates Twitter, Facebook ect. Unaware of how much information people were sharing, the site agregates information from twitter and four square and posts the information. “The danger is publicly telling people where you are. This is because it leaves one place you’re definitely not… home,” said the creators on the PleaseRobMe Why page. The website took four days to create and is creating a buzz in the internet community.
Stressing that the purpose of the site is not to encourage crime, but to make social media users more aware of their personal security. Despite the publicity the site is receiving, FourSquare continues to thrive. Twitter removed their account saying that software they use is too similar to spamming software.
They recently have taken the website one step further offering it for purchase by a foundation, agency or company. “We at Forthehack have been thinking about how we want to continue pleaserobme.com. It has received a lot of attention and it’s time for a next step. We want to offer this website to a professional foundation, agency or company that focuses on raising awareness, helping people understand and provide answers to online privacy related issues.”
Depsite that Foursquare.com has a much larger International following than a U.S. following, the site still raises important security questions. Information posted on social networking sites is not secure and can not only pose a cyber threat, but a physical threat as well. As social media users, we need to understand that the risk is not limited to our identities and bank accounts, but also to our homes, friends and family.
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Just as general background… Foursquare doesn’t “automatically” update other networks. It has to be set for each update to do that. Also, Myspace is not one of the options to update – only Facebook and Twitter.
I still agree with the concept of your post. It’s important that people consider the safety of themselves and their property when telling the world where they are.
Thanks for the correction. I do not use Foursquare myself and some of the user options are unknown to me.
There are a couple of assumptions made by the premise that Foursquare or Twitter information can be used to rob someone while you are away from home: 1) That you’ve divuldged your home address to anyone other than friends. 2) You represent a single-person household therefore guaranteeing that no one else is home. 3) That those criminally-minded enough to break into a home, thus breaking a number of law with severe penalties, also have the technical wherewithal to use these site. You are more likely to have someone you know (i.e., a crazy “ex”) show up where you have checked-in than to have a complete stranger stalk you and await your evening out as posted on a website. If someone wanted spend that much time planning to rob you, they would follow the tried-and-true method of watching you and your house and enter when you are regularly gone for a long period of time (i.e., work).
Don’t forget about cell phone usage. Talking about your plans to go on vacation on cell and cordless phones and your credit card purchases, etc CAN BE HEARD and even if YOU are not on one, is the person you are talking to on a cell or cordless? I was stalked at my job and elsewhere by an individual living near my home monitoring my calls. Be aware online and on the phone.
I don’t think there has ever been an assumption that the website Foursquare can be used to rob someone, and further I don’t think the point of PleaseRobMe.com is to show predators who to rob and where. But rather to make users aware of the information they provide. In general, we are extremely careless with the information we post on social media sites. The point of the site has a big impact, and we should be more careful.
The people at http://www.phonelosers.org are actually using pleaserobme to call up businesses that people check in to and having Foursquare users paged. It’s funny stuff, and just another example of why posting your location to the public is a terrible idea.