1:30pm Monday 15th March 2010
Pembrokeshire's social networkers are being urged to be careful what they reveal, following the roll-out of Google Street View in the county.
With the street-level imagery now covering 95 per cent of the UK's urban and rural roads, a warning has gone out from a reformed burglar for people to be careful when disclosing their location, holiday plans or new purchases.
He says professional burglars will be rubbing their hands at the news that Google Street View has extended its coverage, as they will now be able to boost their list of potential targets for break-ins, working with status updates on social media such as Facebook or Twitter.
"I call it 'internet shopping for burglars," said Michael Fraser, star of the BBC's Beat The Burglar series.
"It is incredibly easy to use social networking sites to target people, and then scope out more information on their actual home using other internet sites like Google Street View, all from the comfort of the sofa.
"It scares me to see how many people are prepared to give away valuable information about themselves."
Mr Fraser has helped insurance company Legal & General to prepare a report on The Digital Criminal. It shows that nearly four in ten users of social networking sites have posted status updates detailing their holiday plans, with a third saying when they are away for the weekend.
Warned the company's Garry Skelton: "People need to be very wary about sharing information that could put them or their homes at risk. Always be aware that a lot of the time, talking on a social media site is like talking out loud in the street or down the pub, you are never completely sure who might be listening in."
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