Police Claim Burglars Used Facebook To Target Empty Homes; Proof Lacking

from the is-there-some-evidence? dept

Earlier this year, we noted that there was a moral panic brewing around the idea that burglars would monitor social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook to determine when people weren't home, and then strike. This seemed not only incredibly convoluted, but highly impractical. After all, just knowing that someone is going says little about how long they'll be gone or (more importantly) if there is still anyone else left in the house. It seemed that basic in-person surveillance could often be more productive.

However, the NY Times is now claiming that a series of burglary arrests in New Hampshire involve a group who used Facebook to pick their targets. The NYT report is based on a local press report in New Hampshire, which quotes the police making those claims. They offer no additional evidence that this is what the burglars actually did, so until there's a bit more proof, color me skeptical. We've seen police make similarly outrageous claims in the past, and this just has the sound of an urban legend rather than anything legit.

Filed Under: burglars, new hampshire, social networks
Companies: facebook