While the first impulse for many vacationers is to share every detail about their trip on social media sites like Facebook, security expert David Walsh warns that tech-savvy criminals could see your posts and use it as a reason to break into your home. Walsh, chief executive of security monitoring service Net Watch, said vacationers need to be particularly careful in the summer months, when home break-in numbers rise due to vacations and holidays.

“You may think that checking in at the airport is a nice way to let your friends and family know that you’re going on holiday, but in reality you are also letting people know that your home is empty and an easy target,” he said. “If you want to share your holiday plans, don’t do it in real time, wait until you are safely home.”

According to police, some burglars search Facebook using keywords that help to reveal whether someone is traveling or not, or even look at who has checked in at airports using Foursquare. In this time of online oversharing, it’s only natural that criminals would catch on and take advantage. In fact, according to an infographic put together by door company Distinctive Doors, around 75 percent of convicted burglars believe other robbers are using social media to find and scope out their targets. While it’s nice to tell everyone back home about your tropical trip, it might be best to wait until you’re actually home to post those photo albums.

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