Facebook fears after £65,000 Wallsend burglary (1 Viewer)

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Facebook fears after £65,000 Wallsend burglary

by Sonia Sharma, Evening Chronicle
Jul 22 2011

A FAMILY had £64,700 worth of goods stolen from their home – after they announced their holiday plans on Facebook.

The unsuspecting homeowners updated their account on the social networking site to say they would be away for the weekend.
And that was the only invitation the criminal fraternity needed to raid the house in Wallsend town centre, North Tyneside.

Among the goods taken was a £18,000 Jacob and Co men’s watch with a red leather strap and diamond encrusted dial.

The family also lost a £5,000 diamond-encrusted women’s white Chanel watch, a Louis Vuitton suitcase valued at £4,500, a Black Bugaboo pram worth £900 and a TV.

The raiders forced their way into the home. It is believed they would have made noise as they tried to take away the goods and police are appealing for witnesses to come forward.

Acting Det Insp Joanne Brooks, of North Tyneside CID, said: “The householders updated their Facebook account to say they were going away over the weekend and detectives are investigating whether this information could have been used by the offenders.

“We’re appealing for help from the public and from anyone who may have been offered these items for sale to contact us.

“The people responsible for this break-in will have made quite a lot of noise gaining entry into the house and neighbours may have seen them emptying it of a variety of items, including a TV and pram.

“Officers are carrying out house-to-house inquiries in the area.”

Police are warning people not to give away personal information on the internet that could lead to thieves targeting their homes.

Acting Det Insp Brooks added: “We would ask residents to be vigilant and to report any suspicious behaviour to police straightaway.

“And people are reminded of the dangers of advertising their absence from home to the outside world using social media.”

A spokesman for Facebook said it couldn’t comment on the investigation but advised users to increase their privacy settings.

Earlier this year, researchers claimed people were increasing the odds of being burgled by revealing holiday plans on sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

The study, by Co-operative Travel and Co-operative Insurance, said a tweet or Facebook message saying “packing my cases” or “just landed” alerted thieves who could track down an address within minutes.

Cross-checking a few online databases could reveal the exact location of a home, they said.

The survey of 3,000 people found 44% had Facebook friends or Twitter followers they had not met. And 37% had no privacy settings, which meant anyone could see their messages.

The burglary took place between July 8 and July 11. Anyone with information is asked to contact North Tyneside CID on 03456 043043 ext 69191.


Read More Facebook fears after £65,000 Wallsend burglary - Chronicle News - News - ChronicleLive
 
For goodness sake!! Some people... I just don't get it! You'd be amazed at how many people have their phone numbers and addresses on Facebook with no privacy settings at all... but to announce you're all going to be away...

People's naivety on the internet never ceases to amaze me :(
 
£18k watch...Maybe they were going on holiday to Colombia to get a new set of luggage..
 
suitcase valued at £4,500

yer having a laugh

the suitcase was actually an original lewis vitten, purchased from the exclusive range at that well known wallsend designer shop, B&M bar-gains(it's french don't you know!).

you'll recongnise the tv, for knowing Wallsend, it will be a 100" fooking screen. I believe they also lost a lot of jewellery from the Elizabeth duke at Argos range. oh and four bottles of blue wicked they were saving to opened for the babies christening.
 
I remember years ago my mate told me that the old woman down the road from him had had her car stolen. Lo and behold 2 days later it was parked outside her house again with an apology letter saying how they had stole it out of desperation blah blah blah. Also with the letter was 2 tickets to the theatre to try and make up for the distress they had caused by stealing the car in the first place. Old lady duly goes to the theatre with her mate and came home to find the place burgled. Clever or what.
 
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