Do you use the Foursquares? Reminder: this is the mobile app that tells all your followers where you are. If so, take notice of PleaseRobMe, a site that helps thieves know when you’re not home — based on what you tell Foursquare.
Per PleaseRobMe, which was developed to show a major flaw in Foursquare: “The danger is publicly telling people where you are. This is because it leaves one place you’re definitely not…home. So here we are; on one end we’re leaving lights on when we’re going on a holiday, and on the other we’re telling everybody on the internet we’re not home. It gets even worse if you have “friends” who want to colonize your house. That means they have to enter your address, to tell everyone where they are. Your address.. on the internet.. Now you know what to do when people reach for their phone as soon as they enter your home. That’s right, slap them across the face.”
Or you could get really good insurance. Or avoid using the application all-together since it’s pretty much the most annoying for your followers. Let’s be sure to remember that you don’t have to input your address into Foursquare — but it may be tough to prevent guests from doing so. Keep in mind, the site is set up “to raise some awareness on this issue and have people think about how they use services like Foursquare, Brightkite, Google Buzz etc.” We haven’t heard of any thieves actually using the sites to find vacant homes.
Via @BrandRepublic