The sage advice used to be "don't tell the world you are on vacation via your outgoing answering machine." Then we pretty much eliminated answering machines and the advice pertained to voicemail. As we got more technology, the same message was "don't tell the world you are on vacation via your email's auto responder."

For a few years now I've been warning people about how vulnerable they are when they post their whereabouts in social media. And it looks like the bad guy figured it out and is taking advantage of peoples' naiveté.

In Nashua, New Hampshire, police busted a bunch of burglars they say used Facebook as a tool to gather intelligence on who is home and who is not home. "Police said they recovered between $100,000 and $200,000 worth of stolen property as a result of an investigation. Police said there were 50 home burglaries in the city in August. Investigators said the suspects used social networking sites such as Facebook to identify victims who posted online that they would not be home at a certain time.

"Be careful of what you post on these social networking sites," said Capt. Ron Dickerson. "We know for a fact that some of these players, some of these criminals, were looking on these sites and identifying their targets through these social networking sites."

It is obvious to me that none of these homes had home security systems, alarms or cameras, due to the fact they were successfully burglarized. And once an intruder enters your home and does their dirty deed, your "castle" and how you feel in it is never the same.

Protecting yourself is real simple. Be cautious about what you post on social media and consider an investment in a home security system.

(PCW)