People in Ipswich are at higher risk of car crime due to their tendency to overshare on social media, according to a new study.
Residents of the town are among the country’s worst offenders for giving away clues to potential criminals by posting photos of new cars on social media.
More than 93,000 ‘risky’ social media posts were identified across the nation by Swinton Group – including boasts about being on holiday or away from home.
Posts included photos or references to the user owning desirable items, like new cars with personalised number plates.
By comparing against population, the findings revealed which town or city’s residents posted above or below the average in categories of risky behaviours.
The figures were translated into a vulnerability score – with five being the baseline UK average.
Swinton also devised a burglary index score by comparing local rates with the national average.
Users in the East of England were 10% more likely to overshare, according to the insurance broker, which worked with home security specialist Yale UK to create an interactive social media crime map.
But users in the region were almost 10% less likely to post about an upcoming holiday.
Ipswich and the East of England came third on a list of ‘riskiest’ places for images of new cars parked on driveways.
Richard Beaven, distribution director at Swinton Group, said: “Regardless of the information you share on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, burglars can piece together key facts about a person by linking information across all platforms.
“Oversharing has now become a part of everyday life.
“Many people are making themselves vulnerable to praying burglars by publicly sharing when they are out of the house, away on holiday, and even posting about expensive purchases.
“We’re keen to make social media users aware of how much information they are sharing across all channels, who can see this and act on it.”
Stephen Roberts, marketing manager at Yale UK, said: “With nearly 45 million social media users in the UK, sharing your personal details and whereabouts on social media can put your home and belongings in a vulnerable position.
“It’s vital that users keep an eye on their security settings to prevent being opportunistically targeted.”
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