Marion: Could Your Facebook Photos on Vacation Lead to a Home Invasion?

I knew people in my home town who kept their lights on while away on vacation to fool burglars into thinking the home was occupied.

It’s always seemed silly and paranoid to me, so I chalked it up to the distrustful nature of my wealthy neighbors.

But police in the area are warning that similarly, if you deceive all of your Facebook friends and Twitter followers into thinking you’ve never left, you can better protect yourself from a home invasion.

Waterloo police have warned the public in a Gazette story that home invasions can take place while you’re away on vacation if you let your social media circle know you’re away.

Waterloo police captain Tim Pillack laid out two rules of thumb on how to avoid a home invasion:

• Don’t post pictures with your cell phone or computer until you get home.

• Don’t post details of your trip prior to coming home, such as, events and dates.

According to the last available data from City-Data.com, Marion had 382 burglaries for every 100,000 people in the 2010, down from 411 the previous year and 531 the year before that. That’s just over half of the national average, 700.