Not so long ago security firms were urging holidaymakers to buy a timer switch for their home’s lighting: it was claimed burglars would think people were in if they saw a lamp on in the evening. Now a British firm is offering a new, equivalent service for the Facebook generation.
Chelmsford-based Precreate Solutions claims a number of its clients had announced holiday plans on Facebook or Twitter and then had their properties broken into. For a small fee, the firm will now also run “virtual updates” while clients are away.
Company director Gary Jackson claimed that “Putting up a Facebook posting of photographs on a beach to 300-400 ‘friends’ is like leaving an advert on your door to a burglar telling him when you will be out.”
The service will use pre-approved messages, updates and tweets, and then schedule them while the client is away.
Mr Jackson claimed that “It’s getting to the point now when insurance firms are going charge higher premiums for social media users”. The Association of British Insurers said it had never heard of insurers asking customers who use social networks to pay more, and said it would not be practical to do so. A spokesman, however, warned people to think twice about advertising that they were away.
0 comments:
Post a Comment