Warning: Don’t post your holiday plans online

The bags are packed, and the turkey is nearly trimmed.  But before hitting the road at Beth Hitesman’s house, her holiday plans are going public.  “I survive by facebook,“ the Greenville County resident says.  “I just posted ‘packing to go see friends and family in Pennsylvania and Baltimore’”, she says.  Hitesman is a self-described facebook junkie, who says she’s usually cautious with what she posts online.  In this season of giving, though, she admits it’s easy to forget:  grinches are everywhere.  “You have to be cautious with what you’re doing,“ say Deputy Matt Armstrong with the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office.
 
Armstrong says criminals are getting crafty, by using sites like facebook and Twitter to spy on your plans, and break into your home.  “We see there’s not only friends and family communicating with you on these social networks, we’ve also learned that the criminals tend to eavesdrop,“ he says.  “They kinda see where you’re gonna be.“  Armstrong warns, before you write “going to Grandma’s house” this year, you should be less specific online.  For Hitesman, it’s good advice.  “I’m just taking more precautions, and having more neighbors watch the house because it is so public.“  She says she won’t let criminals spoil her good cheer, but if she wants to post it, ‘tis the season to be careful.  “You can’t let it ruin your holidays,“ she says.