Social media sites can be helpful aides and crime-solving tools for law enforcement officers. Today, most police departments do not have a social media unit, but detectives are beginning to use valuable tool to investigate crimes.

Here’s Why:

People post videos of fights, vandalism, and sexual encounters on YouTube. As the result of video cameras integrated with cell phones, it is not unusual for a bystander to catch criminal behavior on tape and upload it to a video sharing website. Sometimes, the criminal offenders themselves, will  upload the video  out of false pride.

One British study found that a high percentage of the burglars admitted to using social media sites when choosing a target. So, be very careful what you show when you upload your kid’s birthday party photos or a shot of expensive jewelry that you gave to your wife.

If you have a Twitter account, remember that anyone can “follow” you without approval. So anyone could be watching your account when you proclaim that you are at the movies or on vacation. With that information, a burglar could spend hours going through your home and picking off your valuables. The same advice should be taken to heart for  Facebook or FourSquare.

Protect Yourself

The Internet Crime Complaint Center  offers more ways to protect yourself and your family from becoming a social media victim.

On the flip side, many police departments today use social networking sites to investigate crimes and apprehend suspects — for burglaries, cyber stalking, and cyber bullying. One should also be wary of cyber-scams. If you find something online that sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Consider:  with  hundreds of millions of members on Facebook, Linkedin, Foursquare and others, there is always going to be someone lurking with malicious intent.

A few of the most common Internet scams:

  • Like Clickjacking:  A request is made for the user to click on  a page, but the user is not aware that he/she is actually clicking on an invisible tag that is overlaying the page. The invisible tag contains a Facebook Like button, with a pre-filled text and a link of the attacker’s choice.
  • Event Scams: Facebook allows users to create their own events with text and images and invite anyone. This allows criminals to send a “bait message” such as “find out who really likes you” , or “free money from the government”.
  • Phising:  this one has been around for years. It’s a fake email notifications that tells you that you have a friend request pending, or that your profile was suspended. If you follow the link in the email, you are then brought to a site fake site — one that mimics the original Facebook login page. But in reality, the page is a scam.  The whole thing is designed to get you to enter your password. Once you do that, it will  forward you to the real Facebook site — so that you will never know you’ve been had. Now, this could occur for a bank site, medical, or any site. So be very careful.

Four Rules to Follow

  • So be skeptical of any information that seems suspicious.
  • Use strong passwords (letters, numbers and symbols. Don’t share them!
  • Think  twice before posting any information that may tell people where you are or what you own.
  • Use security software from a trusted vendor. Be careful not do download security software that is actually malware — the enemy.

If you think you’ve been scammed –  make sure to change all your account password .