Posh Bikes and Tea Leaves...
Staffordshire Police have been noting an increase in bike thefts in their area, particularly in the number of high-value cycles being stolen from sheds and outbuildings across the south of the county.
Their comments come in a document available from the Online Watch Link website and it says that:
"Our investigations have shown that some of the victims had been using websites and mobile phone apps to log their routes - these sites allow users to view each others' routes and track their rides.
"Some of the GPS data recorded and shared on these sites is so accurate you can pinpoint the house where the journeys have begun and ended. We suspect some thieves have been using these sites to identify potential victims and high-value bikes.
"Many of the sites also link to social networking sites to share routes. Users are urged to check the privacy settings of any apps they use and avoid using Twitter and Facebook to share maps of their routes, as these could potentially identify their home addresses and inadvertently 'advertise' the location of their bike to thieves.
"Alternatively, they can opt to start the tracking function a few streets away from their home address and stop it again before returning home.
You have been warned...
Staffordshire Police have been noting an increase in bike thefts in their area, particularly in the number of high-value cycles being stolen from sheds and outbuildings across the south of the county.
Their comments come in a document available from the Online Watch Link website and it says that:
"Our investigations have shown that some of the victims had been using websites and mobile phone apps to log their routes - these sites allow users to view each others' routes and track their rides.
"Some of the GPS data recorded and shared on these sites is so accurate you can pinpoint the house where the journeys have begun and ended. We suspect some thieves have been using these sites to identify potential victims and high-value bikes.
"Many of the sites also link to social networking sites to share routes. Users are urged to check the privacy settings of any apps they use and avoid using Twitter and Facebook to share maps of their routes, as these could potentially identify their home addresses and inadvertently 'advertise' the location of their bike to thieves.
"Alternatively, they can opt to start the tracking function a few streets away from their home address and stop it again before returning home.
You have been warned...
