Am I Overthinking a Potential Privacy/Security Concern?

[Denise Ann]

Anyone remember  in  2010 a Royal Caribbean Vacation Planner and her husband were arrested for armed burglary. She was my Vacation Planner.

Edited May 10, 2019 by Denise Ann

[nelblu]

I'm more concerned how some of my vitals are kept and stored.  For instance, went to hospital to visit a relative.  In order to receive a pass I had to present my driver license which was scanned before my pass was issued.   So many hackers out there and so much info stored on data bases that it scares the heck out of me.

[MrMarc]

53 minutes ago, memoak said:

How many times do you hear about funerals where people attending houses were robbed during the funeral - and that is just part of one day - We always have a house/per sitter when we travel

Compared to how many people have/go to funerals, it is very (very, very, very, very...) unlikely that it will happen to you.  Does it happen?  Yes.  Is it likely?  No.  Probably more likely you will be in a traffic accident on the way to or from the event.  If you worry about that and everything else that can happen, at some point you stop leaving your house or talking to people Or have a heart attack.  So I choose to find other things to worry about.   As they said on Saturday Night Live back when it was funny: What if Napoleon had a B-52 at Waterloo?

[brillohead]

1 hour ago, BND said:

Anyone who thinks their dog will protect their home,  needs to rethink that unless the dog has been specifically trained.  Most dogs, while they will bark or even growl, they won't actually do anything if someone comes in.  This has been shown time and time again in experiments.  Dogs are naturally not aggressive and most that are don't belong around families.

However, if you talk to actual burglars (like the guys who are in prison for burglary), you'll find out that unless the payoff stakes are extreme, they will skip a house with a barking dog 999 times out of 1000.  

They want the easy in / easy out situation, not one where a dog is causing a ruckus and drawing attention so that a neighbor notices and calls the cops.  

[Mikew0805]

1 hour ago, BND said:

Anyone who thinks their dog will protect their home,  needs to rethink that unless the dog has been specifically trained.  Most dogs, while they will bark or even growl, they won't actually do anything if someone comes in.  This has been shown time and time again in experiments.  Dogs are naturally not aggressive and most that are don't belong around families.

 

I just don't see the point in posting details on a site that tells the world where you're going, when you're going, who you're going with, etc.    Most of what a lot of you think is harmless, or impossible is what the police routinely teach not to do.

 

But, hey, go for it.  It's entirely your choice.

When I mentioned my dog sitter, and Stand Your Ground laws, I was not referring to my dogs attacking. I was referring to my dog sitter, who would protecting the most valuable things in my house... which are my dogs. 2nd Amendment... Stand your ground... I think you get my drift regarding the would be burglar.

 

Your second point assumes that one is not protected via privacy settings. The people in groups are not listed as my friends, and even if they were - my friends cannot even see personal information. Me saying I am going on a cruise would do them no more good than it does me to know that you are going on the Harmony in November. Signing up for a group does not give them access to your information. 

Edited May 10, 2019 by Mikew0805

[Mikew0805]

1 hour ago, ryano said:

If you can get past my dog, my retired roomate who generally has a firearm close by and is home all the time and my security system, bring it on.    Oh yeah, and the county deputy across the street and the Chief of Police who lives behind me.   Nothing says neighborhood watch like having two LEOs in your neighborhood.     I refuse to live my life being paranoid. I pay good money for homeowners insurance for coverage against theft.    Identity fraud worries me more than anyone that would be stupid enough to break into my house but i have coverage for that too.

 

It would be VERY foolish for anyone to think that just because Im gone on a cruise, that my home is available and my stuff is free for the taking. 

Absolutely! 👍

[WeLuvVacation]

I would not post anything about what I do when I am out of the house anywhere on the net. From being on vacation to going around the corner for a loaf of bread. Way too many garbage pail people out there looking to steal what I've earned in this life an I'm not gonna help them one bit. Even posting your intention to go to a meet and greet on this site is way too dangerous. That's why I stopped doing that.

[GUT2407]

3 hours ago, ryano said:

 

I didnt say that to imply that my dog would protect my home. I DO know that if she is in the truck and someone tries to stick their hand in the window, theyre probably gonna be bit.  She is very protective of HER truck and I would imagine the same is to be said about HER house. She has yet to be tried so I dont really know.  What i really mean is if you are messing around my house at all, or try to enter my house unwanted, she will hear you, she will growl and bark profusely which in turn would wake my roommate up which in turn cause him to investigate what is going on while armed to the gills.

 

Now if anyone tries and hurt me while my dog is around, they better be ready to be bit as well.

 

I actually started and admin the Facebook group for my upcoming cruise.  Im not worried in the least 

More to the point anyone tries to hurt my dog while I’m around better be prepared to be bit.

[cb at sea]

Many folks put their HOME address on their luggage tags...WRONG!  Always put your business address.  If something needs to be sent to you, the business is open during "delivery hours" and folks won't know where you live.

[Iamcruzin]

All I know is I would rather be robbed than live with the paranoia of waiting to be robbed. I can use some new things anyway.  

[KimA75]

26 minutes ago, cb at sea said:

Many folks put their HOME address on their luggage tags...WRONG!  Always put your business address.  If something needs to be sent to you, the business is open during "delivery hours" and folks won't know where you live.

So, what do retired individuals put on there?  

 

Look, I am not saying nothing could happen.  Lord knows, anything and everything could happen.  I'm just saying that I don't have the time or energy to be this paranoid.

[jc3443]

11 hours ago, KimA75 said:

So, a burglar joins the group to see if they can break into a house during a specific time frame that people are gone?  What are the chances of that burglar actually living in my city area?  Are they going to fly to my area and hope to find the specific house I live in?  I guess they could just Google my name since, as mentioned, your information is EVERYWHERE.   There comes a point in time that you have to quit being so afraid of everything.  Yes, it would be a pain if someone breaks into my house.  A lot of paperwork and hassle to go through.  But, that is what insurance is for.  I appreciate the information I receive from there as well as the roll call groups on here.  Heck, anyone could join this site and pick a roll call to join.  How many times in a roll call do you get the question about where everyone is from?

 

After being through some health scares with both myself and my family, I do not worry about my material items as much.  Go ahead and let someone break in.  I will take the hassle of cleaning up and replacing items over worrying about health issues.  Life means too much.  I refuse to live in fear or allow unneeded stress to bother me.  (And, I work in law enforcement.  I have responded to tons of burglaries.  Guess what- you don't have to be on a vacation to be burglarized,)

Agreed. I always see these posts about not putting things on Facebook about being away from home. After 30 years in LE, the only two cases I know of where someone used that information was someone who already knew the folks leaving on vacation. Burglars don't do a lot of online research. They do street research. They drive through neighborhoods and look for good candidates.

 

Here is an example of one, but again the burglars likely knew of the plans already as they knew the people they were burglarizing.

 

https://theweek.com/speedreads/455792/familys-home-burglarized-after-post-vacation-photos-facebook

 

I would be way more concerned about cyber crime from things posted on the internet then about someone burglarizing my house. But we all have different levels of risk tolerance. In other words, you do you... 😉

[ZoeyVictoria]

When my SO died suddenly and unexpectedly, his adult children immediately went through our home to remove anything they thought had any value and interrogated me regarding our joint finances.  We had three cruises booked at the time he died; I cancelled two, but kept the third one that was more than six months away.  I found out accidentally that my address in Royal Caribbean’s records had been changed to the daughter’s address, probably because she thought any refunds would be mailed.  I was able to set up a code word with Royal Caribbean that had to be used before they would disclose any information or change/cancel any cruises.   It is difficult to predict some of the things that can possibly go wrong when other people are aware of your plans.  In my case, the daughter helped herself to a printed copy of the invoice for the cruise.

Edited May 11, 2019 by ZoeyVictoria

[Balsam12]

5 hours ago, johnjen said:

5 hours ago, johnjen said:

 

For the same reason people hack others - to be jerks.

 

Not that I'm suggesting people don't take online security seriously, but with the frequency that I check the cruise planner, any unauthorised changes won't last very long.

[KimA75]

29 minutes ago, jc3443 said:

After 30 years in LE, the only two cases I know of where someone used that information was someone who already knew the folks leaving on vacation. Burglars don't do a lot of online research. T

So, between us there is 47 years in law enforcement and only 2 known cases.  You are absolutely correct in what you said.  Burglars go up and down streets, ringing bells or knocking on doors to see if someone is there.  Not social media.

 

Just be aware of privacy settings and who your “friends” are.  

[voyager70]

1 hour ago, Iamcruzin said:

All I know is I would rather be robbed than live with the paranoia of waiting to be robbed. I can use some new things anyway.  

 

Not cool.  If you were ever robbed I can assure you'll feel differently.  But I'm afraid you'll still think it's a joke.

 

 

 

[Iamcruzin]

Well all of this talk about homes being robbed I can't believe this happened to me today. I was trying to access my Amazon account that I had for years  and it didn't recognize me. I couldn't sign in. I called Amazon and they said they had no record of my account with the email I was using. I had the same sign in since I joined. My son was able to access the account through the phone app and when he checked the profile there was a bogus email address with a Russian domain. I called Amazon again and gave them the information. They had to suspend my account for 24 hours and I will get an email tomorrow with a link to reset my account.  So like I said they have more to gain by hacking my accounts than breaking into my house and stealing my collection of cruise line coffee mugs. Also I don't know any Russians so I didn't get hacked through Facebook. One other thing I want to point out. I read many posts on how people like to disconnect on vacation. That is the time I stay more connected. Wifi is more important to me on vacation than at home. If ever my credit cards are stolen while on vacation or if someone just get's access to my credit card account number I will get an email and text as soon as a purchase has been made. I didn't receive any messages for purchases today from my credit card companies so I guess they didn't get what they wanted. 

Edited May 11, 2019 by Iamcruzin

[123funcruiser]

On ‎5‎/‎10‎/‎2019 at 1:27 AM, johnjen said:

Just a thought. You know, on certain social media sites where there's those set up pages for cruisers and their interests - even some with specific cruises and dates.....someone recently asked "So, when and where is your next cruise?" To my dismay I see lots of people commenting, willingly posting the cruise, ship, and date of their upcoming cruises - without thinking beforehand that their full names are attached.

 

Scenario: "Joe Smith" calls Royal after reading that "Joe Smith on the cruise page is on _____ cruise:

....."Yeah, we're booked on the upcoming cruise on the following date....my significant other knows the booking number, I don't...."
"OK Joe, we see you and xxxx are booked here. What do you want to do?"

Because there was that one time it happened to me. All I did was give RCL our name and I actually at that point in time didn't have our booking number. The agent literally used my name, then asked me for the number....I told him that I didn't have it. But from there, we made changes to the itinerary anyway.

 

And so I'll leave you to post (or just imagine) what can happen from there.
 

IMO you are not overthinking this, but obviously some don´t feel the same, which is ok to me. I´m not here to tell anyone what they should or should not post. It´s anybodies personal decision, but it´s a good Thing to make an educated decision and thus a heads up About it is not a bad idea.

 

As People are Talking About luggage tags and Airports - here´s my heads up - watch your Boarding passes for flights.

 

A quick pic / scan of your Boarding pass can get People all your personal information and travel plans. All you Need is either the QR-Code or the Name and PNR. With this you can easily Access the flight Reservation online, Change it, cancel it, cancel or Change seat Reservation in Addition to personal information.

 

 

 

 

[molly361]

10 hours ago, cb at sea said:

Many folks put their HOME address on their luggage tags...WRONG!  Always put your business address.  If something needs to be sent to you, the business is open during "delivery hours" and folks won't know where you live.

Paranoid much?😇

[GUT2407]

53 minutes ago, molly361 said:

Paranoid much?😇

But is it paranoia if they really are out to get ya???

[molly361]

8 minutes ago, GUT2407 said:

But is it paranoia if they really are out to get ya???

[Florida_cruisers]

11 hours ago, KimA75 said:

So, what do retired individuals put on there?  

 

Look, I am not saying nothing could happen.  Lord knows, anything and everything could happen.  I'm just saying that I don't have the time or energy to be this paranoid.

Instead of a physical address use your email address. 

 

What about when taking an uber to the airport? Do you worry about that now they know where you live and that you are leaving on a trip?

[DirtyDawg]

9 hours ago, Iamcruzin said:

....So like I said they have more to gain by hacking my accounts than breaking into my house and stealing my collection of cruise line coffee mugs....

 

You definitively don't want to give out your address and travel plans around here. 

 

You'll never see those mugs again! 😄

[BND]

10 hours ago, voyager70 said:

 

Not cool.  If you were ever robbed I can assure you'll feel differently.  But I'm afraid you'll still think it's a joke.

 

 

 

True, while we haven't been, my in-laws were robbed twice.  My MIL didn't feel safe for a long time, even though they had a security system.  Being robbed makes you feel vulnerable and is a very emotional experience.   Security systems, like dogs are easy to get around for someone who knows what they are doing.  A lot of people have this false sense of security.

 

BTW, those of us that are careful are not paranoid.  I do not leave my house thinking it's going to get broken into, but like anything else, you take precautions.  I mean, do you leave your keys in your car or unlocked with valuables visible?  Do you leave an expensive bike sitting in your front yard?  We live in a very, very safe area where the crime rate is very low, but we still take precautions. Heck, I take my good jewelry on cruises which some people think is crazy, but I use the safe and accept the risk.   I really think some of you have absolutely no idea why you should take precautions and I'm talking beyond security systems.  

Edited May 11, 2019 by BND

[BND]

11 hours ago, KimA75 said:

So, between us there is 47 years in law enforcement and only 2 known cases.  You are absolutely correct in what you said.  Burglars go up and down streets, ringing bells or knocking on doors to see if someone is there.  Not social media.

 

Just be aware of privacy settings and who your “friends” are.  

But, isn't part of LE jobs to also teach people how to protect their homes against break ins, etc?  I would think you still take precautions, right?