Nicole Mineo uses Facebook chat on her laptopBack when Facebook first introduced its chat feature, I knew it was a recipe for disaster. Private messages and posts on Timelines are problematic enough without people being able to communicate in real-time. But sure enough, the chat feature has led to trouble for some. Like Nicole Mineo from Park Ridge, New Jersey, whose family was robbed after Mineo chatted with family friend Kimberly Edgerton on the social network.
"She was IMing me, asking me how I was doing, what my mom was doing ... and then she started asking me weird questions about my brother being home," Mineo told the local news.
Later that day, when her parents' house was burglarized, Mineo said she suspected right away that Edgerton and her brother, Michael, were behind it. But should Facebook be taking the fall for the crime? Nuh-uh, I don't think so ...
Mineo made it like there was no chance that the Edgertons would have been privy to the house being vacant had she not been chatting with Kimberly on Facebook. But hello, how many different ways could Mineo have communicated those very same details and compromised the security of her parents' home? It's not like Facebook itself dragged the info out of her. Or she shared something she shouldn't have via a Facebook Check-In, you know? She could have easily been chatting with Edgerton on AIM, Gchat, or, geeze, if the year was 1998, how about the phone?
The bottom line: If the Edgertons had really wanted to burglarize the Mineos, they could have figured out when the prime time would be -- with or without Facebook chat. What's more, Mineo should take some responsibility for even volunteering answers to these "weird questions." Obviously, it doesn't matter who you're speaking with or where. You can make yourself vulnerable to a crime online or off.
Here's the local news story on the burglary ...
Would you blame Facebook chat for this burglary?
Image via nbcnewyork.com
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Comments 12
No way, this could of happend through a text message....blaming FB would be ignorant.
Why blame FaceBook? They could have called on the phone and found out nobody was home.She just happened to use Face Book to talk to her instead of the phone.If they had called the house to make sure that no one was there nobody would be asking if the local Telephone company should be blamed.
I never say anything to anyone about where I'm going, except after the fact. If I go on vacation, I don't mention details until after I get back. I don't need anyone knowing my business. I've actually warned other friends about their posts when they say where they will be so and so day, leaving them open to a potential burglery.
its just like putting nude pictures of your self on face book, you have only yourself to blame, know your friends and watch what you say or type because you never know who might be looking for an easy target, nothing is truely safe. face Book, myspace, Twitter and all the other sites cant be responsible for what we say, and do.
Unless they didn't report that part of the story on this clip, it doesn't sound like they're saying facebook should be taking the fall for the crime. She warns about sharing too much info on facebook, but isn't blaming the site.
Kimberly E is responsible for the burglery.
If you're stupid enough to trust sites like FB and say things you shouldn't, then you'd better take stock and get off FB. It's great to catch up with family and friends but like any other site, it's there for the baddies to take advantage always. Wake up, it's back to the human touch b/4 we don't know how to communicate with each other other than typing on a keyboard.