Does it ever feel like you are posing for social media posts more than actually relaxing on vacation? Well, kick back on that lounge chair and tuck your smartphone away, because keeping your trip posts low-key online might actually be a good financial choice, according to one expert.
“The thing is, most of the time we think when we post on my world vacations, our friends are looking… but there are some nefarious folks that are following you and your social media posts,” explained Mark Wolters of Wolters World Travel and Culture on YouTube.
The associate professor of Business Administration at the University of Illinois’ Gies College of Business in Urbana-Champaign joined WBBM Newsradio’s Rob Hart this week on the Noon Business Hour to share Spring Break season tips. He said oversharing vacation details on social media is risky in multiple ways.
“Sometimes not the right people actually see it, and they can notice if you’re out of town or how long you’re going to be out,” Wolters told Hart. That means social media posts can deliver potential thieves’ information about when homes will be empty and vulnerable to attack.
That’s one way the posts are a risk. Social media posts can also deliver information for people to target travelers when they are at their vacation destination.
“We no longer tell people where we are,” said Wolters. “Like when we go film on location, we never post when we’re there – because if we do, there’s people right away trying to go ‘Oh, hey, we can help you out,’ And it’s… a lot of times, it’s scam.”
However, the idea of keeping a camera roll filled with beautiful sunsets, sights and selfies might feel like a bummer in the age of social media. What can people do with all those cool vacation photos that won’t put them at risk?
“If you want to share your information about your trip, share it after you come back and say, “Hey, here are the highlights of our trip that we just spent, you know, two weeks away on,’” Wolters suggested. “It’s much better, much safer for yourself.”
He said that people should be especially wary of doing live posts when on vacation, or sharing their exact location at a given time. For people who want to risk it, Wolters recommended keeping strict privacy settings on their social media so only friends can see their location.