How Facebook is helping to solve crime in Columbia

Posted in 'Identity Theft' by Ian Carpenter

13 June 2012

Columbia is known for its drug problems and criminal gangs, but a recent armed robbery at an Internet café was solved by the unlikeliest of sources - Facebook - after one of the bungling robbers left himself logged into the social networking site on one of their PC’s.

The nearly-successful robbery took place in the neighbourhood of Calima, Cali. Desperate to get his daily fix of Facebook, one of the criminals couldn’t resist one quick update before pulling out his gun and demanding money from the cash register. They both then made their getaway on a motorbike, whilst one of the café’s employees was discovering the robber’s identity from the still-logged-in profile.

The social media enthusiast was subsequently arrested, although his partner in crime has still not been caught. It’s not known whether the rubbish robber ‘checked in’ at the café as well, or if he accepted any friend requests at the time. One thing we do know is that he’ll certainly be making some new friends very soon – in jail.

This criminal got exactly what he deserved, but the story highlights the importance of remaining vigilant when it comes to your personal information. Be wary of giving away any personal data, and in particular your date of birth, address, mother's maiden name – be especially careful on social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter. This type of information is perfect for identity fraudsters.

Failing to log out from a website can leave your personal details at risk, especially in shared houses and public areas. It doesn’t cost anything to improve your day-to-day habits, and reduce your chances of falling victim to identity fraud. But if you’re daft enough to think about holding up an Internet café, it’s probably best you log out of Facebook first.

Ian Carpenter is the Operations Manager of checkmyfile, has a degree in Business Studies and is a Graduate Member of the Institute of Credit Management