New Threat to Homeowners Whose Properties Are Listed Online

Burglars used to lurk around neighborhoods and scan obituaries to determine who to target. Now, with free services readily available online, they can plan potential heists from their computers or phones.

While it is difficult to obtain precise data on the methods used by burglars, the Riverside Police Department in California has observed that many criminals use these online methods after being arrested for suspected break-ins or after successfully completing a break-in.

As Fox News Digital reported earlier this year, the revelations come as international criminal gangs have been rampant in communities across California, Michigan and Arizona.

“Our detectives are seizing digital devices and things like that (after suspects are arrested), and we’re trying to get search warrants to get at those devices,” Public Information Officer Ryan Railback told Fox News Digital. “That’s where you find Internet history. Our detectives went to their Google Maps and found that they were searching certain addresses, that they were on Zillow or Redfin.”

Google is showing high-resolution aerial imagery covering 36 million square miles via Google Earth and Google Street View footage of 10 million miles of roads around the world, telling CNET it has mapped streets in 98 percent of the places where people live.

PROTECT YOUR PRIVACY: HOW TO REMOVE PHOTOS OF YOUR HOME FROM ZILLOW, REDFIN AND REALTOR.COM

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Meanwhile, Zillow, one of the country’s most popular real estate sites, recorded about 130 million listings in the U.S. as of July 2024. Sites like Zillow, Redfin and Realtor.com often show detailed interior photos of homes, and in some cases, they remain on the website even after the home sells.

“You’re now metaphorically checking the pond, walking into these platforms with a cup of coffee in the comfort of your armchair, and you’re getting more relevant data and information than you ever could with (binoculars) and a vehicle outside your home,” former NYPD detective and security expert Pat Brosnan told Fox News Digital. “You’re really getting the inside baseball.”

Brosnan said potential sellers can protect themselves by limiting the information they include in their online property profiles.

“If you’re going to sell your home, you obviously want to show it off as best you can,” he said. “The balance is to provide accurate, meaningful, professionally taken photos, but you don’t have to provide a ton. And I would always advise against 360-degree video, which is very common in sales.”

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Brosnan said such videos could be paused and enhanced, allowing criminals to “know every nook and cranny of a home, including windows, cameras and locking systems.”

“You can identify alarm systems and ways to bypass them,” he said. “You can identify secondary and tertiary entry and exit points.”

Sharon Polsky, president of the Privacy & Access Council of Canada, said Google Maps imagery is also a useful tool for would-be car thieves.

“Car thieves can get a good idea of ​​the type and number of vehicles at an address. A home with children’s toys strewn around the yard may be an unlikely place to buy a luxury sports car; but a home with flags used as window coverings may be more likely to have an older vehicle — one with lower value and therefore less criminal charges,” she told Fox News Digital.

“Anyone stealing custom cars can use Google Maps to see if a vehicle on a shopping list is in the driveway and use that information to make sure they have the right software with them to program the blank keys they need to steal the vehicles,” Polsky said.

Brosnan advises that when posting photos on real estate websites, avoid including photos of security cameras, locks, security systems, gates, windows and doors, if possible.

He also advised against showing photos of the house at night, showing where the motion sensor spotlights are located.

Former FBI agent and cybersecurity expert Bill Daly advises home sellers to make sure all valuable furniture and art is properly secured before taking photos for the property listing.

Polsky said that when working with real estate agents, potential home sellers should “write a provision in the contract that the house number cannot be disclosed in the listing or in the photos.

(This only makes it slightly less convenient for gawkers and potential renters/buyers who have to contact the real estate agent to get the address, giving the agent the opportunity to talk to each person and build their own contact list.) More importantly, not revealing the house number makes it a lot less convenient for thieves.”

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Railsback advised homeowners to install visible security cameras and mark alarm systems outside their homes, and to get friendly with their neighbors.

“If a criminal wants to get into my house, with all my security measures, I want him to at least think about the risk he might be taking,” Railsback said.

Brosnan also suggested blurring the house on Google Maps Streetview. To do this, find the house on the service and click “Report a problem,” after which you’ll be presented with a short form to fill out.

A Google spokesperson told Fox News Digital that it typically takes their team about a week to blur an address after a request, and once an address is blurred, the change is permanent. The spokesperson noted that the company uses AI technology to blur license plate numbers and faces in StreetView imagery.

A Zillow representative also told Fox News Digital that their service makes it “quick and easy” to claim ownership of home listings. This option is accessed by searching for a home on the site and clicking “More Options,” which reveals a “Claim Ownership” feature. Once they prove they own the home, homeowners can have the photos or the entire listing removed.

“We take privacy and security very seriously,” the spokesperson said. “The photos on Zillow come from sources like the Multiple Listing Service that real estate agents use to list their homes for sale. We always encourage homeowners to submit their homes to Zillow, which allows them to change or remove photos and edit the facts about their homes.”

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At the time of going to press, Redfin, Realtor.com and Google could not be reached for comment.

Brosnan said it was also important to limit the information you post online about your own whereabouts.

“Unless your social media is very private and your followers are people you know personally and trust, don’t post about your vacation on social media,” he said. “If I see someone on social media and they’re on vacation somewhere in Mexico, where aren’t they?

“You need to check your settings every once in a while — these platforms update their settings,” he continued. “Update your settings, keep them up to date, and ask close friends or neighbors to drive by your house or give them access to your cameras when you’re away. Don’t advertise when you’re not home.”

He believes that people who have to post holiday photos online should wait until they get home to publish them.

Source of original article: New Threat to Homeowners Whose Properties Are Listed Online