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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2009
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To Entice Burglars, Just Tweet About Vacation

Even robbery doesn't stop microblogging fanatics from self-promotion

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(Newser) – Going on vacation? Post a 140-character update on Twitter and you can tell all your friends—plus burglars who now know you're not at home. One prolific Twitterer returned home to Phoenix to find his house broken into, and rather proudly insisted that the criminals must have read his microblog, the Mashable blog reports.

There's no evidence that the burglars who struck at Israel Hyman's home discovered he was away on Twitter, and as of today he still has only 1,000 followers. But Arizona media and the victim himself are playing up the dangers of oversharing on the site. In an interview, Hyman says he'll be more careful about what he tweets—but, unsurprisingly, has no plans to abandon microblogging.

A man in Arizona whose house was robbed says the burglars must have found out he was gone by reading his Twitter feed.
A man in Arizona whose house was robbed says the burglars must have found out he was gone by reading his Twitter feed.   (©Search Engine People Blog)
A screen shot of the microblogging site.
A screen shot of the microblogging site.   (©keiyac)
Woo betahouse
Woo betahouse   (©paul_irish)
you stay classy, internet
you stay classy, internet   (©theogeo)
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