Need to make a quick score? Don't worry about casing the place. Just visit the listings at PleaseRobMe.com to find empty homes.
No, the people at PleaseRobMe aren't in the business of helping burglars. They simply want to make sure we all know the dangers of leaving too much information out on the web. And as both the police and criminals are turning to the web to help in their perspective professions, it's a good idea for all of us to reign it in a little bit.
PleaseRobMe sifts through information from sites like Twitter, Foursquare, Gowalla and Google Buzz looking for people utilizing geolocation, checking out of their home or checking in to various locations. It then displays this information in a Twitter-like stream under the title "Recent Empty Homes."
And they have a point. Some of us get so caught up in the technology that we forget how we might be planting a big "please rob me" sign outside our home.
Very dumb site, form what I can tell it’s main function is simply reposting four square checkins, it can’t t tell you where a person lives, how long they plan to be away from home, or if their home is actually empty, I think any one looking to make a quick score is better off casing the joint.
The people at http://www.phonelosers.org have been using pleaserobme data to call up businesses that people check into and then having the Foursquare users paged. It’s funny stuff, but also another good example of why posting your location to the public nonstop is a stupid idea.