Featured Image Credit: TikTok/Venus Investigations
Topics: Crime, News, Social Media
Lucy Devine
A private investigator has issued a warning about the three things people do online that make it easy for them to be tracked.
The PI, named Cassie - who goes by @venusinvestigations on TikTok - has revealed just how easy it is to give away details about your life and location online.
And it's pretty terrifying.
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First up, Cassie explains we absolutely have to stop adding people onto our social media profiles, who we don't know IRL.
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"Number one, stop accepting friend requests from people you don't know," she said.
"I get it, you've locked down your profile, you think you're safe, but guess who can still see it? Anyone you've added over the years, whether you knew them or not.
"PIs have these fake accounts they use to research people, called sock puppets, go look at your list right now, if there's anyone on there you don't know, delete them."
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Sharing our locations online is a huge no-no too, especially if we're still at the place we're posting from.
"Stop posting from a venue while you're still there. Celebs know this one really well, if you post from the venue, while you're having your entrée, I'll be there following you before the bill comes," she added.
Cassie pointed out that she's recently noticed people sharing images of 'sold' signs outside their new homes, that they've recently bought.
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But what they don't realise is by doing this, they're making themselves - and their addresses - easy to track.
"Stop posting those sold signs when you've bought a house," she said.
"Yes, you've blurred out the address but all I need is the real estate agent's details, I can work out what suburbs they cover, I know approximately when you bought the place from when you posted on Insta... I just look out for the cute red door or the pretty tree... bam, I've got your address."
People were quick to comment on the video, with many agreeing.
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One person wrote: "I’m not even a pi and the sold sign is so real. It’s so easy to."
While another said: "The real estate one is way to easy. Can’t believe how many people do this."
And a third added: "I never post whilst at a venue and only post my vacations after I’ve returned."
Meanwhile a fourth admitted to using one of the techniques before, writing: "I found out my ex's address by doing this exactly. We are about to spend over $1.5M on a property and I didn't want to end up living anywhere near him. It was incredibly easy even without the address."