Safety of posting exactly when you will be away on a cruise on CC

[ldubs]

Could even be worse if you are out sick the boss sees your photo posts sailing out under the GG bridge.  

[GeezerCouple]

5 hours ago, kazu said:

I am not concerned about posting on CC.  I don’t consider it a social media site in the same vein as others with everyone having a “handle”.  

 

I will NOT do it on FB nor join groups sailing there as those posts are public.

 

I completely agree with you.  I do spread sheets quite often for the longer cruises where ports require serious planning.  I never list last names nor cabin numbers on it.  If I am just doing a M & G listing, it’s first names only.  No last names and no cabin numbers.

 

There have been "Roll Call" spreadsheets that ask for full name *and* hometown.

 

Uh... NO. 😡

I've gotten the feeling we are considered anti-social because we don't join in with all of the information.

I look at the lists, and think... "Are they nuts!?"

And then I think back to childhood in the 1950, when no one even locked their doors.

And children ran around the neighborhood all day (well, weekends or after school), and the next a parent might hear from them might be a phone call, "Mom, I'm at Suzy's house.  Can I stay for dinner?"

It wasn't until many years later that I realized the person who *really* should have been asked was SUZY's mother!  Heh.

The Times, They Are a-Changin'....

 

We used to have a housesitter live in.  She could come and go during the day, just like we would do, but there was always someone living "here".

We also knew someone would notice pretty quickly if some pipe started leaking, etc.

 

GC

[Loreto]

I am very surprised that people give their full names and have on the side their city.  CC rules advise against giving full names.  I dropped my city and am very general about where I live.  We had someone trolling our roll call awhile back wanting people to sign up for tours immediately to "lock in a price" and admitted she worked on commission. Our roll call moderator caught it right away and suggested she read the guidelines.  Person never posted again, but I am sure they are out there.

[kazu]

2 minutes ago, GeezerCouple said:

 

There have been "Roll Call" spreadsheets that ask for full name *and* hometown.

 

Uh... NO. 😡

 

I’ve seen those and know several who said if they were required to provide that info they wouldn’t be nor go to the Meet and Greet.  I assured them that’s not how mine are and they never have been.

 

Several people have asked to use my format and I’m happy to share.  I give them the same advice not to list too much personal information.  Whether they choose to listen to me is another story.

 

Some people poo poo my concerns.  Each to their own.

 

I’ve been on a cruise when one person was being stalked (not kidding) and if I had posted their cabin number, she would have been in jeopardy.

 

I have a lot of cabin numbers to deliver meet and greet invites but they are sent to me in private and held in confidentiality.  I guess it’s my old privacy syndrome from being a banker too many years 😉 

 

2 minutes ago, GeezerCouple said:

 

I've gotten the feeling we are considered anti-social because we don't join in with all of the information.

 

No one should object if you choose to only give select information.  If they do, they are limiting their roll call participation and that seems a bit too autocratic to me.  No one “owns” the roll call. 

 

and, if you are doing a spread sheet / Meet and Greet listing it should be one everyone on the roll call is comfortable with.  At least, that’s how I look at it.

 

[YourWorldWithBill]

52 minutes ago, GeezerCouple said:

And then I think back to childhood in the 1950, when no one even locked their doors.

And children ran around the neighborhood all day (well, weekends or after school), and the next a parent might hear from them might be a phone call, "Mom, I'm at Suzy's house.  Can I stay for dinner?"

It wasn't until many years later that I realized the person who *really* should have been asked was SUZY's mother!  Heh.

 

We used to have a housesitter live in.  She could come and go during the day, just like we would do, but there was always someone living "here".

We also knew someone would notice pretty quickly if some pipe started leaking, etc.

 

Ditto. We were always out playing down the street until it got dark. And by the way, the reality is that there are fewer crimes involving children today than there were then! We just didn't hear about them every minute.

[MacMadame]

7 hours ago, YourWorldWithBill said:

It's a good reason not to post an "away" message on your email; but I don't worry about CC, even though people can probably figure out who I am.

But because we have pets, we have someone spending a lot of time at our house when away.

We have someone coming to the house every day to feed our animals and take in our mail. Plus we are way in the back of the complex and have at least one nosy neighbor. 😉 I am not particularly worried about being robbed.

 

5 hours ago, prescottbob said:

I’ve mentioned this several times on various roll calls. Some folks included their names, addresses and phone numbers for tours and such on their postings.

While I wouldn't put all that info in public, I find it hard to believe that thieves spend time on CC looking through Roll Call threads and trying to access M&G spreadsheets to decide who to rob. What are the chances that the robber is in the same area as the people post TMI? Slim, IMO. It's not a very efficient way to find empty houses to rob.

 

OTOH, when someone robs your house because of a FB post, it's almost always someone you know IRL or a friend of an IRL friend. For example, there are documented cases where a kid notices that their friend's family is going on vacation and tells all their other friends who all come over to drink their liquor and trash the place. And/or rob their electronics.

 

Professional thieves have much more efficient and reliable ways to find their victims.

[ilikeanswers]

1 hour ago, MacMadame said:

While I wouldn't put all that info in public, I find it hard to believe that thieves spend time on CC looking through Roll Call threads and trying to access M&G spreadsheets to decide who to rob. What are the chances that the robber is in the same area as the people post TMI? Slim, IMO. It's not a very efficient way to find empty houses to rob.

 

I was thinking exactly this. On FB you can search for people via location so it makes it more feasible for thieves to use it as a target finder. CC you can't do this even if we list what city we live in so it would be very hit and miss to trawl through every roll call in the hope of finding that one close enough you don't need a plane to reach. And those who have the skill to track someone via the internet would have far more lucrative opportunities than what they could possibly earn from robbing a house. 

[CDNPolar]

Never heard that rule for home insurance, and will look more closely at my home policy.

 

One rule that I have always followed, is that my luggage tags on checked and carry on ONLY have name, email, and phone number.  NEVER home address which is a standard field on many cards that are inside the luggage tag.

 

Why?  Behind the scenes workers in the luggage handling department then have access to your home address and good intel that you are not at home.

 

I am NOT suggesting that luggage handlers are not trustworthy, but there is an element of knowledge here that for those that are looking purposely to take advantage, might...

 

For that matter, if you take a cab/taxi/limo to the airport, that company or driver know you are away.

 

We always let our next door neighbour know we are away.

 

I don't use Facebook, but I do post on Instagram, but I only have 15 or so close friends that are on my account and they already knew that we were away.

[sparks1093]

We might not be at home, but our home is not empty. 

[GeezerCouple]

4 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

For that matter, if you take a cab/taxi/limo to the airport, that company or driver know you are away.

 

Right.  That person is taking us to the airport, and sometimes it's the International Terminal, so chances are especially good then it's not a quick overnight trip...

 

We almost always have a live-in housesitter.  When a car service picks us up to go to the airport, I *always* somehow find time in that car to mention to DH something like, "Oh, <name> will be arriving a bit later today, and she'll be staying over again.  I'm sorry we had to leave before she arrived, and didn't have time to wait to see her again.  <then some other regular stuff>"

That's even if I just told him the same thing in the house before we left. 😉 

And the housesitter always leaves her car in the driveway and not in the garage, unless there's heavy snow predicted.

 

One could always say something like that regardless of the plans...

 

GC

[Charles4515]

24 minutes ago, GeezerCouple said:

When a car service picks us up to go to the airport

I live in a lock and leave building which requires a fob so get into and a fob to use the elevators and a fob to access the parking garage. From the parking garage to the parking garage elevators also requires the fob. When I order a car service I don’t give them my unit #. They have to pick me up in the lobby drive. The lobby has a 24 hour concierge. So I feel safe leaving for any length trip. 

[CDNPolar]

48 minutes ago, GeezerCouple said:

 

Right.  That person is taking us to the airport, and sometimes it's the International Terminal, so chances are especially good then it's not a quick overnight trip...

 

We almost always have a live-in housesitter.  When a car service picks us up to go to the airport, I *always* somehow find time in that car to mention to DH something like, "Oh, <name> will be arriving a bit later today, and she'll be staying over again.  I'm sorry we had to leave before she arrived, and didn't have time to wait to see her again.  <then some other regular stuff>"

That's even if I just told him the same thing in the house before we left. 😉 

And the housesitter always leaves her car in the driveway and not in the garage, unless there's heavy snow predicted.

 

One could always say something like that regardless of the plans...

 

GC

We should still be diligent, but we use a car service that we have used for years and I think we are at 60+ trips with them. They specialize in airport, but still that is not 100% guarantee.  The driver could pass information on. 
 

I like what you say. 

[mammajamma2013]

Cruise Crtic is the only social media where I post, other than to occasionally respond to my son's posts on Facebook. I don't usually post anything there.

 

Even if I posted my "adventures" on FB,  it wouldn't happen until we were home. This was true even back when I first joined FB, fourteen years ago. Even having your profile "locked down" as far as possible, mutual "friends" can access your account through those mutual friends.

 

We have two sets of trusted neighbors, to the point where they have a copy of our house key and we have a copy of theirs. One neighbor picks up our newspapers and mail, the other feeds our pet. Both neighbors keep an eye on our property. We do the same for them. We love our neighbors.

 

TL;DR: it's not a good idea.

[klfrodo]

I believe it would be possible to scroll through a poster's history of posts on Cruise Critic and gather enough personal information to make an educated guess as to when they will be on a cruise, what cabin they're staying in, what dates they will be gone, their hometown, possible where they work, etc. and a lot more personal information.

However, it would take a lot of man hours for such little return on the investment.

[jeh10641]

This thread has given me a lot to think about. I post my name and cabin number on Meet and Greet spreadsheets. I may be having second thoughts about that. Cruise Critic forums always give me a lot of information even though I think I am a pretty savvy traveler.

Jim

[GeezerCouple]

22 minutes ago, klfrodo said:

I believe it would be possible to scroll through a poster's history of posts on Cruise Critic and gather enough personal information to make an educated guess as to when they will be on a cruise, what cabin they're staying in, what dates they will be gone, their hometown, possible where they work, etc. and a lot more personal information.

However, it would take a lot of man hours for such little return on the investment.

 

A concern about stalking, including *on* a ship during a cruise makes it more worrisome when Roll Call lists ask for specific cabin numbers.  We have always declined to give that, or at least to put it on such a list.

Once we met others on the ship, we might share that.

 

Indeed, it turned out that for our first cruise after joining CC, someone we communicated with via our Roll Call turned out to be right next to us on the ship.  And it wasn't a tiny ship.

But at that point, it's not a problem.  I doubt they or anyone 'updated' the online CC list.  Usually, after sail-away, the Roll Calls get pretty... inactive.

 

GC

[klfrodo]

I just went thru someone's posts. In less than 5 minutes, I determined their name, their birthdate, their current age, when they retired, where they were born, their profession when they retired, their current city and state of residence, and what cruise/ship they are taking next year in 2025.

That was in 5 minutes. Imagine if I were smart and/or a criminal. I would add that in the information found, I could probably gather enough information to answer some security questions that would allow me to change passwords to maybe their banking or credit cards.

Edited January 31 by klfrodo

[GeezerCouple]

38 minutes ago, klfrodo said:

I just went thru someone's posts. In less than 5 minutes, I determined their name, their birthdate, their current age, when they retired, where they were born, their profession when they retired, their current city and state of residence, and what cruise/ship they are taking next year in 2025.

That was in 5 minutes. Imagine if I were smart and/or a criminal. I would add that in the information found, I could probably gather enough information to answer some security questions that would allow me to change passwords to maybe their banking or credit cards.

 

Right.

It's not that difficult, if enough of the right information bits are available.  And probably only a bit more difficult with fewer.

I was aware how easy it can be to use Google - for *starters* - to find people.  I haven't had any need to do that here on CC, but I've done quite a bit of "investigating" trying to re-connect with old college friends, etc.

It seems to be much easier to find their home address than a phone number! 😱

 

GC

[BruceMuzz]

So sad to live in a country where you need to worry about things like that,.

[klfrodo]

8 minutes ago, BruceMuzz said:

So sad to live in a country where you need to worry about things like that,.

I wouldn't limit it to country per se, It's the world we live in.

To think that con men didn't exist before would just be a bit naive. The internet has just made it easier. Con men of the past just had to work up close and personal.

[clo]

23 hours ago, YourWorldWithBill said:

But because we have pets, we have someone spending a lot of time at our house when away.

We have petsitters stay in our our house every time we're away, 24-7. Trustedhousesitters.com

[BruceMuzz]

28 minutes ago, klfrodo said:

I wouldn't limit it to country per se, It's the world we live in.

To think that con men didn't exist before would just be a bit naive. The internet has just made it easier. Con men of the past just had to work up close and personal.

Also so sad to live in a country where you have to worry about things like that, too.

[YourWorldWithBill]

54 minutes ago, clo said:

We have petsitters stay in our our house every time we're away, 24-7. Trustedhousesitters.com

I joined trusted house sitters some time ago, but have never used them. It's great to hear from someone with the experience; I guess you found them completely trustworthy and reliable? How has it worked out for you? How have the pets been? 

 

A next door neighbor stays for me, but I pay him.  I'd certainly rather save the money, but the kids (dogs and cats) know him.

Are the people who stay for you from somewhere nearby, or do they travel a good distance?

Thanks for the info.

[clo]

3 minutes ago, YourWorldWithBill said:

Are the people who stay for you from somewhere nearby, or do they travel a good distance?

 

All of the above 🙂 We've used a couple of different sites over 20+ years and always satisfied and up to ecstatic. We already have a couple lined up for a month in July. It's changed over the years as so many now work from home. IIRC he's with a SoCal college/university in IT and she's...hmm, I can just can't remember but it's an E Coast firm. We have English friends who have traveled literally all over the world with them. I get very specific also. For instance I ask firmly that the dog (currently just one) not be left alone for more than five or so hours. So nobody is able to hold a in-office, full time job. The majority of people we've had have been youngish retirees who enjoy seeing different parts of the world. And the site give good info on sitters. Oh, and we generally make our car available to them if they're coming in from afar. Most recently they were driving in from three hours away. But some fly in. Best of luck.

[Kristelle]

I must admit I dont worry too much about things like this. I live in a relatively small town - people will know I a m absent from work, my usual club activities etc anyway - so whether I post on Facebook doesnt really change that