Canadians who are looking forward to spending their summer vacations away from home should be careful not to divulge information that could paint them as targets for home theft and break-ins, said Allstate Canada.
The insurer is launching a new awareness campaign called “The Selfie Effect,” which aims to warn people against sharing their travel dates and vacation whereabouts on social media before their departure, or even while travelling. Allstate has instead recommended that vacationers should share their travel details after they have returned.
To put the issue into perspective, Allstate commissioned a Léger survey of 1,534 Canadians, which found that 62% of respondents who are active on social media said they were planning to take a trip this summer. Of that figure, 29% of respondents active on social media indicated that they had posted details about their vacation before or during a trip – that number rises to a whopping 46% among respondents aged 18 to 34, and 36% among those who said they were planning to go on a vacation away from home.
Of those that share their travel details on social media, 10% have posted in anticipation of their trip, and 24% post during the trip, revealing that they are away from home.
“We found it concerning that almost one out of three respondents who are active on social media post details about their vacation before or during a trip. That ‘post-pandemic travel selfie’ can be very tempting for many people, but it could also lead uninvited visitors to your home and risk a break-in,” said Allstate director of business development Melissa Marquis. “We’re asking Canadians to think twice before posting that quintessential beach selfie or dreamy sunset photo to social media until after their return from vacation; otherwise, they could be drawing attention to the fact that no-one is home.”
