New threat facing homeowners whose properties are featured online

Burglars once lurked around neighborhoods and scanned obituaries to determine whom to target. Now, with free services easily available online, they can plan potential robberies from their computers or phones.

Although hard data on burglar's methodologies is hard to come by, California's Riverside Police Department has seen a number of criminals using these online means after they are arrested for prospective burglaries, or after completing one successfully. 

The revelation comes as roving international crime gangs have victimized communities in California, Michigan and Arizona, according to Fox News Digital coverage earlier this year.

"Our detectives confiscate digital devices and things like that [after they arrest suspects] and we try to get search warrants to get into those devices," Public Information Officer Ryan Railback told Fox News Digital. "That's where you're finding internet history. Our detectives have gone on their Google Maps and found that they're searching certain addresses, that they were on Zillow or Redfin."

Google shows high-definition aerial footage of 36 million square miles via Google Earth and Google Street View footage on 10 million miles of road worldwide, telling CNET that it has mapped out the streets in 98 percent of places where people live. 

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Meanwhile, Zillow, one of the most popular real estate sites in the country, reported approximately 130 million listings in the U.S. as of July 2024. Sites like Zillow, Redfin and Realtor.com often show detailed interior photos of homes, and they stay on the website even after the home is sold in some cases. 

"Right now you metaphorically case the joint out by going on these platforms with a cup of coffee in the comfort of your chair, and you gain more relevant data and intel than you ever did with [binoculars] and a vehicle outside the home," former NYPD detective and security expert Pat Brosnan told Fox News Digital. "You really get the inside baseball."

Brosnan said that prospective sellers can protect themselves by limiting what they include in their online home profiles.

"If you're going to sell your home, of course you're going to want to get your best foot forward," he said. "The balance is to submit accurate, telling and professionally taken photos, but you don't have to give a boatload. And I would always advise against doing a 360 video, really common with sales."

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Brosnan said that videos like these can be paused and enhanced, allowing criminals to "know every crack and crevice of the home, including windows, cameras and locking systems."

"You can identify alarm systems and ways to get around them," he said. "You can identify secondary and third points of entrance and egress."

Sharon Polsky, president of the Privacy & Access Council of Canada, said that Google Maps imagery is also a useful tool for prospective car thieves. 

"Car thieves can get a good idea of the type and number of vehicles at an address. A home with children’s toys scattered in the yard might be an unlikely place to get a high-end sports car; but a house with flags used as window coverings might be more likely to have an older vehicle — with lower value and therefore lesser criminal charges," she told Fox News Digital.

"Anyone who steals cars to order can use Google Maps to see if a vehicle on their shopping list is in the driveways, and use that information to ensure they bring the appropriate software to be able to program blank key fobs needed to steal the vehicles," Polsky said.

In listing photos on realty service websites, Brosnan suggested, avoid including photos of your security cameras, locks, security systems, gates, windows and doors whenever possible. 

He also advised against showing photos of the home at night that reveal where any motion-activated spotlights are located. 

Former FBI agent and cybersecurity professional Bill Daly advised those selling their homes to make sure that any valuable furniture or artwork is stashed away before taking photos for a real estate listing.

Polsky said that when working with realtors, hopeful home sellers should "build it into the contract that the house number must not be revealed in the listing or photos.

"Doing that makes it only a bit less convenient for tire-kickers and potential renters/buyers who have to contact the realtor to get the address, giving the realtor an opportunity to talk to each person and build their own contact list). More importantly, not revealing the house number makes it a lot less convenient for thieves."

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Railsback advised homeowners to put prominent security cameras and signage for alarm systems outside their homes, and to befriend their neighbors.

"If a criminal wants to get into my house, with all my safety measures, I want to make him at least think about the risk he may be taking," Railsback said.

Brosnan also suggested having your home blurred on Google Maps Streetview, which can be done by finding your home on the service and clicking "Report a problem," which gives you a short form to fill out.  

A Google spokesperson told Fox News Digital that it generally takes their team about a week to blur out an address after a request, and that once an address has been blurred, the change is irreversible. The spokesperson noted that the company uses AI technology to blur license plate numbers and faces in Streetview images. 

A Zillow representative also told Fox News Digital that their service makes it "quick and easy" to take ownership of home listings. The option can be accessed by finding your home on the site and clicking "More options," which reveals the "Claim ownership" function. After proving that they own the home in question, homeowners can remove photos or the entire listing.

"We take privacy and security very seriously," the spokesperson said. "The photos on Zillow come from sources like the multiple listing service that real estate agents use to market homes for sale. We always encourage homeowners to claim their home on Zillow, which allows them to change or remove photos and edit their home facts." 

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Redfin, Realtor.com and Google could not be reached for comment at press time.

Brosnan said it is also important to limit what you post online about your own whereabouts.

"Unless your social media is very private, and your followers are those that you personally know and trust, don't post about your vacation on social media," he said. "If I see anyone on social media, and they're on vacation in Mexico somewhere, where are they not?

"You have to look at your settings every so often – these platforms update their settings," he continued. "Update your settings, keep them updated, and ask your close friends or neighbors to drive by your house or give them access to your cameras when you are away. Don't advertise when you're not home."

Those who must upload their vacation photos online, he said, should wait until they've returned home to post.