How Social Media Use Can Leave Your Client’s Building at Risk

Say, one of your property manager client’s residents goes on vacation and ‘checks in’ to an international airport using Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or any other Social Media site that’s popular this minute to document the beginning of their vacation (this is the first of MANY ‘check ins’ on this trip). Their neighbor (and 100 other Social Media users) then ‘Like’ this status update; inevitably allowing their whereabouts to be public for all to see. Don’t see what the big deal is? Well, this causes people they might not even know to see their whereabouts and extended absences. This can reveal that information to a very wide audience that might include immoral individuals who could potentially use that information to commit crimes. The security problem posed for apartment and condo property managers is a serious one.

Digital “transparency” is becoming more and more prominent in today’s society and can leave your client’s apartment building or condominium complex at risk for…

• Stalking.
• Dissemination of false information about their complex to a wide group of people.
• Hacking.
• Physical crimes at their building.
• Even identity crimes that could open their property management staff to accusations of negligence.

Although a property manager cannot stop residents from publicizing private information about absences, they must develop and enforce security provisions that overcome the hasty disclosure of personal details about themselves and others. Unfortunately, this security issue is only going to get more difficult to deal with.

When was the last time your property manager client’s security team considered the issue of publicly available information regarding their residents, staff and building?