In 2006, Sarah Walker was beaten and stabbed to death inside a model home she was showing in Texas. One of the most cited agent-safety cases, her murder prompted sweeping safety reforms in real estate circles and it illustrates how tragic events can catalyze industry-wide change.
WHY SAFETY IS IMPORTANT
Real estate professionals face unique risks that most people don’t consider. Agents regularly meet strangers in empty homes, host public events in unfamiliar spaces, and handle sensitive client information. These situations can make them vulnerable to physical harm, theft, or cybercrime. Safety isn’t just about protecting yourself—it’s about protecting your clients, your reputation, and your business. By making safety a top priority, agents not only reduce personal risk but also demonstrate professionalism, build client trust, and ensure they can continue doing the work they love with confidence and peace of mind.
Today we’re going to talk about staying safe with our social media. Please take notes and please take care.
SOCIAL SAFETY
Be vigilant about your personal profile visibility and content. Disable location services and think twice about any content you post online.
WATCH WHAT YOU POST
What might seem to you like benign information could possibly open the door to predatory action against you.
- Criminals will jump at an opportunity to burglarize a home when they know you’re on vacation
- Predators will monitor social accounts who frequently post content about their kids
- Fraud happens when people post birthdays, full names, high schools, and other possible key pieces of information that could lead to answers to secret security questions or even passwords to your online accounts
In addition to your own safety, take special care when posting about your clients and in-progress transactions. Common sense tells us that confidentiality rules here, but there are some grey areas some agents don’t think about. It’s best to make it a rule to not post about specific clients without their permission, and even if you do have it, make sure whatever you post won’t jeopardize their safety or their negotiating leverage.
WATCH WHO IS FOLLOWING YOU
I use Facebook to keep up with friends from around the world and family from across the country. Instead of holding back my own content, I personally prefer to block the front gate. I only let in the people I know and trust to see what I consider ‘the real me’ instead of what I’m posting publicly in my business pages. I frequently verify my privacy settings are to my own standards as those settings can sometimes change, and I’m vigilant about what people outside of my friend list can see.
Friends, you don’t have to limit your social media sphere as vigilantly as I do. If you choose to have looser restrictions on who can see your personal page, please be extra careful about what you’re posting about online.
A note on hacking: It isn’t uncommon for you or your friends to be hacked by a nefarious entity. If you don’t recognize someone who sends you a friend request, think twice about accepting it. If you do recognize the person, verify that it isn’t a duplicate or cloned account. Scammers are out there and you’re smarter than that.
CONSIDER A CRIMINAL’S PERSPECTIVE
This topic could get pretty dark pretty quick, so let’s keep it simple with a couple of examples.
Consider the post an agent just made about the open house they’ll be hosting at 123 Maple Street this afternoon from 1-3pm. Oftentimes, agents are alone at open houses and this might be a great opportunity to get some ‘alone time’ with an agent that they’ve been keeping an eye on. |
Consider MLS listings for homes that have been on the market for a while and are clearly vacant. A perpetrator might specifically ask to see these properties because there’s less likelihood of encountering witnesses or interruptions.
BE THOUGHTFUL
At the end of the day, technology is constantly evolving and improving to help us make our lives more efficient, yet at the same time it can be opening us up to potential harm. Be thoughtful about your content and your audience, and make sure you know who you audience is before posting anything about yourself online.
