[tl:gallery size=480×181]

We warned about the perils of sharing too much Facebook information with people you don’t know well just a few weeks ago. If you didn’t follow our advice and tighten up your security settings as a result, maybe this news story from the US will spur you into action.

Police in New Hampshire cracked a burglary ring earlier this month that was responsible for between $100,000 and $200,000 worth of thefts. The ring reportedly used social networking sites like Facebook to determine who wasn’t at home at a particular time, then paid their premises a visit.

“Be careful of what you post on these social networking sites,” said police captain. Ron Dickerson. “We know for a fact that some of these players, some of these criminals, were looking on these sites and identifying their targets through these social networking sites.”

In other words, if play fast and loose with who you friend on Facebook and leave your status updates open for all to see, posting “Off with the family to Sandy Balls for a fortnight!” could mean that you return home to an unpleasant surprise.

So, follow the advice in our guide to Facebook’s security settings so that only people you know and trust can see your personal information, and everyone else just gets a less detailed view.

[via WMUR 9]