Photo: screenshot/edited by autoevolution
Addicted to social media posting? You better be more mindful about what you post on them, especially if you’re a couple of payments behind schedule with your leased car. The repo men are watching you.
A report from Automotive News tells that some companies are not afraid to take advantage of your digital trace to make their job easier when they have to repossess a car.
"Finding people in today's market is really not that tough," vice president of special services at the LA Federal Credit Union Art Sookazian told the publication. “People post where the wedding is, where the reception is, and how we took a trip. You'll see a lot of interesting information on these public websites.”
Still can’t help yourself with posting stuff disclosing your location? You might as well prepare to find an empty parking spot, but at least make your profile private, showing info only to your friends. Even so, you should be careful who you let in your friends list...
Legally speaking, the repo men are allowed to use social media to extract information about you. In case you haven’t read the terms of agreement, that is a public domain, it’s like going outside and posting on walls and poles. However, the practice could step into the illegal zone if the repo men are “friending” you in order to access information.
So you should be more careful with the privacy options these social websites offer. Even if it’s not about repossessing cars, you never know who is stalking you and has access to personal or even sensitive data.
"Finding people in today's market is really not that tough," vice president of special services at the LA Federal Credit Union Art Sookazian told the publication. “People post where the wedding is, where the reception is, and how we took a trip. You'll see a lot of interesting information on these public websites.”
Still can’t help yourself with posting stuff disclosing your location? You might as well prepare to find an empty parking spot, but at least make your profile private, showing info only to your friends. Even so, you should be careful who you let in your friends list...
Legally speaking, the repo men are allowed to use social media to extract information about you. In case you haven’t read the terms of agreement, that is a public domain, it’s like going outside and posting on walls and poles. However, the practice could step into the illegal zone if the repo men are “friending” you in order to access information.
So you should be more careful with the privacy options these social websites offer. Even if it’s not about repossessing cars, you never know who is stalking you and has access to personal or even sensitive data.
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