If your the type of person that logs onto Facebook and announces to the world that you’re off on holidays for the week, this could end up being used as intelligence by local burglars.

In a recent news story by WMUR Channel 9 News in New Hampshire, three local men, Mario Rojas, Leonardo Barroso and Victor Rodriguez, have burglarised more than 18 homes in the Nashua area of New Hampshire simply by checking status updates on Facebook and then breaking into the houses of victims who had updated their social network status announcing that they were not at home.

Police were reported to have recovered between $100,000 and $200,000 worth of stolen property resulting from the investigation.

According to the New Hampshire police, investigators were able to track down the burglars by listening for the sound of a specific kind of firework that had been stolen from one home. As soon as they heard it, they were able to locate the suspects and recover the loot.