Social-Media Thieves Lurk at Basel – Expert

RAPAPORT…
Baselworld exhibitors should be vigilant of thieves who lurk
outside the show or scour social media for information that can help them steal
goods, a security group has warned.




Every year, there are reports of traders leaving the
exhibition area with merchandise and subsequently being robbed, according to
Itay Hendel, CEO of Israel-based ISPS, which specializes in theft prevention for the jewelry
industry.

In addition, dealers have posted details on sites such as Facebook
and Instagram about their participation in the fair, their products, and even
the hotel at which they were staying. By doing that, they have invited
criminals to target them, Hendel cautioned.



“Skilled gangs of robbers monitor social networks, and,
based on information that the exhibitors post, the robbers have attacked,
robbed and even burglarized hotel rooms that the exhibitors were staying at,” he
said in a statement this week. “There is a reasonable chance that various gangs
will also operate at the Basel exhibition, both in the exhibition area, and by
surveilling exhibitors at the end of the day [or] exhibition.”



Visitors at this year’s show, which begins next Thursday,
should avoid posting personal information on social networks, and should keep their business and private profiles separate, he added. They should also refrain from
posting pictures and information about their accommodation, disclosing where
they are at a given time, or publishing any images that include exhibitors’
faces, he continued.



Baselworld’s
organizers did not respond to a request for comment.