A lawyer posted a tongue-in-cheek warning to users of a community Facebook group that made a serious point about being careful what people share online.
While many of us make great use of Facebook groups to keep in touch with local communities, it's worth bearing in mind that not everyone on these groups is of the same mind.
Recently there was a warning posted by former police officer Sian Smith about unsuspecting dog owners giving away too many details of their pets which could then fall prey to criminals.
Shared thousands of times on Facebook pages, the former officer posted: "As a former Police Officer of 20 years, it's concerning to see a new hashtag on social media #MeetMyDog challenge whereby you post a photo of your dog and provide lots of information about them.
"Although this may seem like a bit of fun, it would not take a would-be dog thief long to work out where you live.
"Given the alarming increase in dog thefts, please be careful what you are posting on social media about your wonderful dogs. #KeepYourDogsSafe".
Expressing similar concerns, a lawyer posted in Penny Lane Gossip earlier this week a more general warning about sharing details on line.
She posted: "Just a little shout out to please think about how much information you are sharing in your posts.
"This is quite a big group and, as with any Facebook group there will be lurkers and people you cannot vouch for.
"Please think before posting with information about your house, home security, holiday dates, the fact that you have a giant cat flap that a full grown man could climb through, where you keep your car keys, or the fact that you have a regular engagement with her from number 43 so you are out of the house every day between 3pm and 4pm.
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"I think sometimes we are drawn into a false sense of security on friendly groups and forget that actually we don’t know a lot of the people.
"For all some of you know, I could be an American cat posing as a lawyer," adding: "To clarify, I am not a cat, I am a lawyer.... although if I was a cat posing as a lawyer that is exactly what I would say."
The light hearted post with a serious message received hundreds of likes and many comments.
One person replied: "I've had the same thought exactly... I never post holiday dates on social media."
Another response said: "Very good point. It’s so easy to say who you live with and what your daily routine is cos you’re chatting to friendly people, but you’re right you just never know who’s lurking getting this info!"
Do you have good advice about how to stay safe online? Let us know in the comments below
Another post made a good point about "fun" online quizzes that many people play to pass the time.
It read: "Absolutely right. Your name is your public tag on Facebook.
"A post going around my Facebook as a 'fun' question was "what was No1 on your 7th birthday?
"It's not hard to work out your year of birth from that, if you have your birthday date (not year) on your profile, you now given it away, if you post about your street the only information scammers need is the house No. which isn't hard to find.
"I certainty don't want my name, address and date of birth on Facebook. Do you?"
