Promising to only provide images and videos for a short period, SnapChat has become a very popular social media platform to the tune of over 300 million daily active users worldwide. Because of its popularity, it has attracted influencers and celebrities as well who are looking to build their following. It has been very useful to catapult the careers of online celebrities and even parlay that success into television and the big screen.
But with anything positive, there is always a downside. First of all, there is no way that SnapChat can live up to its promise to only keep videos and images active for a short moment. Screengrabs make that impossible and anyone who is ready with their copy-and-paste capabilities can keep anything that has been posted for as long as they want. Not only that but there is a very scary criminal element to all this and it doesn’t just include SnapChat. Every social media platform is being watched with very observant eyes to pick up on any detail that can prove to be most valuable.
What crimes have been committed?
While on vacation in Mykonos, Greece, Gigi Hadid posted about her trip and how much fun she was having with her sisters. When they returned to where they were staying, Gigi realized that she had been robbed. All of her personal items were taken. She then posted she would never go back.
In a very scary incident, Kim Kardashian was robbed at gunpoint. She was wearing $10 million worth of jewelry that the thieves apprehended. It just so happens that Kim’s bodyguard had left her to watch after Kourtney and Kendall. All alone, she was met face-to-face by two assailants who had tied up the night man and forced him to take them to her room. Within a few months, police were able to apprehend 17 people involved in the caper.
But the most shocking story was when rapper Pop Smoke was murdered in an Airbnb that he was renting from The Real Housewives star Teddi Mellencamp. Five masked men broke into the house and after an altercation — while he was still in the shower or had just gotten out of it — he was shot multiple times.
How are these crimes being committed?
When an influencer opens their life up to the public by taking selfies and telling the whole world what they’re doing at any given moment, they are inviting the criminal element to take advantage of that information. Vice Media’s producer and presenter Tir Dhondy goes deep into investigation mode as she even convinces one of the criminals into an interview in her recent film Using Snapchat to Rob Influencers. Packed with invaluable information, this is a must-see for anyone addicted to posting about their life constantly online.
A selfie can reveal so much in the background from an address to a landmark the most scrutinizing thieves can use it to figure out where the photo was taken. If there is any evidence of wealth in the photo, you might become their next target. If they bring deadly weapons with them for security, you might become their next victim.