Careless with publications, influencers are targets for theft, experts say

Earlier this week, digital influencer and businesswoman Shantal Verdelho told his more than 1 million followers that the office of his jewelry brand, The Zion, located in Pinheiros, in the west of São Paulo, was invaded and robbed during the night.

Shantal filed a report and the damage, according to a note from the Public Security Secretariat (SSP), exceeded R$ 1.8 million.

However, she is not the only influencer robbed in recent times.

The couple Andrea Lyra and Anderson Spinelli both 36 years old and owners of the profile Unmissable Destinations which has 1.4 million followers on Instagram and uses various social media with tips and travel experiences, was stolen on March 29, after being approached by five criminals when they returned from a trip abroad.

The robbers took the couple’s car, electronics and engagement ring – as well as jewelry. “Our lives are very exposed because of the work we do, I know that we take many risks with people with bad intentions,” Andréa told the CNN .

For this reason, as a protection measure, they chose to no longer publish their tours in real time or not to show airport panels with the time and number of flights, something common among influencers in this area. The pace of travel, however, continues.

In a conversation with CNN, Ana Paula Passarelli, co-founder of the Brunch agency, highlighted that from the moment a person becomes an influencer, it is important to be “careful when sharing information”, especially location and real time. , lest you be the target of some kind of crime or harassment.

She cited the comedian’s case Whindersson Nunes that, during an unprofessional trip to Egypt, he was spotted with his ex-partner, Maria Lina. “Despite having asked some Brazilians not to divulge that he was there, that was not what happened”, she says.

Felipe Chiarello, a professor at Mackenzie University, believes that by publicizing the influencer routine it is possible to identify patterns in behavior, daily elements that are real and show models of behavior.

“It is possible to foresee the most favorable dates and places for an approach and find the individual. Or knowing how to choose the right moment when the person is not at home or at work.”

When questioned, both Andréa and Anderson stated that they did not realize that they could be being followed by criminals.

“When we were approached, we saw that the main thief was hiding behind a guardhouse on the street. He was waiting for us. The cameras later showed that he and the other thieves were already walking down the street and looking at our house,” says Andréa.

Erica Bakonyi, researcher at the Center for Technology and Society (CTS), from FGV Direito Rio, also stated that as an influencer’s channel is usually open to the public, it can generate a “social engineering”, which causes the celebrity to be tricked into delivering certain strategic information for carrying out crimes.

“Everything posted on social media is personal data and information about a person. So all the information allows you to have other data indirectly.”

Erica suggests that the influencer plan ahead with a legal and advisory team. And she cites the case of influencer Boca Rosa, who had her entire media strategy leaked on Instagram. Despite looking like an unpretentious profile, in fact, she has a whole line of reasoning for her posts.

“Despite appearing organic, the publications are studied”, explains the researcher.

People! How bizarre right? Knowing that nothing, absolutely nothing on social media is spontaneous. Social networking just became a business. #Pink mouth #Instagram pic.twitter.com/Ii0bw9gNlr

— VERSIONS OF RAPHAEL 🆘 (@rraphaelprado) June 2, 2022

Andrea and Anderson of Unmissable Destinations are still searching for all the equipment and personal belongings that were stolen. Now, they say they are increasingly aware and careful. To CNN, they give tips and tell how they are protecting themselves.

• If they have expensive equipment, we recommend that everything is insured. If you are not 100% sure, avoid showing in real time the places where you are, the flight you are going to take, the hotel you are staying at.
• The type of equipment used should only be shown if it is in fact the type of content that your audience wants to know, otherwise, avoid showing them.
• Have a copy of all documents, including vaccination cards (yellow fever). That way, it’s easier to get the second way.
• Avoid leaving registered contactless of cards; in this alone we had more than R$ 1,000 in losses and some banks are not responsible.
• Having the number of all the cards and also the telephone numbers makes it easier to cancel.
• Having all your social media protected with two-factor authentication will help prevent your accounts from being stolen.
• Install trackers on equipment – ​​however, this does not give any guarantees, crooks are becoming more and more professional.