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SANDY SPRINGS, Ga — There are over 750-million people on Facebook and another 200-million on Twitter. That makes more than 950-million targets of thieves, according to crime prevention officers. People troll social internet sites for information.

A crime prevention officer from the Sandy Springs Police Department said there are a number of things you can to protect yourself from them. “Social networks are great ways to stay in touch with family, friends and co-workers,” said Ofc. Larry Jacobs. “They’re also ways to stay in touch with people you might not want to stay in touch with.”

Here are the top five things thieves look for on social network sites:

1-Date of birth

Almost 60 percent of social networkers post their date of birth, according to a survey by Identity Theft 911. “You can’t do much with just the date of birth, but if you have a date of birth and a name you can open up credit, you can get loans, you can open up credit cards,” Officer Jacobs said.

2-Child’s date of birth

When you post “Happy Birthday to my sweet Suzie, who turns 5 today,” you’re giving identity thieves valuable information. “Even though Suzie doesn’t have any credit out there, there’s still a person out there that exists with that information and people could still take that information and get credit,” Jacobs said.

3-Travel plans

Talking about vacations or travel lets burglars know when you aren’t home. Eighteen percent of social network users post travel times. “People will type in ‘we’re going away for these first two weeks of October’ and they’re going to have that information,” Ofc. Jacobs said. “And they’re going to have that information; they’re going to know when you’re not there.”

4-Address

“That goes back to travel plans,” Jacobs said. “Eventually you’re going to put work habits on there, things like that, and they’re going to know when you’re at work.”

5-Mother’s maiden name

Eleven percent of the people who responded to the Identity Theft 911 survey said they did post their mother’s maiden name. Identity thieves will hit the jackpot if you reveal that information. “How many websites do you go on where you have to enter secure information that they always ask your mother’s maiden name?” Ofc. Jacobs asked.

Jacobs also warns social networkers not to accept friend requests from people you don’t know. Use different passwords for your social media sites than you do for your financial sites, like bank and credit card companies. Also, familiarize yourself with security measures that are available on sites like Facebook.