Galway Bay fm newsroom - Galway residents are being urged to avoid burglaries by refraining from posting their travel plans on social media.
So far this year, over 109 burglaries have been reported to Gardaí across the county.
That's an increase of 17% on the figure for the same period last year.
Garda Chief Superintendent Tom Curley says 'checking in' when travelling is a dangerous habit - as opportunistic criminals often use social media to gather information about vacant houses.
He added that similar precuations should be taken for families attending weddings or funerals, and residents should ask a neighbour to keep check on their property while they're away.