Kardashian robbery: Are celebs — and you — sharing too much online?
10/04/2016 11:54 am PDT
Kim Kardashian's robbery at gunpoint is a scary reminder of the new age we live in an age where people abandon their privacy posting everything on social media. The big question: Are celebrities sharing too much -- are you sharing too much -- and inviting danger?
New details are emerging in the jewelry heist making headlines around the world. Kim Kardashian robbed at gunpoint in Paris of an estimated $10 million worth of bling. It was around 3 a.m. early Monday. Kim was in her suite in one of the city's most exclusive buildings when five masked men dressed as police officers burst in. They zip-tied her, duct-taped her ankles, and put a gun to her head.
The critical question everyone is asking: Did Kim set the stage for robbery by advertising her wealth on social media?
Crime Watch Daily investigator Billy Jensen says celebs' postings are sometimes their undoing.
"She was saying 'I'm in Paris for Fashion Week, look at this giant ring,' and these guys thought, 'You know what, that's five million dollars right there, let's take that down instead of taking down a bank,'" said Jensen.
But could this have been an inside job? That's what one of Kim's former security guards is telling the New York Post.
"I would say it's either an inside job or publicity stunt," said Steve Stanulis, Kardashian's former bodyguard. "That hotel is so secure, somebody must have tipped them off that she was alone inside, or shown them a way in."
The New York Post reports that French police suspect the thieves may have been tipped to Kim's whereabouts by someone on the inside. Where was Kim's current bodyguard the night of the robbery? He was reportedly spotted out on the town with Kim's sister Kourtney.
You might say she gave the crooks a blueprint to her Paris apartment when she showed it off in a 2014 episode of keeping up with the Kardashians. And during the past week she's posted dozens of videos and pics from inside her flat.
In one photograph she's showing off her huge 15-carat emerald-cut diamond engagement ring -- the one that was stolen.
Her fans even took to Instagram to warn her.
"I think Kim put herself in danger when she posted showing her ring on social media," said private investigator Bo Dietl. "Come on."
Famed private investigator and celebrity security expert Bo Dietl tells Crime Watch Daily Kim's habit of documenting her life made her a target.
"You got to think before you post," said Dietl. "I think that Kim learned a lesson and will ease off the postings."
This summer comedian Kevin Hart publicized he was in Miami when crooks broke into his Los Angeles house.
"Kevin Hart in June posted on Thursday, he comes back on Monday and finds he was ripped off of $500,000 of stuff from his home," said Jensen.
Other celebrities are understandably concerned. Salma Hayek, also in Paris for Fashion Week, was horrified. Supermodel Gigi Hadid has also beefed up her security.
"They're going to have to do a cost-benefit analysis of 'Is my social media presence and me tweeting and Instagramming, Snap-chatting out exactly where I am at all times -- is that worth potentially getting ripped off, and then I'm going to have to hire security in order to make that feel safer,'" said Jensen.
But celebrities aren't the only victims. Anyone can actually be targeted for unsecured social media postings.
"The problem is celebs need this. They need social media in order to stay relevant with their fans. Their fans want to know exactly where they are and what they are doing really at all times. So it's a Catch-22 for them," said Jensen.
After her night of horror in the City of Light, Kim Kardashian may also want to think twice before tweeting.
UPDATE April 13, 2018: People reports a new suspect was arrested in the case of Kim Kardashian West's horrific Paris robbery. The suspect, 28, was arrested at his home on the French Riviera.
In January 2017, French police charged 10 people in connection with the robbery.