How your Facebook and Twitter feed could lead to your car being repossessed

It might go without saying for some that if you're trying to hide from someone – an angry ex, law enforcement, that kid who always steals your lunch money – the smart thing to do would be to lay low and not post anything online that would give away your whereabouts. But repo men are finding that amount of common sense is anything but common.

According to a report in Automotive News, some credit companies are turning to social media sites like Facebook and Twitter to track down customers who have defaulted on their car loans. So if you've skipped a couple of payments and are expecting that the repo man won't find you to take away your car, but post directions to, say a wedding you're going to, or that cabin in the woods where you're holed up, you may end up disappointed – and without a set of wheels to get you home again.

Although using social media to find someone, the report notes, may not be illegal in and of itself, "friending" someone under false pretenses could run afoul of the Federal Trade Commission Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. That could, in theory, get the repo agency or credit company in trouble, but they'd still have your car. Or their car, legally speaking.