For those who want to post back-to-school pictures of their children online, Action 9 attorney Jason Stoogenke wants to ensure scammers don’t take advantage of that.
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He spoke with the Better Business Bureau, which has a good list of ways to prevent con artists from using those posts for fraud.
The BBB says:
- Avoid sharing personal details about your child. Back-to-school photos often involve kids holding a board with their full name, age, height, and other details or even a photo of your child wearing a uniform. Scammers or predators could use this information to commit identity theft or earn your child’s trust.
- Choose generic backgrounds for your photos. Be mindful of any house numbers, street signs, or other identifiable locations in the background of your photos. Make sure no school signs, bus stops, or other landmarks are visible that could reveal your child’s location.
- Double-check your privacy settings. Review your social media account’s privacy settings regularly. Be mindful of who can view your posts. You may want to remove personal information from your account that others can see, such as your telephone number or address.
- Watch out for phony friend requests. Don’t accept friend requests from strangers. Also, think twice before you accept a friend request from someone you are already connected with. It could be an impostor trying to access your information and friends list.
- Practice good cybersecurity habits. If you’re using personally identifiable information in your passwords, or if you’re using the same password for multiple accounts, it’s time to do some password management.
The BBB adds, “[S]ince 59% of U.S. adults use birthdays or names in their passwords, these cute photos could potentially leave you vulnerable to a personal data risk.”