TAMPA, Fla. – As students across the Bay Area prepare for the start of another school year, authorities have a warning to parents about keeping them safe online.
Law enforcement agencies are encouraging parents not to share information about a child’s school, grade, or teacher’s name on social media in those back-to-school photos.
“Don’t put it in front of the school bus where they have the route number on it or, you know, anything that would identify where your child goes to and from school in the school itself,” Paul DelPonte with the National Crime Prevention Council said.
Cybersecurity experts say it’s important because hackers and criminals are also online looking for that kind of information to do harm.
“It is a sad and scary reality that criminals use social media just as much as everybody else does. They just use it for different reasons,” Kate Whitaker, associate director of Cyber Outreach, said.
Adding this is an important reminder even if you don’t have a public profile.
“Even if your privacy settings are good. Cybercriminals find a way. So, you just always need to be mindful that there are people out there that are, you know, exploring and investigating and trolling social media, looking for people to con people to scam and other victims, including children,” Whitaker said.
Cybersecurity experts say passwords shouldn’t include your kid’s name or birthday either and should be 12–18 characters.
