Police: Use caution when sharing back-to-school pictures online
Officials say pictures can contain personal information which can be used by predators or hackers.
PARKERSBURG, W.Va. (WTAP) - Many parents will celebrate their child’s first day of school with a back-to-school photo on social media.
Wood County Sheriff Rick Woodyard said parents should be cautious. Woodyard said predators could get ahold of information about your child’s age... Location or more from the post. It could even open you up to identity theft.
“A few other things you should be conscious of are any information such as school teacher, school, name of your child,” Woodyard said. “A lot of time you’ll see children with a plaque or holding a plaque with their first day of school outlining everything about the child and the school and the teacher as we just discussed. All of that could lead to a hacker or a predator discovering information that could get into your financial or your personal accounts.”
Woodyard said even the background of the photo can give away important information. Like where you live or where your child gets picked up or dropped off from school.
“What school bus drop are they at? Or where are they picked up at? What bus stop do they get picked up at? There’s a lot of information and unfortunately in our world there are hackers and predators out there that take advantage of us,” Woodyard said. “And we have to be conscious of all that constantly.”
Copyright 2023 WTAP. All rights reserved.
