Collegedale Police Alert Parents to Social Media Risks as School Year Begins

As the new school year begins proud parents will flood social media with their first-day-of-school photos. 

What parents might not realize is these innocent posts can attract unwanted attention from online predators. 

 “As a parent myself, I love putting that information for my kids online. Unfortunately in this day and age with predators and scammers people are out there looking exactly for those kinds of things,” said Assistant Collegedale Police Chief Jamie Heath.  

Even with the highest privacy settings, it’s best to limit the details you disclose. Keep the focus on the joyful moments, but safeguard your family’s privacy. 

“Think about things like the child’s full name, do you have to put the full name on the internet? Think about school uniforms, kids are wearing their school name on their shirts do you want to put that out there” said Heath. 

A little extra caution can make a significant difference in keeping your kids safe this school season.