Beware What You Share

Imagine you are sitting at home surfing the internet when you come across photos of your children on a random website.  Photos you had posted on Facebook, but had taken the precaution of only sharing it with friends and family. The caption under the photo reads, “Getting the kids ready for our trip.” Your mind races through a host of possibilities.

“Who is the person?”   “How did they get photos of my kids?”  “Where are my kids now?”  “Are they being watched?”  “Are they safe?” 

Or imagine you are sitting at work and you get a phone call. The voice on the other line calls you by name and begins to describe your child who is currently attending college out of town. They state that they have your child and that they will harm them if you do not immediately follow explicit instructions to send a money transfer to an offshore account. You wire the money only to find out later that your son or daughter was safe and sound the whole time. Both of these scenarios are real life examples from recent headlines.  They are both part of a new and disturbing trend called Facebook Kidnapping or virtual kidnapping.  

In the first example, disturbed individuals who are seeking attention, or are seeking to cover a lie that they have told, or are seeking photos to use in the completion of another crime, find photos/videos through social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) to utilize in their scheme. Most often times the look for photos that are close-up without a lot of things in the background that might cause suspicion.  They then post the photos as being their own children. (example Story Here). Some advice would be to remember the following:

·         When sharing photos and videos online remember that even though you may have strict privacy and sharing rules in place, that your friends and family may not have the same level of security. Once a photo or video goes on the internet it can take on a life of its own.

·         Always remove location based services information from your photos so that they cannot be tracked back to your house, a relative’s house, or a vacation spot.

·         Try to take and post photos with other people and backgrounds in them, but be careful not to post anything that has personal information or can compromise your location.

The second example usually involves aggressive individuals who target a person by gathering as much information about them and their family online as possible.  They then concoct their story based on the facts they have in their possession, and then it is performance time. The gentleman in the second example was told he had to remain on the phone while carrying out the scammer’s instructions. He tried to text his daughter unsuccessfully, and only avoided the scam when he handed a note to a bank teller who called the police, who then used their resources to contact his daughter. The criminals were never captured (Story Here). Police say that usually these type of scams come from the (717) and (923) area codes. Another red flag is that they normally want to keep you on the phone, whereas a real kidnapper will usually hang up to avoid being traced.

Some other disturbing trends for privacy and personal safety are the use of live video feed apps like Periscope, Meerkat, and Now. A recent news story showed how a 16 year old girl had 22K followers on periscope and was broadcasting from her home. Periscope feeds through twitter and can be tracked via location based services. Do you want 22K unknown people coming into your house and speaking directly with your children in real-time? (Story Here).  Other apps that may be of concern for parents are Snapchat (Instant Photos that self-delete) and Vine (short instant videos).  Snapchat has been hacked before, and the photos can be captured in a screenshot. This app and vine are often used to send risqué photos and videos and could subject users to unwanted content. I personally have banned their use in my home.

The last caution I would give in this beware what you share article is not in the virtual world at all. Another form of social media is your car. The family stick figures, the honor roll student bumper stickers, sports team emblems, vanity plates, or even the support our troops ribbons reveal information about your family. Stick figure families reveal the members and pets in the family and sometimes even their first names. The honor roll and sports bumper stickers may reveal your child’s school or after school activities. Vanity plates allow your car and by extension your family to be stalked. The ribbons sometimes reveal that a family member might be deployed or away from home. 

The truth is there are a lot of dangerous and cunning individuals in this world. I do NOT recommend that you go home and curl up into a fetal position and become a hermit. I do recommend that you take the time to educate yourself and your family on the dangers inherent to the choices you make and that you beware what you share.