Better Business Bureau warns to be cautious about what you share on social media

  With the school year starting again, social media is full of adorable back-to-school photos. Often these pictures feature a child holding a “first day of school” sign with basic information, such as their name and grade. But before you jump on the trend and snap a similar picture of your little one, read these tips and be cautious about what you share.

Back-to-school photo tips

• 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. Scammers or predators could use this information to commit identity theft or earn your child’s trust.
• Leave off information about kids’ schools. Even sharing the name of your child’s school, teacher or grade levelcould make them a target for unscrupulous people. Not to mention, these details are often used as security questions for banking or credit card accounts.
• Double-check your privacy settings. Review your social media account’s privacy settings regularly. Be mindful of who can view your posts. You might 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.

  For more back-to-school tips from the Better Business Bureau (BBB): https://www.bbb.org/all/back-to-school. For more info about social media scams and staying safe online, access bbb.org.