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Social
Media Safety
A Message from
Sheriff Ted Mink
 It should come as no surprise to you when I say I'm no
computer whiz. I do have a BlackBerry and a laptop, and I fondly remember
the days when I didn't have either. I'm not one of the 500 million Facebook
users, as I prefer doing my social networking the old-fashioned way. But
millions of people are fully engrossed in these engaging and ever-changing
online networks -- which do involve some risks. And so, with a little help
from my staff (okay, a lot of help from my staff), we've put together some
tips for using social media safely. Tip #1: Flickr is not a horse.
The
Lights are On, But Nobody's Home
One of the fastest-growing trends among social media users is the act of
broadcasting their location. In fact, the social networking site Foursquare
is built for users to tell others where they are. Touted as a way to
"find your friends" and "explore your city," Foursquare
involves users "checking in" at an address, and maybe adding a
note about what they're doing. ("Having dinner at Caretta Vieja in
Conifer -- this place is great!") A mapping function will broadcast
the exact location of the restaurant.
Of
course, you don't have to use Foursquare to post messages about where you
are ... the same can be accomplished through Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn
and many other social media sites.
The
larger and less intimate your friend list is, the more cautious you should
be about what you post. If you tell dozens of people in real-time that
you're on a beach in Mexico, you may be setting yourself up for a home
burglary. Because let's face it - some of your online friends are true
friends. The rest are "frenemies," an ex-boyfriend, a deadbeat
cousin, this one lady you used to work with, a guy you went to high school
with, your kid's friend... and so on.
Bottom
line: some "friends" you don't know well enough to trust.
Successfully
and safely using social media requires some combination of exclusivity and
limited commentary. If you have a small but trusted network of friends, you
can afford to be chatty about being away from home. If you have a large and
more random network, you should not share personal information or allow
others to track your whereabouts.
Geotagging
Another way for others to pinpoint your location is through automatic
geotagging. When you take a photo with a smartphone, it is likely geotagged
with latitude and longitude metadata that tells the exact location where
the photo was taken. This means that if you use your phone to snap a photo
of your big-screen TV, and then post it on Facebook or Craigslist, any
somewhat-savvy person with access to your photo now knows where to find
that big-screen TV.
Geotags
on existing photos can be removed with some software programs and free
downloads. Now may be a good time to review what photos are "out
there" and either remove them or strip their metadata. The easiest
solution, going forward, is prevention. To stop automatic geotagging in
future photos, you can disable your phone's location function in your
settings menu.
Personal
Information
No matter what social media site you prefer, it's critical that you keep
your home address, phone number and e-mail address off your profile. Having
this information available to the aforementioned crowd (your brother's best
friend from elementary school, your husband's bowling buddy's wife...) can
lead to crimes like burglary, harassment and fraud. Also, making your
profile and photos visible to only the specific individuals that you choose
is essential. It can't prevent all dangers, but it's a huge step toward
keeping strangers away from your personal information.
Social
Media and Children
Children are at great risk when using social media for all of the concerns
listed above. They are also in danger of being contacted by predatory
pedophiles, or being "cyberbullied." Be sure to keep up with your
kids' online and mobile activities, including social networking and gaming.
Profiles that appear to represent other children could be false profiles
created by someone else. For more on protecting your children online, visit
NetSmartz from the
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, or the Jefferson County
District Attorney's Office child sex offender internet investigations unit page.
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