It's that time of year when social media is flooded with adorable pictures of kids heading back to school, holding signs proudly displaying all kinds of details like their names, ages, teachers, schools and future professions. But police are issuing an important warning to those excited and proud parents who are getting ready to share these photos on their social media pages.
These school signs often offer too much information that may be used by predators and scammers, Brookline police say. This includes the child's full name, the name of their school, their grade and their age, and other information that may be used to commit a crime.
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"Everyone wants to share these adorable pics and we want to see them," Sgt. Rob says in the video posted on X, formerly Twitter. "But there are ways to do it while maintaining privacy and safety."
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Some steps parents can take include omiting the child's last name and the name of their school. This is a big one, police say.
Police in Ashland, Massachusetts, and East Hartford, Connecticut, have issued similar warnings.
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Parents should remember to keep information simple, police say: "Less is more."
Other things parents can do to improve safety is change their privacy settings on social media so that only family, friends and those they trust can see any pictures.
As always, the safest practice is to keep personal information to a minimum -- regardless of privacy settings
Also, don't use hash tags or "check in" to your child's school on their first day, police warn.
"With these simple safety tips, we'll have a great school year."
