Keeping your kids safe online is always a challenge. To make it easier for you, we have made a list of information that your child should never give out online.
1. Their Full Name
Using a first name online is common especially on sites like Facebook. How else would their friends find them? When it comes to social media, the less information that they give up, the better. Help your kids create an online name that they use in chat rooms and social media that doesn’t include their real last name. Unfortunately with a few internet searches, a cyber bully or other internet predator may be able to find their address through their parent’s name.
2. Their Birthday
With just a name and a birthdate, someone can access medical information or other important information on your child. It seems harmless enough, but it could be a way for a predator to gain access. It also lets people online know how old you are as well.
3. Where They Live
This is extremely important – your child should never give out their address online. If they are filling out biographical information to ship something or on a legitimate website, they should have you present to asses the situation. When creating profiles, they should avoid the location on social media or in chat rooms. Even if they don’t give out an exact location, with a little digging by a skilled hacker or online predator, they can easily find out where they live, what they like or where they are going to be from a simple location and their name.
4. Where They Are Going To Be
It’s tempting to update Facebook with statuses like “Can’t wait to go to the mall today”. It seems harmless enough, but your child may have Just Provided A Predator with the means to find them. A simple search of malls in the area can narrow down where they may be. Tell your child not to turn on the location feature on social media where it tags the place they are at. This is another way that someone can find your child. Make sure that the geotagging feature is turned off on their cell phone so that any pictures that they upload online won’t give specific location information.
5. Their Phone Number
You would be surprised how often this happens. Maybe your teen met someone online and wanted to talk with them over the phone or through text message (a teenagers national pastime). Innocently enough they may give it out thinking it’s safer than meeting in person. Unfortunately reverse phone number searches can be done or advanced tracking software where locations can be determined via the GPS on the phone, giving out your phone number can be one of the most dangerous things to do.
Instead of telling your kids they can’t go on social media, help them to develop a safe profile that allows them to interact with others socially while keeping their information safe. There are many predators out there, make sure that your child isn’t unknowingly inviting them in.
About the Author:
Carol Dieter is an elementary school teacher. When not teaching her first graders, she contributes her knowledge of internet safety for kids to Mobile Spy, a mobile tracking app that helps parents keep their children safe online.
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