>> Social Media Safety (12/2010)

Behind the Badge: 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.

Behind the Badge Archive

Last Modified: Dec 16, 2010 02:55 PM