Loudoun County Sheriff: Don't 'overshare' when posting back-to-school pics
Loudoun County Sheriff warns about oversharing in back-to-school photos
The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office is warning against oversharing in kids’ back-to-school photos.
LOUDOUN COUNTY, Va. - With the new school year upon us, the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office (LCSO) is warning parents about back-to-school pictures that are often shared on social media.
The backstory:
LCSO Sheriff Mike Chapman said that posting pictures that include personal information like a child's school, grade, classroom, bus stop, or daily routine can unintentionally put them in danger.
"We don’t want anybody to be exploited. We don’t want too much information out there that can actually create a problem for the kids," Chapman told FOX 5.
He added that LCSO investigators worked a real case several years ago in which someone took a photo of a child they found online, used it to figure out where the child lived, and then they showed up at the child's house.
The sheriff's advice for parents is that the less information you share, the better. He also said that if you really want to take a picture that contains personal information, he'd recommend texting it directly to loved ones as opposed to posting it publicly for all to see.
What they're saying:
Wednesday evening in Sterling, parent Frank Bello told FOX 5 that he'd posted back-to-school photos of his children before.
"It’s alarming," he said of the LCSO warning. "It’s definitely something we should be more careful about."
Added Bello's daughter Jayda, "I’ve definitely seen my parents post about us, and I didn’t realize that it was such a big issue."
The Source: Information in this article is from original FOX 5 DC reporting.