A post on social media from a proud parent when their son or daughter goes 'back to school' could be an easy target for sick criminals, Gardai have warned.
Hundreds and thousands of children will make their return to classrooms over the next couple of weeks, with some having already done so in the final days of August.
That means that there will be a huge amount of tots going to school for the first time - with plenty of pictures set to be snapped by their mam or dad, potentially to heap praise upon them on social media.
But officers from the Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau (GCCB) have warned that if you are planning to post on the likes of Facebook or Instagram, you need to be very careful.
A spokesperson explained: "September sees school children return to education and proud parents publishing images of their children in uniform to social media platforms.
"However, online abusers are browsing the same images for any information they may use to contact and exploit those children. If you are posting your child’s school images online, restrict who has access to the images and where they are posted.
"At the same time, sanitising the images of identifying content will offer an additional layer of protection."
Their top tips include:
- Removing your door number or any number which would identify your home in the background of a photo
- Blurring the school crest or logo
- Turning off location data on your phone while posting and taking the photo
- Blurring any other identifiable information
The Bureau is part of the Special Crime Operations section of An Garda Síochána and its members undergo intensive training in the area of forensic computing and cybercrime investigations.
