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Iowa parents need to regulate who sees those back-to-school photos

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August 12th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Classes resume in most Iowa schools in the next week or two, and Iowa parents are being warned to be careful with what they share online about their children. Jim Temmer, with the Better Business Bureau, says those cute social media posts about your kid’s first day in their new grade give away a lot of key details of their lives that could be misused. “Are they holding a board with their name, their age, their height, what grade they’re in, whatever it is? Maybe they’re wearing the school uniform,” Temmer says. “Scammers or predators could use that information.”

That could mean basic identity theft, or even using that information to gain your child’s trust. “Make sure your home with your address and street sign are not visible so they can’t find out exactly where you live,” he says, “or there’s some landmark that everybody would know where you are.”

Temmer says if you are going to share those pictures on social media, make sure they’re only going out to actual friends.