Gardai issue advice to Limerick parents over back to school pics on social media

GARDAI are appealing to parents to be vigilant when posting photos of their children on social media - particularly as they  return to school.

Divisional crime prevention officer Sergeant Ber Leetch is warning that abusers are browsing various online platforms looking for any information they can use to contact and possibly exploit children.

"If you are posting a photo of your child in their school uniform online, restrict who has access to the images and where they are posted. Also, sanitise the images of identifying content this means you should blur the school logo and make sure
the child’s name and address is not visible on their school bag," she said.

As an additional layer of protection, parents are being advised to turn off the location data on their phones when taking photographs.

As schools nationwide begin to reopen this week - lots of proud loved ones will be uploading and posting photos of children in uniform.

Our Cyber Crime Bureau have some useful guidance so that we can all #BeCyberSmart and protect their safety online.

Help us spread the word! pic.twitter.com/Yay7QHMYhx

— Garda Info (@gardainfo) August 29, 2022

Separately, gardai are appealing to parents to ensure that any children who have phones are encouraged to them safe and out of sight.

"I have seen very young children walking to and from school watching something on their phone. Firstly, they are not paying attention to pedestrians or other road users but secondly they are now a target as these phones are worth money and a criminal could literally snatch it out of their hands," said Sgt Leetch.

"Warn your children to keep their phones out of sight and to step into a safe place if they need to use their phone," she added.