From MadeForMums · · 1m 40s
What your first-day school photo gives away
That gate-side snap can hand a fraudster your child's name, age, school and street in one frame.
In brief
That gate-side snap can hand a fraudster your child's name, age, school and street in one frame. Before you post the first-day photo, check the frame: no full name, no date of birth, no school crest, no street sign, no geotag. Originally reported by MadeForMums.
Proud post, hidden cost
Nearly half of UK parents regularly share photos, milestones and personal details of their children online. For 1 in 6, it has already backfired.
What the frame gives away
A personalised sign, a uniform, a school crest, a street sign in the background. Together they point to where a child learns and lives, and a first-day board often adds their age.
The risk is quieter
Ben O'Brien of ID Card Centre says parents picture a predator, when the more common threat is someone assembling an identity from scraps.
“People picture a predator when they think about photo safety, but another more common risk is quieter than that.”
It sits there for years
Name, date of birth, home area and school is the raw material for a fake identity. Families often find out only when their child applies for a first bank account or passport.
“It sits there for years, and the family only finds out when their child applies for their first bank account, passport, or credit product.”
Clean credit, easy target
Children have no financial history, so fraud in their name goes unnoticed for years. Details posted when they are five can still be useful long before they can check their own records.
Friends-only is not private
Privacy settings narrow the audience, they do not lock it. Screenshots, tagged reposts and data breaches all carry a photo past the people you chose.
Six seconds of checking
Skip or blur the sign. Scan the background for house numbers and crests. Turn off geotagging. Ask older kids first, and keep a record of what you have posted.
In short
Before you post the first-day photo, check the frame: no full name, no date of birth, no school crest, no street sign, no geotag.
