ARCHDALE, N.C. — When you're sliding through Facebook's 'People You May Know' section, you expect to see familiar faces but an Archdale mom was shocked to see her kids' picture used by a stranger.
Becky Smith said she never thought much about her Facebook privacy settings until that moment.
"I was not understanding how it got there, and why it was there, so I immediately reported it to Facebook and then I actually started sharing it on my page and then my friend started commenting that they reported it as well," said Smith.
She said Facebook told her after an investigation they would not be taking action about the page. The profile has been taken down since she found the photo.
Smith also said she's changed her privacy settings and posted screenshots with a warning to other parents on her page.
Social media expert Kristen Daukas said Smith did everything right after the fact, but it's important to know who's looking at your accounts so you can keep your information safe.
"When they are posting these images or anything, and if it’s set to public, anyone can get it. There are bots out there do nothing but troll for these images," said Daukas.
Daukas said many parents worry about what their kids are posting on social media but she says they often don't think about their own posts.
She said even posts you think are innocent--like a picture of your child on their birthday--can have dangerous consequences.
“What parents don’t recognize is that bots can also determine your kid's birthday, they can determine where they are," said Daukas.
Here's a few steps Daukas recommends to make your social media profiles more secure:
- Make all your accounts private
- Set your profile so that only friends can see your posts
- Only friend people you know
- Ask family members not to post your children on their accounts
- Clean out unused apps that access your account information annually
Becky Smith said she's not sure why the stranger used her kids' picture. She said the account had pictures of other children on it.
Kristen Daukas said pedophiles often steal photos of children and many times the photos come from their parents' social media accounts.
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