Police Caution Parents Against Back-To-School Photo Trend

One of the best parts of social media is seeing all the adorable back-to-school photos that parents and grandparents share of the kiddos heading off to learn. However, sometimes those photos include a little too much personal information, leading police to warn families to think before they share.

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As Fox News shared, back in August, the McHenry County Sheriff's Office in Woodstock, Illinois, shared an image of their Deputy Sherriff Tim Creighton holding up a sign. The picture was a twist on a common back-to-school milestone of a child posing with a sign featuring their name, school, the date, and more. It's the information on the sign that has the folks at the Sheriff's Office spooked.

"This information - school name, classroom, grade, age, etc. - can all be used by predators, scammers, and other people looking to endanger your child, family, or finances," the caption read. "No matter your privacy settings or friends list, its best to keep personal information on the internet to the bare minimum."

In the post, the law enforcement office suggests leaving off school name, age, teacher's name, grade, identifying features like height or weight, and any other personal information, particularly the type that could be asked in a password or in a security question. Just think how many times you've been asked to list your elementary school as a security question and it's easy to see their point.

The helpful post by the Sheriff's Office is an important reminder that the information we share online—even if shared privately or to a small group of friends and family—isn't as secure as we may hope.

This doesn't mean you can't share those sweet photos of your grandkids toting enormous backpacks, but as the law enforcement officers said, think before you share personal information that should be kept private.