NONA Belomesoff was offered what she thought was a dream job working with the New South Wales Wildlife Information Rescue and Education Service (WIRES). Instead she was allegedly lured to her death by a man she befriended on Facebook, who claimed to work for the animal welfare group. Read full story….
Queensland Police have issued an unprecedented warning to all teenagers to remove photos from the site after Nona’s murder.
It is a tragic reminder that people do not always represent themselves truthfully online. No matter what our age or gender we should be careful of the people we meet online.
Our days Social networking is everywhere. It is common to find parents, children, coworkers and even the elderly on the networks across the social media world on sites such as Twitter, MySpace, Facebook etc. With social networks people across the world have access to tools and options that were previously non existent.
However, there are just as many new opportunities to connect as there are to get into potential danger. Social networking has opened up many new doorways for cyber crime.
Participating in online social networking sites leaves a trail of personal information.
Should we forego social networking altogether? No,instead each and everyone of us should take responsibility for protecting ourselves and most of all our children.
How can you protect yourself and practice safe social networking?
Do your homework – Be sure to research the website before registering by reading over the website’s privacy policy, paying attention to the privacy settings, and seeing how the community is structured.
Customise your settings – Use the privacy features on the site you use to restrict access to your profile. The default settings for some sites may allow anyone to see your profile, you can customise your settings.
Look out for strangers – The Internet makes it easy for people to misrepresent their identities and motives. If you interact with people you do not know, be cautious about the amount of information you reveal or agreeing to meet them in person.
Use strong passwords – Protect your accounts with passwords that cannot easily be guessed.
Think before you post – Posts are not only shared by your friends but also their friends’ friends and so on.
Social media present powerful opportunities, but they also pose significant dangers. Do your best to keep yourself and your family safe and secure on the wide world web.
