WINCHESTER, Va. - A Virginia State Police special agent from the high-tech crimes division spoke to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Middle East District employees about home and family cyber security safety Oct. 27 at the District headquarters in Winchester, Va.
The program was presented as part of Cyber Security Awareness Month, which runs the month of October.
The agent began his presentation by offering an example of a woman he knew who lost her camera. By using the power of the internet, the individual who found it was able to track her down by researching the internet using information he gained from the photos on the camera. By the time he was finished researching, he had her name, work e-mail, where she lived, the type of camera she used, and her daughter’s name. This example showed just how people, and sometimes criminals, can use the internet to gather information about you.
He spoke about social media privacy settings and how you can adjust them to be safer. He also said to be careful of what is posted to social media.
“Thieves can sometimes use the information you post on Facebook to determine when you’re not home,” he said.
He advised not to post photos and information that you wouldn’t want to follow you around for the rest of your life.
“As a general rule, do not post anything you wouldn’t want your grandma to see,” he said.
Other topics that he covered included examples of common scams, how to safeguard your personal information, and what to do if your information is compromised.
“I learned how easy it is for info on social media to lead to identity theft,” said Cedric Rahming, contract specialist. “Based on what I learned, I plan to check my Facebook settings to make sure my personal info is not easy to find.”