GREENSBORO, N.C. — If you thought you left your braces, shoulder pads, scrunchies and spiky hair in the dust-covered pages of your high school yearbook, you might not want to log onto social media for a while.
The hashtags #SeniorPicChallenge and #Classof2020 are trending on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram via a new so-called "challenge." The goal is to share your high school senior picture to show support for 2020 seniors, who are missing out on the rest of their traditional school year and fun social traditions like prom and graduation.
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VERIFY QUESTION
Good Morning Show viewer Reuben Davis saw an Alabama news agency post an article, claiming the Better Business Bureau (BBB) issued a warning against sharing senior photos online. He asked WFMY News 2's Meghann Mollerus to VERIFY the validity of the warning.
Mollerus consulted a Triad BBB employee.
VERIFY SOURCE
- Lechelle Yates - director of communications for Better Business Bureau of Central and Northwest North Carolina
VERIFY PROCESS
Lechelle Yates with the Triad-based BBB of Central and Northwest NC affirmed yes, the BBB is cautioning social media users against participating in the #Classof2020 #SeniorPicChallenge because of the personal information that comes with it.
"If you think about it, graduation year and what high school you graduated from -- those are common answers to security questions for bank accounts and credit card accounts. If scammers and hackers get a hold of it, they can get into your financial accounts. That's the last thing any of us needs during this time of crisis," Yates said.
It is not just the senior photo challenge scammers and hackers are targeting. Any post that asks for personal information ("list the make and model of your last five cars" or "list 10 things you dislike") is a red flag. So, don't play along. Check your security settings and decline unknown friend requests. And, try to scrub any other personal information (like alma mater, hometown, current city) that appears as public on your profile.
"Don't list your address, your phone number, the year you graduated high school or where you graduated from. Those are already common questions on your social media profile. Go ahead and delete that kind of information and make it a little harder for hackers and scammers to find that information, rather than handing it over to them," Yates explained.
That said, could you safely post a throwback senior photo, if the picture and caption did not contain any identifying information?
Yates said yes, but again, make sure the information isn't elsewhere on your profile for hackers and scammers to find.
Go ahead and do a little social media spring cleaning, while you have the time.
VERIFY CONCLUSION
Yes, the BBB issued a warning not to participate in the #Classof2020 #SeniorPicChallenge. If you feel compelled to throw up a throwback picture from your school days, don’t post until you clean up your entire profile.
Do you have a VERIFY inquiry? Submit a post, picture or selfie video to Meghann Mollerus via:
Facebook: Meghann Mollerus News
E-mail: Mmollerus@wfmy.com
Twitter: @MeghannMollerus