Criminal organizations are increasingly gaining more opportunities to exploit the vulnerabilities of social networks users as communication and information technologies evolve faster and faster each day.

It’s not just identity theft and misappropriation; we are also talking about abductions, scams, rapes and large international human trafficking networks, all of which could be gathering information on you through digital media, mostly through Facebook.

Daniel Riveros, MásQueDigital’s assistant manager, during an interview at Televen’s “Rostros del Crimen”, said that they “highly recommend cleaning out or refining the list of contacts you plan on sharing posts with on Facebook (…) Our innocence and negligence when it comes to these contacts remains the deciding factor that could lead you to be the victim of an abduction, theft or even a defamation scandal via digital networks.”

The social media expert emphasizes on the fact that what exposes users to a criminal organization are just fortuitous cases of mishandling of a digital image.

An expert in Computer Forensics, Raymond Orta, points out that the information we post on social networks lets many details of our personal lives out there for the world to see, such as our location, routines, and even our socioeconomic and psychological profiles.

“By protecting our social networks, we are less vulnerable,” he added.

A case that shook the entire world was the Blue Whale game, in which young people and teenagers were instructed to follow a series of tasks or challenges, with the final challenge requiring the participant to commit suicide. Experts assert that this “game” sought to look for the teenagers’ weaknesses, so they could diminish their self-esteem, and thus get them to make the hard choice of ending their own lives.

Preventive measures

The panel of experts agreed on the need for parents to be vigilant about the extent to which they allow their children to have access to the Internet. They also urge families to be alert to any changes in attitude or signs of self-harm they may show, and to do so by frequently talking with their kids about their issues from a place of understanding and empathy.

Whenever necessary, it is always best to seek professional help.

Among other general recommendations, they advised:

• Studying social networks and their impact
• Using only the most important ones
• Maintaining effective communications as a preventive measure
• Keeping constant touch with your immediate family
• To keep a watchful eye on every post
• Setting up the double verification factor
• Using parental control on all networks and browsers
• To make use of every available resource to strengthen your own safety on technological platforms
• Keeping your social networks private
• Reporting any irregularities to the Attorney General’s Office and to the Computer Crimes Division of the CICPC (the Scientific, Penal and Criminal Investigation Service Corps).