[thelist] Re: Security on the web - NEVER post pictures of children (with names)

[Steve Lewis]

Tara Cleveland wrote:

> Have there actually been cases of a child snatcher seeing a photo of a kid
> on the internet and based solely on that photo, finding out where they live,
> travelling there and snatching them? I haven't heard of any, but then I
> haven't done any research.
All the cases I have seen have involved chat rooms, message boards, or
other conduits of text communication.

> I'd guess that kids are in a lot more danger of molestation and abuse from
> people they already know, not random child-snatchers on the net.
Exactly.

Furthermore, according to FBI statistics the majority of cases where the
Internet is used in some sort of stalking/abduction/assault case, the
perpetrator still has a relationship to the family (friend/family etc).
  Strangers are really not as dangerous as the people you already know.

The bottom line is that security is inversely related to convenience on
the net.  If you want to share pictures with relatives conveniently than
you will be sacrificing some degree of security.  You need to strike a
balance, which is what the original poster was looking for.

--Steve