The start of the school year is upon us and the RCMP has some online safety tips. 

Community Constable Dennis Redekop says the recent trend of posting first day of school photos with a list of your child’s personal information is particularly concerning. 

“Where your kids are going to school, what grade they are in, what teacher, that is all personal information that should be kept private and it should be known by yourself and those close to your family, not everybody out there. Anyone from across the world can see that and unfortunately there are online predators that will take advantage of that and even scammers.” 

Redekop says “when we put something online, a rule of thumb I like to use is 'whatever you put online, it is going to be there forever.” He adds “always think twice before you post something whether it is a picture or comment, think about it, how it can affect not just yourself but others as well.”