What are your kids posting on Facebook? - AmericaNowNews.com

How easy is it to find your kids online?

Do you know who your child's Facebook friends are or what personal information they're posting? As we learned, it doesn't take much to track down a Facebook friend.

Recently, reporter Nick Lough created a Facebook account. He put in his first and last name, a recent picture, and listed his employer. He then friend-requested dozens of teens and young adults from across north Alabama.

[The National Cyber Security Alliance is dedicated to online safety]

In less than 24 hours, nearly 40 people Nick had never met confirmed him as a friend. Not only did Nick have instant access to their interests, political views, and photos, but also personal information they had posted such like birthdays, email addresses and even cell phone numbers.

[Click here for tips from the U.S. Government to stay safe online]

He entered all of this into the search website www.spokeo.com. He then pinpointed several of his new "friend's" homes and made surprise visits.

Creepy? Yes, but it was to prove a point and is 100 percent avoidable.

"It's really critical that parents watch what their kids do on computers," said Wayne Brooks.

[Click here for more information on avoiding internet fraud]

Brooks is the city of Huntsville's IT director in Alabama. He said don't just pay attention to the sites the kids visit, but have a privacy setting talk with them and follow up.

"There are controls that you can go into Facebook and set who can see your private information," said Brooks.  

Brooks added to only accept friend requests from people you actually know.  

Copyright 2012 America Now. All rights reserved.

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