By Kim Chaffin
“Hello” is how the message started, and it was not an Adele song.
“Hello, you look so familiar to me. I have seen your face before. Have you been to Florida or Massachusetts? Trying to remember where I know you from. I love Jesus and I am single.”
I am a 52-year-old married lady who just hit the “block” option on the creeper who sent me that message.
Okay, girls, let’s get real…
If a man is going to send me a message like that on my ministry Instagram page, it just goes to show that you have to be careful when using social media. I made a joke with the “hello” but the fact of the matter is that this is not a joke.
There are some very dangerous people hiding behind social media profiles and teens are targeted by them all the time. Please do not allow message conversations to start with strangers. Don’t let the flattery of someone suck you into something that could be dangerous.
You need to be careful who you allow to “follow” your social media accounts. My personal Instagram page is private, so I can decline any requests. My ministry page is public, and I’ve found that I get at least two new followers on my ministry page each week that need to be blocked because they are looking for women to romance.
As I stated, I am 52-year-old woman and if they are trying to romance me, they are going to want to romance a younger woman even more. With every new “follow” I get on my public ministry page, I look at the account to be sure it is someone I want having access to my Instagram page. I cannot stress this enough, you need to be doing the same thing with all your social media accounts. Today I want to concentrate on Instagram.
The “dangerous” Instagram accounts are easy to spot:
- They post several photos in 1-2 days. They are just trying to make it look like they have been on Instagram for a while. I have seen 20 plus photos posted in a 10-hour period.
- Their posts are not captioned.
- Be aware of a wolf in sheep’s clothing. They love to come across as if they are a member of the military. Maybe they think if they pretend to be a soldier, we will think they are safe. After all, the military’s role is to protect us.
- Children, kittens, and puppies. Who doesn’t like those things? There is normally a picture or two with one of them to make the person look sweet.
- The cheesy flowers and hearts photos taken from the Internet that they post, scream, “I am a creeper!”
- Lastly, they are following a ton of people and no one is following them back.
IT COMES DOWN TO THIS… personal safety is more important than the number of followers you have on your social media accounts.When you are older, and you look back on your life, you may not remember how many followers you had. However, if you sacrifice your safety to gain followers, you will never forget that.
Don’t let a “hello” suck you into something dangerous.
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