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Nearly everyone has a social media account that brings entertainment and fun, but there are dangers lurking, a state officer warned last week.
Alan McGill, Senior Supervisory Special Agent with the Office of the Pennsylvania Attorney General, presented at the Allegheny Community Center on Thursday. The center and State Rep. Kathy Rapp's office hosted the event.
The presentation entitled, "Social Media Dangers: Drugs, Predators, and Other Risks," highlighted potential risks young people face while using social media, including predators, drug sales over social media apps, and cyberbullying.
Talking to youth about the risks, monitoring internet use, and being informed as parents and caregivers are all essential factors in keeping children safe when using social media. McGill warns of the danger of social media drug sales, especially considering the risks of counterfeit pills leading to fentanyl overdoses.
The documentary "Dead on Arrival" by Dominic Tierno features four families whose young adult and teen children lost their lives to fentanyl. McGill said he often shares this documentary with school-aged audiences to stress the importance of not experimenting with drugs. "heir first time taking one pill could be the end of their life," he said
McGill also discussed the risks of internet-based identity theft and provided best practices for reporting such cases to the appropriate authorities. He stated hat the FBI receives between 400 and 600 monthly calls regarding identity theft from Northwestern Pennsylvania alone. With the high number of reports, he recommended reporting internet-related identity theft at IC3.org, the Internet Crimes Complaint Center.
For more information about identity theft, pamphlets from the Pennsylvania Attorney General's office can be picked up at Rapp's office.