Digital Shadows: Keeping Your Family Safe from Social Stalkers

Protecting Your Family from Social Media Stalkers

 

In this episode of The Secure Family Podcast, Andy discusses the troubling ways people can track and stalk individuals through social media.

 

He shares practical steps to safeguard your privacy, including turning off location tracking on devices, using lag posting methods, and revising social media privacy settings.

 

The episode highlights the risks faced both by influencers and average users, emphasizing the need for proactive measures. 

Take control of your data with DeleteMe. Because they sponsor the podcast you can get 20% off a privacy plan from DeleteMe with promo code: DAD. 

Level Up your parenting with my ebook about protecting your kids while gaming online.

Protect your credit cards, smartphones, and devices with signal-blocking solutions from SLNT. Get 10% off at SLNT with the discount code: THESECUREDAD.

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00:00 Welcome to The Secure Family Podcast

00:39 The Dangers of Social Media Exposure

03:23 The Reality of Social Media Stalking

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Episode Transcript

(00:10):
This is The Secure Family Podcast.
Welcome friend.
I'm Andy Murphy, the host andthe founder of The Secure Dad.
This show is all about empowering parentsto protect themselves and their family.
I believe that security is thefoundation of happiness, and I want
your family to be safe and happy.
The information I share on this podcastis for general information purposes only.

(00:31):
My goal is to empower you to makesafer decisions for yourself and
your family because our safetyis our own responsibility.
Today on the show, I'm going to talkabout a topic that we've probably
all thought about before makes us alittle bit uncomfortable, and that
is how people can stalk us throughsocial media, all of that and more
coming up on the Secure Family Podcast.

(00:55):
You know, there are someunintended consequences that
come with being notable online.
Whether you're a content creator,a parent sharing family moments, or
just someone active on social media.
The more we share, the morevaluable our information becomes.
It's not just about what you post either.
Data broker sites collect yourname, address, phone number,

(01:16):
and even your workplace.
And once that info's out there, it's easyfor scammers or creeps to look you up.
That's why I personally use DeleteMe.
DeleteMe is a subscription servicethat removes your personal data
from hundreds of data broker sites.
Plus they keep monitoring.
So if your information is boughtagain, they get rid of it.

(01:38):
If you or your family are creating contentor just living life online protecting
your personal information matters.
DeleteMe helps you do that.
Right now.
You can get 20% off your DeleteMe Plan.
Just go to JoinDeleteMe.com/Dad anduse the promo code DAD at checkout.
That's JoinDeleteMe.com/Dad code DAD.

(02:01):
Parents, it's time to levelup your online gaming safety.

My new ebook, Level Up (02:05):
The Parent 30 Minute Guide to Online Gaming Safety,
is now available at TheSecureDad.com.
In just 30 minutes, you'll learn how toprotect your kids from online dangers,
set up smart guidelines, and give them thefreedom to play without all of the worry.
I'll give you a parent friendlybreakdown of the online gaming world,

(02:27):
you'll get a clearer understandingof why kids love gaming and how
it fits into their social lives.
You'll learn about the biggest threats,like cyberbullying, inappropriate content,
and online grooming, and of course, Iwill show you how to deal with them.
I'll provide you with proven methodsto build trust and have meaningful
conversations with your child about gamingsafety, because I've done this all myself.

(02:50):
Plus, I'll share the red flags ofgrooming so that you can protect
your kids online and in real life.
And I will do all of this inthe time it takes you to watch
one of your favorite TV shows.
No fear mongering.
Just real solutions from a dad, a gamer,and of course, a family safety advocate.
Don't wait.
Grab your copy today at TheSecureDad.Com.

(03:12):
There's a link for you intoday's podcast show notes.
Social media has become an almostessential part of our daily lives.
We go to X for breaking news, TikTokfor silly videos and Facebook to

(03:34):
cringe at what pops up in our memories.
Somewhere along the way, we have allfelt like we've had to live some of
our lives on a social media platform.
And if you're one of the strong,brave people who are not on
social media at all, you are good.
Stay away.
Don't give into peer pressure.

(03:55):
But for the rest of us, socialmedia has become a way of life
for us and now our kids too.
However, people can cross boundarieswith us and transition from
the digital world into our realworld in very unsettling ways.
Influencers are moving and hidingwhere they live because someone
showed up at their apartment.

(04:16):
Family vloggers are being harassed inpublic and at home because somebody
gave out their address, and politiciansare being doxed, which means their
personal data like name, address, andphone number has been published online
by people who have ill intent for them.
While influencers expect to have sometype of problem like this, it is not

(04:37):
only for them, this is for us too.
Yes, normal people like us needto be prepared for unwanted
attention from social media.
There are some simple methods thatwe can use to keep ourselves safe,
and once you know what they are, theyreally truly become second nature.
But the issue is that influencers havea way larger audience than you and me.

(04:58):
They can have millions of followers,and 95% of those followers
are nice, supportive people.
Then there are some trolls, andthen there are the real problems.
But the more I you have on you,the greater the risk is that
someone will cross that line andtry to stalk you or harm you.
And if you are an attractive female onsocial media, those chances increase.

(05:22):
Is that fair?
No.
Is that reality?
Yes.
One of my favorite people on socialmedia is Justin "Danger" Nunley.
He's the guy who cuts into videos andmakes a quick joke and says, "Listen,"
and then gives you some random fact.
On TikTok, he has 9.1 million followers.
On Instagram, he has 3.7 millionfollowers, so he has more than you

(05:47):
and me combined times a million.
He's done collaborations withcelebrities and some really cool brands.
He's even done some funny stuff for NASCARand he just retired from the Air Force.
Over the last few years, I've watchedprobably a thousand of his videos,
but two really stand out to me.

(06:08):
In two separate videos Justinpolitely asks his audience
not to show up at his house.
Apparently folks like him so much thatthey just wanna come by and say, "Hey".
While that might be innocentenough, it's not appropriate.
And Justin explains thatwith a lot of tact and humor.
He also makes mention of havingto call law enforcement as well.

(06:30):
Now I'm sure of roughly the 12million people that follow him, a
few of them are really bad eggs.
Some have ill intentfor him and his family.
And at the end of the day.
He has to protect his family.
He then goes on to explain that he'shappy to take pictures with people and
sign stuff when he's in public, butshowing up at his house is off limits.

(06:52):
You and I understand that, butapparently not everybody does.
And it's odd that he has tosay it this way, but apparently
this happens to him frequently.
No one thinks that it's gonnahappen to them until it does.
I'm sure Justin just wants tomake people laugh, make a few
bucks, and enjoy retirement.
I don't know if in his wildestdreams he thought he'd have 1

(07:14):
million followers, let alone 12.
He just kind of stumbledinto this and made it work.
All while still serving in the militaryand being a husband and father.
The fame and the attention he'sgotten, I'm sure grew faster
than he knew what to do with it.
And that's where trending in thepublic eye can have some consequences,

(07:35):
like people showing up at your houseor using your likeness in scams.
When anyone posts online, there is a troveof data that can potentially be collected.
Not just for influencers, butfor the average person too.
This data can be used to find out wherepeople are in real time, where they
live, and where they might go next.

(07:56):
The patterns of posting also tell us whichgym you use, what your favorite coffee
spot is, and when you're home for the day.
The details of your workplace, school,and favorite ice cream spots can
be determined from what you post.
And of course, when we check in atlocations, tag ourselves at live events.
This can lead people to know wherewe are and where we're not, and I'll

(08:19):
talk more about that in a minute.
Probably one of the worst outcomesthat doesn't involve violence is when
a stalker finds out your real name.
From the clues where you post most often,they can triangulate where you live.
Knowing where you live, and your full nameopens up tons of unsettling possibilities.

(08:39):
They can buy your informationfrom data broker sites like
BeenVerified or WhitePages.com.
Then they can get your address,phone number, workplace location,
email address, list of relatives,property value, and a whole lot more.
And you wonder why I use DeleteMe.
I don't want my personal informationon the internet that's for sale

(09:00):
to whoever wants to buy it.
And all of that is legal.
It only becomes illegal when thestalker uses that information to harass
or harm you, but then it's too late.
So be proactive and let acompany like DeleteMe, help you
gain some of your privacy back.
So now that we have a betterunderstanding of what's really at

(09:20):
stake here, let's talk about some ofthe everyday precautions that we can
take to make ourselves less vulnerable.
The first thing that I suggest isturning off your tracking data and your
location data in your phone settings.
Don't let the data from yourlocation be embedded to any
images or videos that you share.
That way nobody can analyze the datafrom a photo or video and find out

(09:43):
exactly where the video was taken.
Second turn off location settingsin your social media apps.
Social media platforms are trackingyour movements, so turn those off in
the settings so that you aren't temptedto go check in or tag a location in
real time when you're out in public.
For platforms like Snapchat, there isstill a snap map that you can search

(10:06):
by location, by posts from users.
I still can't believe in 2025that this exists, but it does.
I just looked at it.
Isn't that creepy?
All you need to do is have your ownSnapchat account and you can search
this map to find who's posting where.
And don't forget about LinkedIneither tons of information
could be found about you there.

(10:27):
While you want to put your bestfoot forward, LinkedIn may give
away your workplace, your contactsand your personal networks.
A lot of us don't really thinkof LinkedIn as social media,
but truly that's what it is.
Even though it may be for professionalstuff only, you still have to treat
it like it's a social media platform.
Next, use a method forposting called lag posting.

(10:48):
This is when you share photos andvideos of events and locations
after you're done there.
I've suggested this for a longtime as a home security step.
If you live in Colorado and youpost a picture of your family at
the beach, people will quicklyfigure out that you are not home.
Which marks your houseas a target for burglary.
If you want to share videos as theyhappen, please choose a group of

(11:11):
close friends or family and thentext those to that group so that
you're not giving away your locationpublicly, but you still get the joy
of sharing with friends and family.
I also want you to changehow you see your own posts.
I want you to look at them fromthe viewpoint of a stalker.
Where was the video taken?
Who was in it and what'sin the background?

(11:33):
I've seen a clip on CNN of an interviewwith a government official that had
his passwords listed on the cabinetbehind him on national television.
These are the kind of things that you needto look at through the eyes of a criminal.
Don't give away informationthat could be used against you,

(11:53):
and that includes passwords.
So now let's talk about our kids.
If you're gonna take picturesand videos of your kids, don't
give away vital information aboutthings like what school they go to.
A few years ago, I had a friend ofmine who was a local news anchor, and
she posted her first day of schoolpicture with her oldest daughter.
Now it was very sweet.
They're standing in front of theschool and you can clearly see the

(12:16):
name of the school in the photo.
While this is a milestone moment forthis family, it can also give bad guys
key information about where she lives,when she'll be at that location, what
her child looks like, and even thatinformation can be used to create phone
or phishing scams about the school.
This also goes for those littlesigns that everybody used to hold

(12:39):
up the first day of school thatsaid, Hey, what's my favorite color?
What school am I going to?
What's my teacher's name?
All that sort of stuff.
That's all valuable informationthat nobody else really
needs to know about our kids.
Another thing that I do on mypersonal social media accounts is I
don't use my photo or my name in theaccount on my personal X account.

(13:00):
My profile picture is a football helmet.
My name is just my initials, and myhandle doesn't include my name either.
This makes it harderfor people to find you.
So if you can anonymize your accounts,please do, and you can also make
your accounts private as well.
People spend a lot of time and energywatching your digital life, they will

(13:20):
spend more time in your world than theirs.
So you have to be careful about whatparts of your life you let strangers see.
And don't forget, you don't haveto have millions of followers
to be stalked on social media.
And to be blunt, I wanna make thispoint again, if you are a young woman
online, the pressure is on you more.

(13:42):
That is not fair, but it is reality.
But I don't want you to feel overwhelmed.
By changing your phone settings,your platform, privacy settings,
and looking at your content with anadversarial mindset, you can control
what people know about you, andthat's really what this is all about.
Only share what you want people to know.

(14:03):
You don't owe the personaldetails of your life to anyone.
Your privacy is more valuablethan your popularity.
Well, this concludes another episodeof the Secure Family Podcast.
Thank you, friend for listening.
Take back your privacy and personaldata with help from DeleteMe.

(14:25):
Get 20% off a privacy plan whenusing the code DAD at checkout.
DeleteMe is the official dataremoval service of The Secure Dad.
Keep your kids safe whilegaming with my ebook Level Up.
It's available to you right nowat the link in the show notes.
If you want to keep your devicessafe from prying eyes, get a
Faraday solution from SLNT.

(14:45):
Use the code The Secure Dadfor 10% off at SLNT.com.
That's SLNT.com.
If you'd like to know moreabout The Secure Dad, join
me on Instagram and TikTok.
My username for bothplatforms is The Secure Dad.
And of course, my website isavailable 24/7 at TheSecureDad.com.

(15:06):
I'm Andy Murphy reminding you to becareful of what you post on social media.
While we do want it to be fun, therecan be some unintended consequences.