After a stalker used information a Virginia Commonwealth University student posted on the Internet to follow and murder the student, Sgt. Jon Barnwell of Campus Police warns of the dangers of posting too much personal information on sites like Facebook.
J.T. Sauls, a sophomore in biomedical engineering, said he feels secure using Facebook. He said although he chose not to post his telephone number on his profile, he does have his room number displayed.
Barnwell said posting information online such as room number, phone number or class schedule provides stalkers with ways to follow a student.
“It provides all the avenues for a potential stalker to know where you are at all times,” he said.
For example, he said stalkers could use Facebook profiles to obtain students’ addresses and wait for them outside their residence halls.
The stalkers could then use information about the students’ interests and list their friends’ names.
“The next thing you know, you’re assuming that you know this person,” Barnwell said.
He said incidents like this are causing universities to take precautions.
“There are universities that don’t even allow students to access Myspace or Facebook through a university account,” Barnwell said.
Anita Bardowell, undergraduate secretary of the chemistry department, said information posted on Facebook poses security threats. She said students don’t realize that by giving personal information such as room numbers, telephone numbers and residence hall names, they are providing con men with everything they need to perform robberies.
“A student who lists their dormitory and their room number has told anyone looking where to come find them and ask for them by name,” she said.
Bardowell said she knows how sting operations work from watching her grandfather, who was a con man, as his crew gathered lists of names and apartment buildings.
She said once a con man gathers this information, he can easily get into the residence hall dressed as a maintenance worker and hit every floor.
“When all the Facebook photos show the background of your dorm and it says ‘I’ve got a laptop; I’ve got a radio,'” she said. “When you have pictures of an iPod and yourself, you’ve actually told them what they’re shopping for.”
In addition to blurring the backgrounds of photos displayed on Facebook to decrease the visibility of belongings, Bardowell recommends students remove all personal information from public networking sites.
Jennifer Davis, a senior in religious studies, said she does not feel safe on Facebook and therefore she does not have her personal information on her profile.
According to Davis, Facebook should not even make it an option to list such personal information as residence, phone number, or e-mail address.
Limited profiles are available on the Web site. Facebook users have the ability to choose who exactly can view their profiles.
Bardowell said although Facebook has limited profiles, hackers can still access students’ personal information.
According to Bardowell, this privacy option is only in place to cover Facebook’s liability.
“[Privacy options exist] so you don’t sue them when you do get robbed all in one sweep,” she said.
According to Sauls, he understands the difficulty Facebook faces while trying to reach its goal of connecting people while preventing abuse of the system.
“It’s really hard to find a balance,” he said.
Jonathan Graham, a senior in biological engineering, said he is satisfied with Facebook in its current state.
“I think it’s pretty secure overall,” he said. “I don’t think there [are] any real issues.”
Sauls said although Facebook has attempted to increase security recently with limited profiles, he would also suggest separating unaffiliated users from university profiles and increasing visibility of security options.
“I don’t want some random person from across America [looking at my information],” he said.