LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – As technology advances, criminals are finding new ways to exploit people through social media. The Lubbock Police Department warns these threats are happening here on the South Plains.
Detective Olivia Boggs with LPD’s Special Victims Unit said artificial intelligence and social media are actively being used to target people’s image and likeness to create deepfakes.
“For example, they would take your face and then they alter it to either be somebody who is without clothing who could have their intimate parts exposed,” Boggs said.
Boggs said anything posted online can be used by cyber criminals, so people need to know who has access to their social media accounts.
“Keep your accounts secured: if you have a Facebook account, don’t have it public; if you have a Snapchat, don’t have your locations set where people can see where you’re at,” she said. “Don’t post a lot of personal information that’s public unless you physically know those people, and you’re okay with them knowing, you know, about your life.”
Law enforcement is trying to get this message to the younger generation.
“With how technology is growing, you know, just know that there’s so many platforms, there’s so many cloud accounts, there’s so many ways to store that information,” Boggs said. “So, even if you think that it’s gone, it could still be there.”
Police are hoping to shift people’s focus from the number of likes and followers an account has to how safe users are online.
“There are people out there who don’t worry about their likes,” Boggs said. “They are just out there to see who they could either attempt to defraud, gather money from, get pictures, or they have other reasons why they want to communicate.”
LPD is urging for anyone who has fallen victim to crimes like this to report it, even if it seems scary or embarrassing.
“It needs to be reported because if it’s happening to them, it’s probably happening with other people,” she said. “So, don’t be embarrassed, just understand that, it is a case we want to investigate.”
Reports can be filed with LPD in-person and online.
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