Maryellen Krammer does her best to keep her teenage daughter educated about the dangers of social media. But the Freshman at Marist High School in Chicago made a mistake - and she's still being cyberbullied on Snapchat because of it.

“My daughter was desperate. She even called 911. That’s how desperate she was.” 

Teen is cyberbullied on Snapchat

Krammer’s daughter had shared her Snapchat password with a friend. Months later she had a disagreement with the friend. Soon after, someone locked the 15 year-old out of her own Snapchat account. The hacker started sending negative and threatening messages on her behalf.

“Whoever had gotten in and hacked her had changed all of her login information and was contacting friends of hers and kind of wreaking havoc with her friend group,” explained Krammer. 

Krammer had no idea there was a problem until her devastated daughter confided in her that she was being cyberbullied on Snapchat.

“She finally came to us and said I don’t know what to do. I’m so scared.”

Mom contacts SmartSocial for help

Krammer decided to make her own Snapchat account. She contacted the hacker, through her daughter’s account. She told them to “cease and desist” and threatened to get law enforcement involved.

Krammer also called Snapchat’s parent company, Snap Inc. When she asked the person on the phone to delete her daughter’s account, she claims they hung up on her.

Desperate for help, Krammer turned to Smart Social Founder Josh Ochs. She had previously attended a social media safety presentation by Ochs and regularly implemented his online advice with her children.

Ochs suggested having her daughter take a digital detox and encourage her to focus on her real life friendships and interests.

“I’m just so thankful for Smart Social. [Josh] kind of calmed us down and got us off of the ledge,” said Krammer.

SmartSocial safety tips to avoid cyberbullying

SmartSocial offers these key takeaways to any parent with a child on social media: keep the lines of communication open, remind students to never share passwords with friends, and be on every app your kids are on.

“Dive into it with them so you can fully understand that app, how people behave on it, and if you’re fully comfortable with your kid being on it alone,” said Ochs.

Krammer is now “friends” with her daughter on all of her social media accounts. She also plans to keep on top of the ever-changing social media world by using Ochs’ advice to “let your kids tutor you about social media.”

“We’re kind of partners together on this journey,” Krammer said. “I hope no other families go through this. It’s really scary.”

Smart Social has all the tools you need to help keep your family safe on social media. Sign up today for the Smart Social membership and unlock our five step Digital Driver’s Ed program:

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