Scrolling through social media, you may see posts featuring missing children. You may even be asked to donate money or share the post with others to spread awareness.
While it seems genuine enough on the surface, beware before you share.
"What we're seeing is really, really bad," said Angeline Hartmann with the National Center For Missing And Exploited Children. "There was a recent case where a child was found within a couple of days back in September and all of the sudden her picture is being circulated now. It's clearly a scam."
Scammers use pictures of kids – missing or not – and put them all over social media, Hartmann explained, often in "buy and sell" groups on Facebook.
"What they are doing is illegal, using missing children for their purposes to extract money or whatever else from people," said Hartmann.
Police agencies across the country, from Texas to Tennessee, are trying to warn people about these scam posts, many of which claim the missing children have been diagnosed with autism.
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The motives for these fake posts vary.
"Sometimes they're asking for money, sometimes they just want to get on your feed, sometimes they change out the poster, and it fills your feed with something else," said Hartmann.
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While some posts about missing children may be fake, many are very real. It's important to do your research before you share.
"It's very easy to go to missingkids.org, search the posters, search the information and make sure: Is this a legitimate child, a legitimate case that's happening currently, now?" said Hartmann.
To view and search all missing children listed on NCMEC’s website, visit https://www.missingkids.org/search.
Here are a few telltale signs that a missing child post is fake:
- The post does not come from a legitimate law enforcement or advocacy agency.
- The post has no contact information for tips on the child's whereabouts.
- The post has spelling errors.
- The comments of the post are turned off.
