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Original poster

Fake missing person posts

16 replies

Clawdy · 21/11/2022 08:31

I've seen a few missing persons posts on Facebook recently - one friend in particular keeps posting them, and sometimes they aren't even local. The last two were about a missing small boy, and an elderly man with dementia. Something about the wording seemed odd, and when I googled the names, it said they are fake posts being shared on Facebook. I did think the missing little boy would have been a big news story if it was genuine. Can't really think why they are being started. Anyone else spotted them?

OP posts:
RedSnail · 21/11/2022 08:33

They’re a scam, once they’ve been shared a lot they change the content from missing person to whatever their scam is.

unfortunateevents · 21/11/2022 08:34

I haven't noticed those fake posts, but I do have some friends who keep posting genuine missing person posts, but obviously without any thought – a quick look at the original post shows that the missing person is very often not even from this country. Someone posted the other day and the person involved was in Colorado!

uggmum · 21/11/2022 08:37

I've seen a few this week. The missing boy one has been shared by a few of my friends.

I thought it seemed odd as the post was on weds and he had been missing since failing to return home from school on the Friday. It was a young child and if it had been true you would have expected a high profile news story.

There were a few comments saying that they were fake. I was wondering whether it leads to a request for money for the family to the people that share it

BlackAmericanoNoSugar · 21/11/2022 08:38

One of my FB friends used to do this a lot, she would share every missing person thing she saw. I don't even know how she came across so many of them. I got into the habit of checking them out and posting a link to show that they were fake/already found or whatever. Then I would say something along the lines of sometimes it's bad people trying to find others who might be in danger from them, eg where the wife has escaped domestic abuse and the exH is trying to find the children, so it's best to only share the missing people posts from the police.

Original poster
Clawdy · 21/11/2022 09:01

Yes, the friend who posts them has often put this sort of thing on, and I've sometimes put a comment on, telling her it's a scam, but I bet she thinks I'm a pain!

OP posts:
JenniferBarkley · 21/11/2022 09:06

Then I would say something along the lines of sometimes it's bad people trying to find others who might be in danger from them, eg where the wife has escaped domestic abuse and the exH is trying to find the children, so it's best to only share the missing people posts from the police.

This is the reason I never share, unless I directly know someone involved so I can be sure it's valid.

thelobsterquadrille · 21/11/2022 09:07

You should only really share missing people posts from official sources like the Police for this reason.

Georgeskitchen · 21/11/2022 09:08

Yes one circulating recently about a young boy. Posted by some strange unknown site. If it was real the local news pages will be flooded with it. A lot of people just share stuff without checking the facts

dawngreen · 12/02/2023 21:34

Have you seen the fb ones saying their dog has been stolen, and they show a dog sat in a corner of a garden. Then it changes to it been lost/injured what ever?

Original poster
Clawdy · 12/02/2023 22:04

Lots of missing animal posts come up, not sure if genuine.

OP posts:
MadamLeota · 12/02/2023 23:32

I never share missing persons posts. My friend has an adopted child and has said before that it can be a vehicle to find children and partners that are hiding for a reason. I’d not really considered it up until then.

There is a weird one doing the rounds with a picture of a man who was apparently caught stealing catalytic converters as well. The area is changed with every post. Clearly gets about a bit as he went from Liverpool to Ohio last week. Bet his luggage was oversight 😂

PugInTheHouse · 13/02/2023 01:57

So many doing the rounds at the moment. I only ever share the posts if they are originally by someone I know or from a police page.

Injured or missing pet ones are also going around. Its quite easy to tell by the wording. I have a couple of friends eho are constantly sharing them.

Redglitter · 13/02/2023 02:18

There is a weird one doing the rounds with a picture of a man who was apparently caught stealing catalytic converters as well

Believe it or not that's actually a genuine thing at the moment 😂😂

MadamLeota · 13/02/2023 10:15

Redglitter · 13/02/2023 02:18

There is a weird one doing the rounds with a picture of a man who was apparently caught stealing catalytic converters as well

Believe it or not that's actually a genuine thing at the moment 😂😂

Oh I know it’s happening. But unless this guy is also stealing deloreans and plutonium he’s not traversing the entire globe in a weekend nicking cats from Hondas 😂

MadamLeota · 13/02/2023 10:15

Forgot to add the photo.

Fake missing person posts
thecatsthecats · 13/02/2023 10:25

RedSnail · 21/11/2022 08:33

They’re a scam, once they’ve been shared a lot they change the content from missing person to whatever their scam is.

Yes, also a good way to identify people who are likely to be susceptible to scams.

Scammers often include deliberate mistakes and emotive pulls to test out who on the like/share list is poor at fact checking/scam spotting. They want to rule out people who will report/block etc.

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