The next time you see a heartbreaking post about a missing child or pet on social media, there are a few important things you need to look for before you hit the 'share' button!

Beware of What You Share On Facebook

At least once a week I see a post shared on social media that breaks my heart a little. Typically they involve injured or missing animals, but sometimes they involve little kids, and I'm a sucker for all of them...until I knew how to spot a scam.

Just today the Rockford Illinois Police Department issued a warning to residents about a surge in deceptive social media posts about missing children and pets being shared on Facebook...

At first glance that post looks totally legit, right? A cop is in the picture and it even includes the Rockford hashtag, but instead of proving legitimacy, that hashtag is actually a blaring red flag.

Before we talk about scam signs to look for, let's first cover what social media scams like that one are trying to accomplish.

How Social Media Scams Work

According to the Better Business Bureau, scammers specifically craft these posts featuring images of missing or injured children pets to tear at your heartstrings and urge you to share it.

Once these posts are widely shared, the original content is changed to include fraudulent advertisements or malicious links. This tactic, sometimes known as "like-farming," preys on the trust of individuals who shared the initial post, and makes their friends and followers more susceptible to other scams.

To protect yourself from shady schemes like this, it's important to look for red flags before you hit 'share'.

Here are some of the things you need to do:

  1. Check the original poster's profile page. Was their profile recently created? (Scammers create new profile once old ones get banned) Is their friend count low? Does the profile say they live somewhere far from your local area? Are their comments disabled? SCAM!
  2. Read the shared information carefully. Are the "local" details vague? Are they blatantly asking for you to like and share the post? SCAM!
  3. Check local news sources. When a child or animal was badly hurt or has gone missing, it's going to be covered by local new sources. If you can't find any more information on the claim it's probably a scam.
  4. Do a reverse Google search. Just right-click on the photo and use a source like Google Lens to see if the pic was already used in other cities and places.
  5. Find similar posts. Just copy and past the message on the original post into the Facebook search bar to see if it's been used before.

If you think the post you were about to share is a scam, report it to Facebook and then scroll past it.

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