Missing Child Scams: How Scammers Exploit Emotions

If a post about a missing child shows up on your social media feed, don’t rush to share it. Not all posts about missing children are real. Some of them are fake, and scammers use them as bait for other, more lucrative scams.

Let’s explore how the missing child scam works, what red flags to watch for, and how to stay safe online.

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How the Missing Child Scam Works

The Missing Child scam is a type of scam where scammers exploit heartbreaking situations to manipulate their victims. It begins with an emotional social media post about a missing child. To increase the emotional impact, scammers often claim the child has a specific medical condition (usually autism) and needs daily medication.

The call-to-action is simple and straightforward: like and share the post to spread the news and help the parents find their child. When you see such a message, your first impulse might be to hit the Like and Share buttons. You’re convinced that the more people who see the post, the higher the chances of finding the child quickly.

This is exactly the reaction scammers are hoping for.

The missing child post is the hook scammers use to make people share the post and send private messages. Their main goal is to get as many likes and shares as they possibly can. Scammers target countless Facebook groups with the same message and images, changing only the location where the child supposedly went missing.

They often post in garage sale or giveaway groups because these groups have little to no moderation and allow anyone to post. Once the post goes viral, scammers replace the original content with phishing links, malware links, deceptive ads, get-rich-quick schemes, cryptocurrency deals, fake surveys designed to steal personal information, and more.

Don’t be surprised if the missing child post turns into an “Invest in this amazing cryptocurrency” post in one or two weeks.

Scammers sometimes ask for donations to “help” the family with search efforts. In reality, this money goes straight into the scammers’ pockets.

Why The Missing Child Scam Works So Well

The missing child scam works because it plays on powerful human emotions, namely empathy and a desire to help. It’s similar to the sick baby campaign scam. Scammers know that people are likely to react emotionally when they hear about a child in danger.

These posts also create a sense of urgency. The idea that time is running out to find the child makes people feel they must act quickly and share the post without checking if it’s real.

Scammers also take advantage of trust within Facebook groups and online communities to trick people. That’s why they often post these stories in Facebook groups. When one person shares or likes a fake missing child post, others see it and assume it’s real. As more people share it, the post seems more trustworthy, making it harder for people to spot that it’s a scam.

And when the missing child post shared by your neighbors or friends turns into a get-rich-quick crypto scheme, you might believe it’s real simply because it came from someone you know and trust.

Red Flags You Shouldn’t Ignore

Disabled Comments

Scammers often turn off comments on missing child posts to prevent people from exposing the scam and evade the automatic detection of suspicious content.

Wouldn’t a post about a missing child benefit from comments where people could say things like, “Hey, I saw this child” or “I have information”?

When comments are turned off, no one can point out that the story is fake.

No Contact Details

Legitimate missing child posts include details such as police contact information or a way to reach the missing child’s immediate family members. If none of this is mentioned, that’s a major red flag.

Additionally, if the person who posted it doesn’t seem personally connected to the case, that should raise your suspicions. Real missing child posts usually come from family, friends, police, or local organizations.

Vague Information

Missing child scams often use vague details such as “Help find this child!” without specifying exactly where or when the child went missing. Real posts, on the other hand, include specific details.

Nonexistent Town for Missing Child

Another red flag is when the post mentions or tags a town that should be in the state or county where the child went missing, but the town doesn’t actually exist.

Recycled Photos

Scammers sometimes reuse photos from old missing child cases or random images from the Internet. A quick reverse image search can help spot this and reveal where else the child’s photo has been used before.

• Go to images.google.com.
• Click the Camera Icon (Search by image)
• Upload your image or paste the URL of the image
• Click the “Search by image” button.

How To Avoid The Missing Child Scam

Check if the Post is Real

Before sharing, check if the post is real.

The police issue official alerts for missing children. Real missing child posts include specific details about where the child was last seen, what they wore, and police contact info. If the post is vague, be cautious.

Look for news reports or visit the official police webpage to see if there’s a child mentioned.

You can also visit the FBI’s missing persons page to see if the child from the social media posts appears on their official list.

Don’t Ignore the Red Flags

If comments are disabled, that’s a red flag. Scammers often turn off comments to stop people from calling out the scam.

Look at the profile of the person who made the post. If the profile was created recently and has no other posts, it’s fake.

Don’t interact with any posts you suspect could be a scam.

How To Report This Scam

Warn your family and friends about this scam to prevent them from falling victim.

If you see a scam post on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok, use the platform’s reporting feature to let them know about the fraudulent content.

• Report Facebook scams
• Report TikTok scams
• Report Instagram scams

You can also report scammers and any suspicious activity to the Federal Trade, and the FBI Internet Complaint Center by using the pages below:

• Report to the FTC
• Report to the FBI Internet Complaints Center

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Feel free to explore additional articles on related fraud. Last but not least, if you had any bad experiences, make sure to use the comments section below to expose the scammers!