Facebook groups are overflowing with pictures of a two-year-old child with cuts all over his face, and the comments are pleading for help because police are unsure of the boy's identity, but turns out the posts are fake. — Image by freepik
Photos of a two-year-old boy with cuts all over his face are flooding Facebook groups as the commenter pleads for awareness as police officers don’t know who the boy is or where he came from.
But the posts are fake.
One post has the two-year-old boy being found in “#augusta 1 hour ago.” While another post said he was “was found in #Rapid city 1 hour ago.” And other claims he “was found in #River city 1 hour ago.”
The posts sometimes get hundreds of shares. And some legitimate Facebook users, scared for the boy, share the photos on their own accounts.
“Officers have the child safe at the Police Station but we have no idea where he lives. No one has called looking for him. Who child lock them up!!! #share #share,” one Facebook user wrote.
But all the original Facebook posts have their comments turned off. And police are warning users that it’s a scam.
“It has come to our attention that a post has been circulating via Facebook groups. This post alleges that two-year-old child was brought to our police station with significant physical injuries and his identity was unknown to police,” the Fall River Police Department wrote. “This is a spam or clickbait post. No such incident occurred.”
The photo actually comes from a 2014 news story when a two-year-old boy in Georgia was injured from a dog attack, according to WSB.
The posts are a “bait and switch” scam, which means after the posts gets enough shares, the “scammer changes the original post to a deceptive rental ad or sometimes to a link pointing to a survey that ‘guarantees’ a cash prize”, according to the Better Business Bureau.
“Now, your friends think you have recommended that content,” the BBB said. “These bait-and-switch ads aim to either get a deposit for a rental property before the user gets a chance to see the home – or get your personal information, which could lead to identity theft.”
They’re most commonly done with an injured, lost pet or a missing child to grab your attention, the BBB warned. – masslive.com/Tribune News Service
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