A leading UK missing person charity has raised concerns over a fake Facebook appeal for a missing child in Dundee.
It follows several reports on social media pages claiming a boy was missing on Thursday morning.
An image of a child and description were shared widely based on the claim he hadn’t returned home.
Whilst many believed they were assisting in an apparent missing person inquiry they were in fact promoting a phishing scam.
Hours after the appeal – which featured on Dundee Marketplace – it was edited and replaced with a survey claiming to offer cash incentives.
Such scams lure people in and trick them into providing personal details.
Police Scotland have confirmed there are no reports of missing persons with the child’s name in the local area.
Charity, Missing People, who provide specialist support for people and families impacted by missing person cases said the incidents like this were “concerning”.
Josie Allan, a senior policy and partnership manager at the charity feared hoaxes like this may impact genuine cases.
‘Risk of reducing impact of real cases’
She said: “It is really concerning that posts like this are taking advantage of people’s goodwill.
“People care and they want to naturally help ensure that a person is found.
“They may be less likely to continue sharing real cases, if they’ve been burned before by being part of a hoax.
“There is a real risk of reducing the impact of real publicity appeals where there is a genuine concern for someone’s safety.
“The other thing to take into consideration is the impact on the person pictured in the hoax.
“They may not be aware of the appeal and this could have a real impact on their own safety.”
Such scams have also been reported elsewhere in the UK and overseas in the USA.
‘The child’s picture influenced my decision’
As part of The Courier investigation we spoke with one Monifieth woman that shared the appeal of the missing boy.
She said she felt “annoyed” to have fallen for the hoax after being enticed to share it as a parent herself.
She said: “The child’s picture influenced my decision to share it, as the image brought a face to the situation.
“When it said Dundee, it enticed me closer to the story.
“I would have wanted a reader to share my story immediately if my daughter was missing.
“I feel annoyed that I fell for it.”
Sharing content online
Colin Mathieson, spokesperson for Advice Direct Scotland, gave some tips to beat scammers online.
- Important to consider the relevance or legitimacy of these types of posts before sharing them and avoid doing so if they are at all suspicious.
- Although the initial impact of us just sharing a post may seem relatively small, there may be older or more vulnerable members of the community who engage with the post further.
- The most effective way to stop scammers in their tracks is to report a scam to scamwatch.scot when you see one.
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