Beware of posts on Facebook that claim a 15-year-old American girl named Gracie Mae Thompson went missing from Texas on July 22, 2024. The post which contains an image of a young girl is a calculated scam designed to tug at heartstrings and generate widespread shares.
Over the past few days, the exact image has been shared by scammers using variations of the name; Graci May Thompson, Gracie Mae Thompson, e.t.c.
Here’s an excerpt of what the post says;
My daughter has been missing since July 22nd! 15 days
It only takes two seconds to share!
lexington
Her name is: Graci Mae Thompson.
Age:15
Height: 5’2
Hair color: Originally strawberry blonde but recently dyed black
She was last seen in black shorts and a black shirt.
Spotting The Scam
While the missing person post might seem convincing, here are warning signs that show it’s a full fledged scam;
- No Call to action: Lacks appropriate action on how to help.Legitimate missing person posts will not just ask you to share the post but provide clear instructions on what to do if you find the missing person.
- There have been no major news reports about this case.
- Inappropriate use of emoji: It’s unusual for a legit missing person post to contain emojis as the one used in this viral post.
- No Credibility: The post does not include the law enforcement agency handling the case, their phone number, or NCMEC’s 24/7 hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST.
- Contains a link to a malicious website ‘Obituaryremembrance.info’ which has adware and forces people to disable VPN and adblocker.
- The fake missing person posts are not posted on personal pages but on country sales pages such as Stuff For Sale, Upper/Lower Kittitas County Auction, and Odessa Texas Trading Post.
The Goal of Gracie Mae Thompson Missing Post Scam – How It Works
The Gracie Mae Thompson Missing Girl in Texas scam is a like-farming scam. Like-farming, aka like-harvesting, is a method used by scammers to raise the popularity of a site or social media page. The goal is to make the post go viral by accumulating as many likes and shares as possible from all over the world.
Once the scammers have piled up thousands of likes and shares, they may strip the page and promote something else, such as products that they will receive commissions for selling. The Gracie Mae Thompson missing post is also shared on websites that have malware program in the backend.
One of such websites is Obituaryremembrance.info which has adware. Adware (or advertising software) is the term used for various pop-up advertisements that show up on your computer or mobile device. Adware has the potential to become malicious and harm your device by slowing it down, hijacking your browser and installing viruses and/or spyware.
Precaution
Before you like or share a post, check it out, do a bit of research.
Resolve to question everything you are shown on social media; stop and think – is your like or share funding a scammer?
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Nora