FORT SMITH, Ark. — The Fort Smith Police Department (FSPD) is warning residents of a scam that has been circulating on social media involving an alleged missing child.
According to FSPD, there have been Facebook posts claiming that a young girl had been discovered behind the post author's home with the following statement as it's caption:
"Can't find her parents, my neighbours [sic] don't know her or how she came here. She says her Mom's name is Wendy Let's bump this post so it may reach her family."
Authorities say that other cities have reported this same post using the exact picture and text from other users. They say the only information that has changed has been the city, which they believe is to match the jurisdiction of the post.
FSPD says it has not received any calls legitimizing the post. They have issued the following red flags that can help you spot and stop the spread of misinformation:
1. The information does not come from an official agency or authentic source, news or otherwise. Friends and relatives are not authentic sources for information of this nature, no matter how much you trust what they post.
2. Misspellings, improperly used words, errors in syntax. The post mentioned above uses the UK spelling "neighbours" instead of "neighbors," for instance. It is also missing a period (.) after "Wendy"
3. Your first time seeing the post is on a community page of some kind or another form of informal Facebook offering. You cannot find any information legitimizing it from an authentic or official source (see No. 1).
4. The post is not asking you to take the appropriate action or sharing how you can take the appropriate action. In the above instance, it wants you to "bump this post" for a little girl who is missing from her parents or caregiver. A more appropriate and productive response would be to notify law enforcement immediately, so we can use the full scope of our resources to help locate the child's family.
Fort Smith police say that posts of this nature require proper investigation and those resources are better used on legitimate emergencies.
If you have concerns regarding the legitimacy of a social media post, FSPD urges you to contact their office at 479-709-5000.
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