Earlier this week, a viral photo of a fake missing person report circulated on social media claiming that a girl named Gracie Mae Thompson had disappeared.

The post appeared to come from the girl’s mother, but police confirmed there was no record of a Gracie Mae Thompson.

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The poster said Gracie was a 15-year-old girl and asked social media users to share their information after she was last seen in Odessa, Texas.

Police in Odessa, Texas, confirmed to The US Sun that there are no records of a Gracie Mae Thompson in the area, nor any missing person reports under that name.

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children also confirmed that there are no records of Gracie Mae Thompson.

REAL DAMAGE

Angeline Hartmann, communications director for NCMEC, spoke to The US Sun about the damage these scams do to real missing persons cases and how social media users can spot them.

Hartmann said the NCMEC has seen a dramatic increase in similar scams on social media.

The scams typically include a photo of a missing child and a caption urging the public to spread the word.

The problem is that in most cases the public only becomes aware of the fraud when the poster with the missing person report is distributed on the Internet.

This takes valuable time and resources from law enforcement and the NCMEC that are intended for genuine missing persons cases.

NCMEC is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to locating missing children, reducing child sexual exploitation, and preventing child sexual exploitation.

In these cases, it works closely with law enforcement authorities and offers support to victims and families.

Hartmann said the scams have drained the organization’s resources and had a detrimental impact on the families of former missing children.

“HARMFUL TO YOUR PROGRESS”

The scammers often use photos of former missing children or repost old posters on the Internet.

Hartmann said that sometimes the scammers wouldn’t even change the child’s name on a poster.

“This is a real child with a real name,” she said.

“These families are on the road to recovery – they want it to go away, they don’t want their pictures anymore and this can be detrimental to their progress.”

The NCMEC encourages social media users to remove missing person posters after the person has been found.

Deleting posts after locating children protects their privacy and prevents scammers from reposting the photos later.

Signs of fraud

Social media users can prevent these scams by looking for warning signs before sharing a missing person poster.

The original Gracie Mae post was not shared by NCMEC, any law enforcement agency, or any credible news organization.

The poster also contained emojis and spelling errors, which NCMEC says are signs of a scam.

Social media users should search for the child’s name, the date of his disappearance and the location of his disappearance on an official poster.

Missing person reports should also include the law enforcement agency responsible for the case and a contact address or hotline number.

These families are on the road to recovery – they want the wounds to go away, they don’t want their pictures anymore and this can be detrimental to their progress.

Angeline HartmannDirector of Communications at NCMEC

“You have to be careful on the Internet,” warned Hartmann.

She urged social media users to double-check the signs of a missing person report before sharing the post.

Hartmann added that it is important for the public to stay informed about the case and to delete the post if the child is found.

Even though online fraud makes it difficult to share information, Hartmann urged the public to continue sharing news of missing people online.

“We don’t want to discourage people from participating in our mission,” she said.

“Sharing missing children posters works and brings missing children home.”