Scam on Facebook: Beware of fake reports about missing children

Fake reports about missing children like Emma , ​​Emilia , Meryem or Amelki , just to name a few names who are currently supposedly missing or kidnapped.

Dubious cases that take advantage of people's willingness to help continue to appear on social media, especially on Facebook. This is fake news about alleged kidnapped children.

The scammers' approach is always similar: they use Facebook accounts that have fallen into this phishing trap themselves and publish a call for help in which they claim that a child has been kidnapped and ask for help finding it. They often use emotional and dramatic images of real children, as well as a gripping story, to capture readers' attention and compassion. The supposedly desperate parents ask that the message be shared to speed up the search for the missing child.

Danger! These cries for help are scams

We have been reporting on fake reports like this for years . What is new is that these are no longer only available in German , but also in Turkish and Polish .

These reports are currently making the rounds on Facebook:

Note: The text is usually identical. The only thing that keeps changing is the NAME, LOCATION and PICTURE of the child

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Fake search messages / status posts that we already know about

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Users who publish such status posts have most likely fallen victim to a phishing trap themselves and in reality have no connection to the allegedly kidnapped child.

What is behind the link?

Behind the links in the fake news, malware or phishing pages that aim to obtain personal information or credentials.

If you want to look at the post that supposedly shows the kidnapping or refers to a missing person report, the trap appears. A Facebook login window pops up on what appears to be a news site:

In order to read the missing person report, you have to log in to Facebook again, even though you came to this “news page” from Facebook! Unfortunately, many users repeatedly fall into the trap at this point because it is a fake login window created by fraudsters.

If you enter your user details, they will be sent to the fraudsters behind the fake site. This means they have full access to the Facebook account.

Dangers and risks of a taken over Facebook account

Such a Facebook account taken over by fraudsters can pose various dangers and risks for both the affected user and their friends and contacts. Possible dangers include:

1. Identity theft: Hackers can use personal information from the hacked account to impersonate the victim. This may result in fraud, financial loss or misuse of personal information.
2. Phishing Attacks: The hacker can use the hacked account to send phishing messages or links to friends and contacts. They can be tricked into clicking on fraudulent links, revealing their login details or downloading malware.
3. Malware distribution: Hacked accounts can be used to distribute malicious software or links aimed at infecting other devices.
4. Blackmail: Hackers could gain access to private messages, photos, or videos and blackmail the victim by threatening to make this information public.
5. Defamation of reputation: Hacked accounts can be used to post offensive, inappropriate or defamatory content on behalf of the victim. This can lead to social, professional or legal problems.
6. Abuse of payment information: If the Facebook account is linked to payment methods, e.g. For example, to purchase games or applications, hackers could use this information to make unauthorized purchases.
7. Loss of control and access: The victim may lose access to their account, which may make it difficult to resolve the situation or limit the damage. The hacker may also attempt to access other online accounts using the same login details or passwords.

To protect yourself from such scams, it is important to always be vigilant when making such calls for help and to check the credibility of the information. Real missing person reports are usually published by the police or reputable media. If in doubt, you should always check official sources or contact the police before spreading such news.

Conclusion

• These children, pictured above, are not missing or have not been abducted.
• The article is purely a lure to get users' Facebook login details.
• As soon as you access the article via Facebook, the current date automatically appears so that the whole thing appears “current”.
• The respective city locations are automatically adjusted to suit the specific user posting it. This signals that the alleged kidnapping took place in your area.
• The user himself who publishes this post is not aware of this. This also happens automatically because the user himself fell into the trap and his account was cracked.
• Users who have fallen into the trap should change their Facebook password as soon as possible!

You can get further help directly on Facebook at: Hacked and fake accounts