‘Bait and switch scams’: Guelph police issue warning about Facebook fraud

A growing trend of fraud on Facebook prompted police in Guelph to issued a warning as the service said officers are noticing a recent increase in the number of “bait and switch” scams.

The platform that tends to be targeted the most is Facebook and the “hoax posts” are usually about missing kids, missing seniors or lost pets.

The scammers prey on people’s emotions to get them to press the “like” and “share” button.

Once enough people amplify the post, the text is altered to promote various scams including those involving investments, rentals, or some kind of “free” product.

“Facebook allows posters to change the text and/or photos on posts without affecting the number of likes or shares,” a statement from the Guelph Police Service reads. “This means anyone who shared the missing child post, for example, now will have the rental or investment post on their timeline, along with a link designed to capture the victim’s data.”

Guelph police are encouraging social media users to exercise caution before interacting with these kinds of posts, and try to verify if they’re legitimate.

Full tips can be found below:

• Examine the profile of the original poster to see if there is anything suspicious, for example it was just created or has no followers or people it is following.
• Search for similar posts using the Facebook search tool. Often scammers will use the same text or photos in different geographic locations. If a child is supposedly missing from Guelph, search for their name to see if they have also been reported missing in other cities or even countries.
• Check credible sources. If a post says police are reporting a child missing in Guelph, for example, there should be a post on the Guelph Police Service page. Lack of corroborating evidence should be a red flag.
• Be cautious when dealing with any information presented online. If you are unable to confirm the information in the post, please think twice before sharing or otherwise engaging with it.