OPP issue warning on ‘sinister’ scam about missing police officer

Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) are trying to set the record straight on a new “sinister” fraud circulating social media.

The east region detachment said that a few concerned citizens reached out after seeing a post online about a missing police officer. The message shared on social media is attempting to make the post go viral, officials said.

It shows a photo of a female police officer, allegedly named Katie Cunningham.

“The authorities are seeking assistance in locating her,” the fake post reads. “Her vehicle was discovered last night with her daughter inside, but unfortunately, Officer Cunningham remains unaccounted for.”

Some versions of the post cater to a local community, naming a police department in the area.

Police said that once a number of people have shared the post, “the content changed later to something even more sinister and fraudulent.”

Officers said that this scam started in the U.S. recently, and there have been other examples similar to this. The post also refers to a “silver alert” something provincial police say is not used in Ontario.

“Oh, there really is an officer Katie Cunningham. She’s alive and well and working in Montana and she is NOT MISSING,” a Facebook post from OPP debunking the fraud reads.

Officials are asking people to be skeptical of things they read online. They also mention if an officer were missing, the local police department would have its own social media posts on it.