Share and Follow
POLICE nationwide are issuing urgent warnings over a dangerous scam that claims a cop has gone missing.
The scam claims originated in a Facebook post urging people to help find a police officer named Kate Cunningham, along with an official photo and physical description.
The post appears to have originated in multiple cities, with some details changed and “designed to go viral,” the Chambers County Sheriff’s Office in Texas told Kentucky CBS affiliate WEHT.
Now, multiple police departments have had to clarify they have no officer named Kate Cunningham and warn anyone who sees the post that it’s a hoax.
Multiple law enforcement agencies also shared information about how to spot fake missing person posts, sharing that they most often lack specific information police departments would normally include.
“This is a scam. Be suspicious of any post like this that lacks specific details like time, location or police contact info, and always think twice before clicking suspicious links or providing banking info,” Buckeye Police Department in Arizona posted.
Cunningham is currently a sergeant at the Great Falls Police Department in Montana.
The department posted to Facebook debunking scammers’ claims that she was missing.
“We just spoke to her, and she is alive and well at Great Falls High, working as the SRO supervisor,” the department posted on Facebook.
The department then provided crucial details on how to spot fake missing persons scams.
In the initial fraudulent post, they incorrectly wrote information regarding her age, weight, height, and county.
The fake post claimed Cunningham was in “extreme danger and in need of medical assistance.”
The scam post ended by asking for the community’s help and also included the officer’s professional photo.
The Great Falls police department corrected the scammers’ post, stating that Cunningham is actually 5’3″, not 5’9″ like the missing person post claimed.
The police department also said the picture attached is 10 years old and doesn’t include Cunningham’s proper rank.
The fraudulent post wrote that a silver alert was issued for the missing woman, but the Montana police department informed the public that a silver alert is used when an elderly person goes missing.
NCMEC director’s advice on missing persons scams
The director of communications at the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) spoke to The U.S. Sun and warned of the harm sharing scam photos can have on missing person cases
The NCMEC is a private, non-profit organization that works to find missing children and prevent child sexual exploitation, and victimization.
Angeline Hartmann, the director of communications, acknowledged the dramatic increase in missing person scams online and how this negatively impacts the search for real missing children.
“It’s a scam – it’s a hoax and it’s terrible,” she said.
Hartmann gave advice on what to look for when coming across a missing persons posters online:
- Ensure the information comes from a legitimate organization, law enforcement, or a credible local news outlet.
- Ensure the poster includes the child’s name, the date they went missing, and the law enforcement agency handling the case.
- Be cautious of posters with misspellings or improperly used words.
“We don’t want to let the scammers win – we want the good people to keep on doing good and we can’t do this alone,” Hartman told The U.S. Sun.
“We’re not sure what the scammers hope to gain by making posts like this,” the police department wrote.
“Please help set the record straight by sharing this post and, if you see the scam post out in the wild, leave a comment there (if the scammers don’t turn off commenting before you can get one in).”
Counties across the country are warning social media users of this scam.
“The post is not legitimate and appears to be part of a wider scam designed to go viral,” Chambers County Sheriff’s office in Texas posted.
“Please do not share the post, and always verify information through official law enforcement sources.”
MISSING PERSON SCAMS
Last year, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children warned the public about fake missing children posters made by scammers to hack social media accounts.
The warning came after a fake missing persons poster circulated social media claiming a girl named Gracie Mae Thompson was missing in Odessa, Texas.
However, no one by the name Gracie Mae Thompson even existed.
The Odessa Police Department previously confirmed to The U.S. Sun that no record of a Gracie Mae Thompson or a missing person report was filed under that name.
The NCMEC also previously told The U.S. Sun that there was no record of her in their database.
“It’s a scam – it’s a hoax and it’s terrible,” Angeline Hartmann, the Director of Communications at the NCMEC, told The U.S. Sun last August.
