Cruel missing girl post preys on Facebook users – Australian Associated Press

Facebook community group members are being urged to share a photo of a “missing girl” in a bid to reunite her with her family. But the post is a scam. The pictured girl is not missing. The intention of those behind the post is to prompt people to share it, before it is then altered to display a real estate advertisement with suspicious links. The post (archived here) has been shared on numerous community pages in the UK, US, Australia and elsewhere (examples here, here, here and here). The image features a girl with her two dogs.  The post claims that a granddaughter is missing, but the photo has been stolen from a news report.  “Help!!! MISSING Child!! #Falkirk My grand daughter Sofia only 5years old went out on her bike earlier today and she still hasn’t returned. She doesn’t know where she’s going, new surroundings.There is a silver alert activated on her. Please help bump this post so we can get her home safely!!” the caption says. But the photo has been copied from a 2021 BBC news report about a pair of missing dachshunds in North Yorkshire, England. The girl pictured, Ruby, was not missing. The article instead
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