Police warn of social media scam involving missing people and pets

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Windsor police are warning of a new online scam using “missing person or pet” posts.

“We are aware of a new social media scam targeting our community,” Windsor Police said in a statement Friday.

An account posts what appears to be a plea for help regarding a missing person or pet, then asks people to share the post to spread the word.

Once the message is widely shared, the scammer modifies the original message to ask for money.

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The mass sharing gives the post more credibility, making it look less like a scam, prompting friends and family of anyone who shared the original post to donate to the scam, police said.

Anyone considering sharing information about a missing person or pet is advised to first verify the profile of the person posting by checking the person's account profile for the number of friends they have, personal photos shared, and other signs of authenticity.

Next, carefully review the comments on the post.

If comments heavily promote the post after it has been edited or claim to have successfully donated, be wary it may be a scam, police said.

Finally, check the Windsor Police Service or local media social media sites, including the Windsor Star, for any missing person reports or posts for verification.

In January, Windsor police issued a warning about scammers posing as police officers to defraud people.

Police said they have received several reports of scammers operating in Amherstburg in a variation of the grandparent scam, where a criminal calls the intended victim pretending to be their grandchild or other relative, or claims to be calling on behalf of a parent.

The scammers pretended to be police officers over the phone, provided fake badge numbers and demanded money.

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