Authorities warn of scam involving fake lost child

SIOUX CENTER, Iowa (KTIV) - Law enforcement in Sioux County, Iowa is warning people about a scam going around claiming to help a lost child.

Authorities say there was a Facebook post going around falsely claiming they had found a lost child in Sioux County on Tuesday, May 16, and were trying to reunite them with the parents.

The Sioux County Sheriff’s Office says there were no reports of a child being found on Tuesday. Instead, the purpose of the post is to “play on people’s emotions” so it would get a high number of shares online. Then, according to authorities, once the post gets enough shares, the scammer edits the post and attempts a different scam geared toward financial gain.

The sheriff’s office says to watch out for the below warning signs when on social media:

• You are unable to reply to the post
• The person creating the post made their own account very recently
• The poster has very few, if any “local area” friends that you know
• The post grammar is confusing or not written with correct grammar

When you see posts that seem to be a fake lost child scam, authorities recommend you contact your local law enforcement.

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