CRUEL SCAM
Who is Gracie Mae Thompson and is she a real missing girl?
There are signs the post isn't legitimate
POSTS about a missing girl named Gracie Mae Thompson have been circulating the web since August 2024.
But there have been no official reports of her disappearance and online sleuths say it’s been faked as part of a phishing scam.
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Is Gracie Mae Thompson a real missing girl?
Gracie’s story has been tugging at the heartstrings of many.
But it’s unlikely Gracie is a real missing girl, according to who have called the supposed ploy the “missing girl scam”.
If Gracie was a real missing girl then news sites and police would be reporting her disappearance.
Is Gracie Mae Thompson an internet scam?
The mysterious case of Gracie May is very possibly a scam, say Malware tips.
Gracie typically appears as a Facebook post featuring a photo of a young teenage girl.
The image is paired with an urgent plea to help find the supposedly missing child.
The post claims the 15-year-old went missing from Texas on July 22, 2024, and includes some identifying details like her height, weight, hair color, and what she was last seen wearing.
Scammers have been sharing the same girl’s photo across Facebook pages and groups.
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They reportedly often using slight variations of the name like “Graci May Thompson” or “Gracie Mae Thompson”.
The posts use emotive language to draw people in and boost the chances that well-meaning individuals will share the content.
But, there are several tell-tale signs Gracie’s disappearance is a hoax rather than a legitimate missing person case.
Firstly the post lacks a clear call-to-action with instructions on what to do if someone has information about the missing girl’s whereabouts.
Most genuine missing person alerts will direct people to contact law enforcement or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
And the supposed missing person case has not been featured in any reputable news outlets or acknowledged by law enforcement, despite the post claiming Gracie has been missing for over two weeks.
The use of emojis also casts doubt upon the legitimacy of the story.
Finally, some variations of the post have a link to suspicious websites that deploy adware and try to force visitors to disable their VPN and ad-blocking software.
The missing posts have also increased in Facebook buy/sell groups rather than on personal pages.
What is a phishing scam?
Phishing is when criminals use scam emails, text messages, or phone calls to trick their victims.
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The aim is often to make victims visit a website, which may download a virus onto your computer, or steal bank details or other personal information.
The Gracie Mae Thompson missing girl scam is a classic example of like-farming which is where fraudsters create emotive, shocking, or controversial content with the aim of generating as many likes, comments, and shares as possible.
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