A child found in Rouen and entrusted to the police station? Be careful, this is a scam!

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Don't be fooled! Since the end of October 2024, publications have appeared on certain Facebook pages mentioning a boy found and entrusted to the police station from Rouen. However, it is fakes rude.

A boy found and unclaimed in Rouen?

At the end of October 2024, a publication appeared on a local news group in Rouen. “This little boy of around 2 years old was found an hour ago here in Rouen”, we can read in this post, accompanied by photos of a baby with a swollen face.

The author of the publication, an alleged Bianca Thomsoncontinues by indicating that “no one called to look for him” and invites Internet users: “Let's flood our feeds so that this publication can reach his family… IT ONLY TAKES 2 SECONDS TO SHARE! »

It's a scam

Strange and sad story at first glance. But, after checking with various police sources, no incident of this type had taken place that day and no child had been picked up at the police station.

It soon turned out that it was all a scam. Shortly after our checks, the publication had been completely modified and no longer mentioned anything related to this so-called lost child. A link was added to the post.

Rebelote this Tuesday, November 5, on another local Facebook group, in a publication by the same “Bianca Thomson”. Almost the same text word for wordbut this time the photos of another child with a swollen face. And once again, that all-caps invitation to share the post.

No need this time to mobilize our sources. A simple reverse search on the image allows you to see that it has already been used for similar publications, particularly in Great Britain or the United States.

The profile of the woman who calls herself Bianca Thomson shows that she also publishes so-called sales announcements with links. This profile has no other publication, no photo other than that of his profile, no information… Comments under his publications are closed.

How to spot these scams?

This is clearly a scam. The principle is ultimately simple: generate as many shares as possible with a moving story (a missing child) then modify the publication to include a fraudulent link which will then be visible on the pages of all those who shared. Obviously, Do not click on these links.

Faced with publications of this type, we must therefore remain cautious. The invitation to share as much as possible is often suspect. If there is no contact information, it is even more so. Finally, do not hesitate to do a reverse search on the published photos (right click then “Search with Google Lens”). This allows you to quickly see if the image is original or if it comes from elsewhere.

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