Branson Police Warn of Fake Post

The Branson Police Department releases a statement about a post of a small child found abandoned.

The complete statement and tips on looking for a fake post are below:

BPD is aware of posts circulating the local Facebook groups stating that a small child was found abandoned and is trying to locate the parents. We have not received any calls for service relating this and believe the posts to all be false. There are posts similar to this that the wording and images are copy and pasted by multiple accounts across as many groups and platforms as they can for spam and to promote hysteria.

❗️How to spot a fake post:
- The post will usually be a very alarming topic (found a baby in a box, kidnappers at the store, being followed home, etc.) - be leery and IF IN DOUBT, call your local law enforcement. Follow us on social media. We DO post crime & safety updates!
- Click on the profile of an alarming post to look for red flags on their profile by clicking "View Main Profile"

RED FLAGS TO LOOK FOR:
🔺If their profile is a "Page" and not a person, but has a picture of a person and the page is labeled something like "Grocery Store" with no friends and no followers
🔺If their profile has no friends
🔺If their profile is a new account (it will usually show their join date)
🔺If they just joined the group you see the post in -- when you click on them, it'll show Member of ___ group since (date)
🔺If they are not from the area
🔺If multiple "people" are posting the same post (wording and image)