Experts urge social media users to do their research before sharing a post online.
SAN ANTONIO — The Seguin Police Department is debunking a post circulating on social media claiming there is a serial killer in the small town.
The police department made took to Facebook issuing a warning.
“We want to clarify that this information is false. These posts are part of a scam or an attempt to spread fear and misinformation,” the post read.
Jason Meza with the Better Business Bureau said these posts are looking to take advantage of those who click on it. In the fake post, it claims there’s a serial killer in Seguin and it includes a story about a suspect attacking a single mother. But, police say it is not true.
“It might have been an incident that did really take place in another area, another market,” Meza said. “They are just lifting names, images. They are lifting real people’s images and using that as bait too, click bait.”
Meza said they have seen this type of scam before.
“We will see serial killer, we will see emergency alert, we will see beware,” Meza said. “And many times it feeds into comments.”
Meza said these days it is hard to tell what is real or not. He said the idea behind a scam like this, is to get people to engage.
“Cyber criminals are trying to get more people in to black hat marketing, scenario or scheme,” he said. “The more people they can identify as potential consumers they can resell that or sell it under a dark web scenario.”
Bottom line, Meza said think before you share.
“Triple check the source,” he said. “If you are not sure, think before you share. You could also entrap others. Your social circle might be involved when you share, and re-share those kinds of posts.”
Meza said the more activity you leave as a web surfer the more of a profile is being developed on you. He said do your research and homework before sharing a post.