A post about a ‘little boy being found in Swindon’ is circulating on Facebook.
An account by the name of “Mollie Gibbs” claims that the tot was located in Covingham this morning (Thursday) and is now safe at a police station.
The post has had more than 220 shares so far – but nothing about it is true. “Mollie” isn’t a real person and the child pictured is not missing in Swindon.
It’s not clear what the poster achieves from sharing content of this nature, but it is likely to be some form of internet scam targeting less savvy Facebook users.
The post reads: “This little boy, approximately 2 years old, was found in Covingham 1 hour ago.
“Officers have the child safe at the Police Station but we have no idea where he lives.
“No one has called looking for him.Please Bump this post.”
Previously, the platform was inundated with photographs of missing or seriously injured pets – promoted in a similar way to gain traction.
