Did a police department report that an autistic teen named "Ivan Moore" is missing? No, that's not true: The teen shown in social-media images captioned with this name is not urgently sought by any police department. This attention-grabbing narrative is a classic trick to get people to share the missing-child post, which will later be edited to become a scam post.
One example of this false post appeared in a Facebook group called "Gordonsville, Tennessee Yard Sale" (archived here) on July 26, 2024. The post was captioned:
MISSING TEEN 🚨 It takes two seconds to share!
#Gordonsville
Ivan Moore was reported missing by the Police Department about 2 hours ago.
He is diagnosed with autism and needs daily medication. HE is considered to possibly be in EXTREME danger and in need of medical assistance . We are asking for the community's HELP TO FIND HIM.
ONLY TAKES 2 SECONDS to share.
This is what the post looked like on Facebook at the time of the writing of this fact check:
(Source: Facebook screenshot taken on Wed Jul 31 20:41:50 2024 UTC)
The commenting for this post was turned off (pictured above) to prevent people from warning others about the scam. In this case, one person was able to slip in a comment, "Scam," before the commenting closed.
Lead Stories used several image-search engines to look for the photos used in the post, and only one Google Lens search resulted in a match. It was a post (archived here) made on Facebook on July 27, 2024, by the page of the Polk County Sheriff's Office in Texas. The post was captioned:
PSA SCAM ALERT
This post is a scam. If you see a post like this that are not made by a law enforcement agency with this wording it is a scam.
Another Google search for the text ("Ivan Moore" AND missing) brought up results for a different person named Ivan Moore who has been missing since January 13, 2013. The missing-person case listed in the NamUs database says that this "Ivan Moore," missing from Nashville, is African American. He would be 44 years old as of 2024.
This bait-and-switch scam has been popping up in Facebook groups since 2022. The scam uses a variety of narratives -- including lost or found dogs, dangerous people, unidentified accident victims, even rattlesnakes and noxious weeds -- to catch someone's attention and inspire them to share the post on their timeline. The post will later be edited to become something else. Usually, it's a rent-to-own real estate scam.
The screenshot below shows a post made on July 30, 2024, in the Facebook group "Swip Swap Palatka, FL." It was found by searching Facebook for posts with the name "Ivan Moore." The visible caption on the post does not contain the name, but clicking on the three dots in the upper right corner of the post will show its edit history. The post.originally was asking for help finding the missing teen, but it now says:
[RENT TO OWN]
Price: $600/Month
Sq ft: 1510
Looking for a family to make this beautiful home their own! This 3-bedroom, 2-bath home features a spacious living room, a kitchen/dining room combo, and a master bedroom with a walk-in closet and a master bath with brand-new shower doors. Enjoy privacy in your backyard, perfect for relaxation or gatherings. Both cat and dog-friendly, and Section 8 welcome.
For more information and to set up an appointment, visit>>> https://cutt.ly/JeziluZs
and contact the property management team.
Make this your home today!
(Source: Facebook screenshot taken on Wed Jul 31 22:31:34 2024 UTC)
As with every other detail in this complicated ruse, the house pictured here is not really available to rent in Florida for only $600 a month. This same house appears in many posts represented as being in any one of a myriad of places.
The purpose of this fake advertisement is to get people to click on the link, which opens this website. The top of the displayed site page features a seal (pictured below) from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, but this site is not affiliated with that government agency. It is just a landing page to direct viewers to yet another site where their information will be harvested. Other instances of this scam have pointed to a subscription trap promising leads on local homes for sale.
(Source: gooddeedsgalore.org screenshot taken on Wed Jul 31 22:58:43 2024 UTC)
When Lead Stories attempted to check the terms and conditions posted on the HUD Homes website, it redirected to a malicious pop-up on yet another website (archived here).
Additional Lead Stories fact check articles about bait-and-switches can be found here.
