Have authorities in various towns and counties in the U.S. issued a warning of a 29-year-old man who was "on the run" after stabbing "neighbors to death," as a post on Facebook claimed? No, that's not true: This post, and others like it, are part of a known deception to trick people into sharing content. In this scam, a shared claim will later be changed to an ad to solicit social media users into giving up their personal information.
A version of the claim was shared in a post on Facebook on February 25, 2025, (archived here). It read:
⚠️Warning⚠️
Everyone around #Sherman is being warned to be alert, vigilant and to properly lock your doors. This 29 year old man is on the run after stabbing both my neighbors to death on Friday💔😭.
Known as ANDRE CORTEZ HARRIS (29), he is going around knocking on peoples' doors pretending to be homeless ,seeking for help but then he attacks you after gaining your trust 😭, he has robbed 10 homes in the last 2 days💔
He hasn't gotten far, the authorities need your help to find him. If you see him please call the police and be careful.
LET'S FLOOD OUR FEEDS AND HELP FIND HIM 🙏
This is how the post looked on Facebook at the time of this writing:
(Source: Facebook screenshot taken Tue Mar 4 20:03:40 2025 UTC)
There are key indications that the above post is known as a bait-and-switch scam. Though the identity of the person in the photo could not be verified, a Facebook keyword search using phrases from the post caption returned at least seven similar posts with different U.S. locations, including in Sherman, Texas, Beaumont, Texas, and dozens of posts to a public group on Facebook titled, "Craigslist House For Rent Available."
For example:
(Source: Lead Stories compilation of Facebook screenshots taken Tue Mar 4 20:00:28 2025 UTC)
The post presented no evidence that the story was real. Using vague descriptions, it stated only that "29 year old man is on the run after stabbing" someone's "neighbors to death on Friday."
A reverse image search showed that the photo has been online for years. It originated on a mugshot-hosting website, "Mugshots Zone," which shared that then-29-year-old "Andre Cortez Harris" was arrested in Chicago in January 2023 for premeditated sexual assault and aggravated sex abuse of a minor.
Another version of the post was shared in a similar community group on February 28, 2025. The post was "flipped" to a real-estate ad the following day. This is determined by viewing a post's edit history, which can be found by clicking the three dots at the top right of the post.
The edit history showed that two attachments were removed after the post was made, and four were added.
The creator changed the post text on March 1, 2025, to read:
Rent to Own Home
$550/Month
3-bedrooms, 2-Bath rooms, Recently painted house with new appliances and upgrades! ready for a new owner.
-Located near shopping center
-Parking Space Available!
- All Pets allowed
For more information kindly visit >>>https://https://cutt.ly/WreMNzi9
and fill in the application to set an appointment!
The edit history opened as a pop-up window, displayed below, showing when and how the post changed.
(Source: Facebook screenshot taken Tue Mar 4 19:53:39 2025 UTC)
Bait-and-switch scheme
In a bait-and-switch scheme, social media users post eye-grabbing content to get other users to share a post with their followers. After the post is shared, the scammer changes the original post to a deceptive ad, often for home rentals, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) (archived here), a nonprofit business watchdog, warns. The BBB adds:
This scheme has many variations, but the commonality is the emotionality or urgency of the message that encourages concerned people to share the news with their friends ...
These posts are shared in local buy-and-sell groups because there is already a sense of community and trust within these crowds, and people may not realize that scammers are targeting members. Scammers sometimes also turn comments off on the posts so other group members can't oust them.
Once a post has shares and engagement, the scammer will flip the post -- that is, update the post to be about something completely different, usually a house or apartment for rent. Hence, the name "bait and switch."
Many of these scam posts will have the comments turned off and will hashtag various cities or locations. The post about the supposed stabbing killer does not contain a call to action, contact information for area law enforcement, or any other information that tells users what to do next if that person is found.
As Lead Stories previously reported, bait-and-switch posts commonly use links that lead to landing pages with disclaimers or false promises and request contact information that can be used to gather personal data, including financial information.
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Other Lead Stories fact checks of claims about bait-and-switch scams can be found here.
