Fact check: Local officials say identical abandoned baby posts are a scam

Hannah Hudnall, USA TODAY
·3 min read

The claim: A baby was abandoned in various locations

Social media users are sharing a picture they claim shows an abandoned baby in Facebook groups across the globe.

"Baby dumped at the gate of our house in Elmwood Park," reads the caption of one Nov. 30 post (direct link, archived link). "I can’t find her parents & my neighbors have no idea how she got here, please assist me in locating her parents."

The post garnered more than 500 shares in three days.

Other users have shared identical posts claiming the baby was found in locations such as Beloit, Wisconsin, and Plymouth, England.

The posts are a scam. Local officials told USA TODAY there have been no such reports of a baby being abandoned.

USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the post for comment.

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Identical posts are a scam

Sarah Lock, a spokesperson for the city of Beloit, told USA TODAY via email that the local police department has had no reports of an abandoned baby.

"I looked at the Facebook link and I’ve been seeing a lot of similar posts on social media where the user turns off comments to prevent others from stating that it is not credible and a scam," said Lock.

One user previously shared a post claiming the baby was found in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, but then changed the post to an ad for a Go2Bank account. Go2Bank, also known as Green Dot Bank, has a lengthy list of complaints in an array of online discussion forums and review pages. The Better Business Bureau has not rated the bank, but its page shows a rating of 1.09 stars out of 5 across from over 600 reviews.

USA TODAY previously debunked posts on Facebook about an injured dog in various locations that were subsequently changed to Go2Bank ads as well.

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Mark Kruea, a spokesperson for the city of Myrtle Beach, also confirmed there was no such incident in that city.

"I heard from the Police Department this morning, and they have not received any reports of an abandoned infant," Kruea said. "If this occurred, which appears doubtful, it did not occur in the City of Myrtle Beach. ... The social media post appears to be a false claim."

Jeffrey Blevins, a professor of journalism and public and international affairs at the University of Cincinnati, previously told USA TODAY that turning off comments is a warning sign of a scam post. He said if a user were truly seeking assistance from the public, they would not stifle communication by turning off the comments.

USA TODAY has previously debunked similar scam posts claiming that injured dogs, car crash victims and mugged women had been found in various locations across the country.

Our rating: False

Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that a baby was abandoned in various locations. Local officials in areas where the baby was purportedly abandoned said they received no reports about such an incident. An expert told USA TODAY these copy-and-paste tactics are used by scammers.

Our fact-check sources:

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: String of identical posts abandoned baby posts are a scam

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