During Law enforcement authorities across Canada continue to raise concerns about fake missing children posts that are actually bait-and-switch scams. The posts, circulating on Facebook, tug at heartstrings by claiming a child is missing or has been found and needs help locating their family. After a post has been widely shared, scammers change it to promote their products or marketing schemes—sometimes with a link that, if clicked, allows access to the user’s computer or initiates a ransomware attack. The problem complicates legitimate Facebook posts about missing children. “That’s where this becomes insidious—because then people become nervous about sharing these things because they wonder if it’s real or not,” said David Gerhard, head of computer science at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg. Scam posts are often shared in public Facebook groups and have the comments turned off. Legitimate missing person posts should be verifiable by police have a case report number, or be posted directly by a trusted organization or person, Gerhard said.