A scam is flooding Facebook groups across the country claiming a police officer named Carolyn Lynch is missing and in danger. However, these posts are completely fabricated and have nefarious roots, according to several news reports.
At least two of the fake posts were shared on the Facebook page “buy sell and trade Dillsburg” Friday evening. They both said the following:
“A female police officer is missing in Dillsburg. Carolyn Lynch (27), a female police officer, has gone missing, and authorities are seeking assistance in locating her. Her vehicle was found last night, with her daughter inside, but Officer Lynch is still missing. She stands 5′9″ and weighs 168 pounds. A silver alert has been issued, indicating that Officer Lynch may be in serious danger and need emergency medical care. The community’s help is urgently needed. Sharing this information just takes two seconds…”
A post in a local Facebook group claimed a York County officer is missing and in danger. York County police said that is false.Carroll Township Police Department
Carroll Township Police created a post around 6:15 p.m. on their Crimewatch page, saying “the following social media post is FALSE.”
“There is no threat to any officers or their family at this time. Please do not share, or interact with this post if you see it. Stay safe!” the post said.
According to WRDW in Augusta, Georgia, many variations of the scam have named different police departments, including Durham, North Carolina; Citrus County, Florida; Birmingham, Alabama; Orange, Texas and Girard, Ohio.
At a first glance, these Facebook posts might seem share-worthy. But when you take a closer look, they are almost all posted by new accounts or accounts with little activity.
The two posts on the Dillsburg page had seven followers and zero followers. One of the profiles was posting other scam posts regarding SoFi sign-up bonuses.
According to other news reports, scammers use the shocking posts to “phish” for easily trickable victims online. This method is similar to the scam posts that say “OMG it works” while posting malicious links.
WRDW noted the fake posts typically infiltrate “Buy and Sell” Facebook groups because of their limited rules and public nature.
As of 10 p.m. Friday, the scam had been posted to the “buy sell and trade Dillsburg” Facebook page at least twice and had been shared over a dozen times.

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