Truth Behind the Hoax of Missing Gracie Mae Thompson

If you are an active social media user then surely you have encountered a post urging you to find a missing teenage girl named Gracie Mae Thompson. In the post she has been described as a 15 year old who just vanished in the thin air without leaving a trail. Several people have so far shared the posts as it felt genuine to them and that’s what kindhearted people do. 

But what’s disturbing about this case is that no such person exists in the real world. This viral online post that has been circulating in community groups is part of a larger scam tailormade to fox a person. The basic purpose behind this might be gaining more engagement on social media but there might be an underlying more menacing thought process behind that. Here in this article we will unravel the truth behind missing person Gracie Mae Thompson. 

A Well-Designed Deception 

It all started last year in the month of August when many people across social media platforms saw a post on their timeline which states that “My daughter has been missing since July 22!” The post also shared the description of the girl missing claiming her to be 5’2” tall, weighing at 103 lbs. It was also mentioned that she has recently dyed her hair black and at the time when she went missing she was wearing an all black outfit and that’s when people started to get fooled regarding missing person Gracie Mae Thompson.

With growing concerns, this post also raised a few eyebrows and that led to some fact-checking organisations to investigate the post’s credibility. They were unable to locate any such complaints relating to the said missing person. Even Newsweek, a renowned media outlet, claimed that there is no evidence that can prove this disappearance and they labelled it as a classic case of phishing. 

Later the Odessa Police Department and most importantly the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) issued public statements confirming that no such reports have been made officially. So, it is safe to say that posts like these are nothing but a way to boost engagement on social media by striking an emotional cord with the viewer of the post. Some experts even said that the scammers’ goal might even be causing a malware attack or collection of user data. 

How Does This Scam Impact the Real World?

This trending topic of missing person Gracie Mae Thompson is damaging for credible cases. People might not trust any genuine posts after getting conned once as this misinformation not only makes a mockery of people’s goodwill but also makes them vulnerable emotionally. 

How to Stay Safe From These Scams

Social media posts usually work based on an algorithm and you might start seeing similar posts from now on. So you might be wondering how to identify the genuine ones from the fake ones. Well don;t worry we have got your back. 

Usually posts relating to the real missing person cases mention credible sources with them, you can try to look for any link mentioning any law enforcement agencies or news outlets or not in the post. No matter what, do not call on any number or click on any suspicious links mentioned under the social media post. 

Another way to spot the fake is by conducting a reverse image search and the result will tell you how many times the photo has been reused. You could do the same in the missing person Gracie Mae Thompson case too. Last but not least, you can check databases of NCMEC, NamUS or the website of local law enforcement agencies. 

Final Words

As there is no missing person Gracie Mae Thompson, you should immediately stop sharing posts claiming that and report that post so that it can be taken down from social media. We strongly advise you to stay vigilant and verify any suspicious post before resharing them.