North Greenbush PD warns of Facebook 'crime' hoaxes
NORTH GREENBUSH, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The North Greenbush Police Department is warning the public about hoax Facebook posts that have been circulating on local sales and trades pages. Police said the posts usually claim a crime has been committed.
"The common theme we see are that they claim some heinous crime is being committed in the area, usually specifying a particular town or city, and are posted by someone from Zimbabwe," said North Greenbush police.
Examples of the Facebook crime hoaxes (North Greenbush PD) Examples of the Facebook crime hoaxes (North Greenbush PD)
Police said a recent user posted a link to a "charitable organization" shortly after leading them to believe that the first post was a type of test to see if they could post on that page. Officials said that link was definitely a scam.
"We urge everyone to be suspicious of such information not being posted by a legitimate news or law enforcement agency. Check the page of the original poster and see if they are even from this area," said North Greenbush police.
Police said residents should also be cautious about clicking on links from Facebook or your email. You could be at risk of being hacked or giving money to something other than what you thought.