LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – A new scam is popping up about a missing officer, has now made its way to Las Vegas.
FOX5 first told you about a scam on social media called “bump this post.”
You may think you are helping out by sharing it, however that is not the case.
The post in question was posted on social media, on a local group.
It was about a missing officer so it caught the attention of FOX5 staff.
It did not take long for us to figure out it was a scam.
The first line of the post says “Female Police Officer Missing in Las Vegas.
According to the post, her name is Carolyn Lynch and after a description about what supposedly happened the person who posted it wants people to share it.
When FOX5 typed in the name on social media, we found many of the same posts with the same picture, except the only information that was switched out was the city this officer was apparently missing from.
However, FOX5 still wanted to find out who the officer is and with the help of our InvestigateTV staff we narrowed it down to Lodi Police Department in California.
They confirmed the officer in the scam post is one of their sergeants, but her name is not Carolyn Lynch and she is not missing.
Instead we found a 2019 post from the Lodi Police Department which showed the original picture of the officer.
You may be wondering, why scammers are doing this, well the Better Business Bureau national spokesperson Melanie McGovern indicates it is to get as many eyes on it as possible.
“And then all of a sudden whoever’s managing that post swaps it out for something else,” McGovern said.
FOX5 found posts that seemed like they were about the missing officer, now changed to something completely different.
The BBB said the scammers often put these fake posts in community groups, so instead you should look for posts that come from legitimate accounts like police departments and city government pages. If you think the post may be suspicious, then do not share it.
The post is still circulating around on social media, however it has been removed from the original group we found it in.
FOX5 also reached out to Henderson PD, North Las Vegas PD, and Metro and they all warned the post was a scam.
Have a tip? You can reach reporter Victoria Saha at [email protected]
Copyright 2025 KVVU. All rights reserved.
