Social media is rife with scams, but at least most of them aren’t disrespectful of the dead. The same can’t be made of one making the rounds right now that uses photos of deceased Pennsylvania native Brian Posch, claiming he’s a missing person. Unfortunately, this is just one of many similar scams which attempts to prey on the kindness of others to steal personal data.
Brian Posch isn’t a missing person (anymore), but this scam wants you to think he is
Though there are social media posts that claim Brian Posch is a missing person, these are scams. Adding insult to injury, according to CBS News, Posch was missing at one point but was found dead earlier this year. After Posch didn’t show up to work on April 5, 2024, his body was found in his truck submerged in the Monongahela River on April 9.
Despite this, according to Valley News Live, his photos were attached to a Facebook post on a page called Fargo-Moorhead Sales and More this month, claiming that he went missing in Moorhead, MN with his daughter, and that a silver alert had been issued for him. It ends imporing viewers to share the post.
The Philadephia Inquirer reports that Posch’s photos have been attached to other scams, sometimes calling him by different names. However, the text tends to remain the same, just with a changing locale.
Why are scammers using a dead dad’s photos?
The psychology behind these scams is revolting. Scammers hope that people will share and like the posts out of concern for an alleged missing person’s well-being. This can help an account gain followers and engagement, or the scammer can sell the account for a profit to a bot farm.
Alternatively, scammers can wait until a post has been boosted and edit it to include links leading to phishing websites. The key to avoiding these is to be aware of what you’re sharing. A cursory search quickly leads to info that Brian Posch is deceased.
