This page provides valuable information on how to determine if a missing child report received by e-mail is real or a hoax.

Why Missing Children E-Mails Do
More Harm Than Good

Nothing tugs on personal feelings more than the report of a missing child. Sadly, there are those who wish to prey on our feelings by sending out bogus missing child reports where either no such person exists or the person exists, but was never missing. In some cases, an e-mail address is included as a contact, but in most cases, such addresses have either been cancelled due to the amount of e-mails they receive or are not actually to the person listed in the e-mail. Often, such reports include a photo of the alleged victim. It is often difficult or impossible to determine if these photos are of a real person by that name or just a random photo which fits the description in the message.

Unfortunately, such messages can do much more harm than good. The reason is that there are so many hoax messages circulating today that most recipients simply delete them on the assumption that it is another hoax. Those that do get forwarded cause unnecessary concern for a person who either is not missing or doesn't even exist.

This situation can cause what I refer to as "The Boy Who Cried Wolf Syndrome." This is where people have received so many fake messages in their inbox, that they simply just delete them without even reading them. And when a REAL missing child alert is received, the recipient deletes it on the assumption that it is just another hoax.

When receiving a message regarding a missing child, it is HIGHLY recommended that it be verified before forwarding it to others and thus potentially avoiding causing more needless concern.

How to Identify a Missing Child Hoax

In most cases, all it takes a little common sense to determine if the report is a hoax. For example, if a message does not contain a contact number for the police or FBI, then the message is very likely a fake. Many hoaxes are pranks listing a phone number or e-mail address of an individual in order to generate numerous junk calls or e-mails to the target of the prank.

Genuine missing children reports SHOULD contain a contact number for the police or other law enforcement agency. Any message which does not contain such information should be immediately suspect as a hoax and should be further investigated before forwarding.

In recent years, reports of abducted children have received significant national news coverage. If you receive a missing child report in an e-mail, but have heard nothing on the news, then you should consider the message as a possible hoax.

On the other hand, there are also missing child reports which were REAL at one time, however, the message has since become outdated as the case has either been solved or closed for other reasons. Such messages continue to circulate because people are unaware that the case has been solved.

The most reliable way to determine if a missing child report is real, fake (for those not listed here) or outdated is to contact the authorities or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST.

There are several reliable missing persons organizations which can be used to determine if a message is real or a fake. Some of the best sources are listed in the right column.

The scrolling "Amber Alert" ticker found on the main page and Missing Children page of this site is also another reliable method of identifying real missing children reports. By clicking on the ticker, people can obtain additional information on any missing children listed.

Please do NOT forward ANY messages regarding missing children without first verifying their authenticity or whether they are outdated. It can save people a lot of trouble and concern when such messages are verified first.

The main Missing Children page of this site lists some of the most commonly encountered hoaxes, some of which have been circulating for several years.