Every year, tens of thousands of people faint in nature in France. While some disappearances are voluntary, others are considered particularly worrying by the authorities. In most cases – and often before an investigation is even opened – families post wanted notices on social media. The goal ? Maximize the chances of finding a missing person. But in some cases, this word of mouth can be dangerous. Because in recent years, several fake wanted notices have been published on social networks, especially on Twitter and Facebook. Claiming to be looking for a loved one who has disappeared, some people seek the help of Internet users to physically locate or “stalk” (track or spy on) someone.
This is what happened in mid-March, on Twitter. In a message posted on the social network, a certain Camille Martin was worried about the disappearance of her best friend at the exit of a nightclub in Rennes. “Her name is Violette, she is 26 years old and wore a red dress with docs. She was dancing with a rather tall, dark-haired guy with a beard. I remember he has a scorpion tattooed on the back of his neck,” it read. First massively shared, the wanted notice quickly aroused suspicion about its veracity.
Beware of recent accounts
If Internet users think they are helping in good faith by massively sharing these wanted notices, it is sometimes the opposite, explains Victor Baissent, tech/web expert and teacher: “The goal is to have a first and last name , even an address, to find a way to get in touch with this person, who has absolutely not disappeared. But she may not want contact at all, for all kinds of reasons.”
And for good reason, the profile of these Internet users is often the same, adds the specialist: “It can be a companion or an ex-companion of a woman who fled because of psychological, physical or of harassment. It can also be a man who has spotted a woman in a nightclub and thinks it’s a great idea to track her down. To avoid this kind of situation, several web specialists, including Victor Baissent, called for caution, giving some valuable advice for spotting fake wanted notices.
Starting with the person who posted the message. First, advises the specialist, you have to look at how long the Twitter account or Facebook page has existed: “If it has just been created, there is no message, it is already suspicious” . But we can find out about the identity of the issuer. “We must try to find a trace of who posted the message on the Internet. When I inquired about this famous Camille Martins, there was only one Facebook page, also created the week before. Inevitably, it reinforces suspicion, ”adds the expert.
Photos, clues
Beyond identity, the profile photo can also give some clues. “You have to try to find out if it’s a stolen photo,” he continues. For that, there are reverse search engines, like Google or yandex. By entering the image, “the tool can potentially tell us if the photo comes from the Web, so if it has been stolen,” advises Victor Baissent.
And progress does not help our affairs. Because if the photo can be stolen, it can also have been generated by artificial intelligence (AI), very fashionable at the moment. “If it was made by Midjourney, for example, it can be difficult to spot with advances,” said the professor. Fortunately, some tools, like Hive Moderation“can give a percentage chance that it is an AI-generated image,” he continues.
Then comes the actual message. The expert advises to identify if the issuer of the search notice gives details, necessary to find identify a person: “In a real situation, the families give the maximum of information. If the elements are vague, we must be wary”. And it’s the same for the photographs: “Normally, a real search notice includes several photographs. The goal is to allow people to get an idea, to visualize the person as well as possible, ”he says.
The authorities as a guarantee of reliability
But perhaps the most important element is that of the mention of the authorities. If the families often give a personal number on the real wanted notices to remain reachable, they also often write down the number of the police station or the gendarmerie, with which they are in contact. Moreover, the authorities themselves posting wanted notices, “if the message is published by a prefecture, the police or the gendarmerie, it is a guarantee of reliability”, according to the expert, who adds: “In in this case, if the search notice is real, you have to share the post of the authorities to show other Internet users that the disappearance is real ”.
And the specialist warns, you should never give information to the issuer about the so-called missing person: “It is the authorities that you should always contact. We don’t know what this person can do with this information, they can use it to stalk, harass and even locate the person, ”he warns. Finally, if the search notice turns out to be false, “you should not share the post again, crying a lie. The more a tweet is shared, the more visible it is, the more likely the sender is to gather information,” warns Victor Baissent.
But then what to do? According to the expert, it is necessary to take a screenshot of the message and report it to the authorities, in particular via the Pharos government platform, devoted to illegal content. For its part, the platform cybermalveillance.gouv.fra government mechanism for assisting victims of cyber-malicious acts, which considers that it is cyber-harassment, encourages victims to file a complaint, even if the publications in question have only been online for a very short time.