MCLENNAN COUNTY, Texas — After a Facebook post went viral and was shared more than 35,000 times, the McLennan County Sheriff's Office is setting the record straight and deeming it a scam.
You've likely seen the post. It shows screenshots of a text claiming to be a sex trafficking warning. The sheriff's department says if you either get the text or see the post, you should ignore it because it's fake.
"This is NOT a human trafficking issue," the department said. "Most often, these are scams in which the sender is using internet based numbers, and are often in countries, such as Nigeria. They will try to garnish affection, or find a way to blackmail you into sending money to them."
The department said because of this post, they've been getting a lot of calls and messages about it.
"If you receive this message, or anything similar, block the number, and delete it," the post said. "The person sending is not tracking your location, trying to find you, or attempting to traffic you."
The department added the post to the list of apps parents should be on the lookout for on their children's devices.
"To end exploitation, we need to know what our children are doing online to keep them safe, not worrying about someone half a world away sending text messages," the department wrote.