CLEVELAND — Have you heard of the bait and switch social media scam? It's when someone creates a post and it gets a lot of engagement, and then they edit the post so it says something different.
It might get changed to say something that could trick people into sending them money, for example, and it looks all the more legitimate because of all the interactions on the post.
THE CLAIM
A post being shared on social media around Ohio has gotten lots of engagement. It's claiming there's a serial killer named Robert Thibodeau on the run in the state who attacked a single mom with a knife and stole a vehicle from an 83-year-old grandmother.
SOURCES
To VERIFY whether this is true:
- We reached out to multiple police departments in Northeast Ohio.
- We used Google Lens reverse image search.
- We called the sheriff's office in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana.
EXPLANATION
First, we sent the post to the Cleveland and Mentor police departments and asked if their homicide units were on the lookout for a suspect named Robert Thibodeau. Mentor Police Captain Andrew Lehner told me they're not aware of any serial killer named Robert Thibodeau in Mentor, and they haven't gotten any reports of what's described in the post.
"As far as we know there is no serial killer named Robert Thibodeau in Mentor," Lehner said in a statement. "We have not taken any reports of incidents as described in the attachment."
In Cleveland, I found the same thing. Cleveland Police Sergeant Wilfredo Siaz told me, "The Cleveland Division of Police Homicide Unit does not have information to confirm this person (Robert Thibodeau) is a suspect for a homicide in the city of Cleveland."
From there, I turned to Google Lens reverse image search, where I found the mugshot in the post featured in a news article from Louisiana dated Aug. 7, 2018.
The article cited a news release from the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office, so I called and talked to their public information officer, Ashley Rodrigue.
"I can confirm this mugshot is of James Anderson Vining (49) taken at the Tangipahoa Parish Jail on July 24, 2018," Rodrigue said.
Rodrigue told me the charges Vining was arrested on were video voyeurism, possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia, possession of weapons while in possession of controlled dangerous substances, and malfeasance in office. She didn't say anything about a knife attack, stealing a car, or any type of murder.
ANSWER
So we can VERIFY everything about the post being shared in Ohio is false. There is no serial killer named Robert Thibodeau on the run in Ohio who looks like the man pictured in the post.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
This is one of those bait and switch scams where once you share it, the post will get edited to say something completely different. If you see this pop up on your feed, don't engage with the post. That's exactly what the person who created it wants you to do.
Remember, if you see something you want us to fact check, you can send it our way at VERIFY@wkyc.com.