Photo of ‘Catalytic Converter Thief’ is Fake, Scam

There is a photo floating around the internet that is raising some eyebrows.

According to the person posting the photo, it is an image of someone "in our area" who is going around stealing catalytic converters off of vehicles.

While it may very well be an actual thief caught on camera, the photograph likely didn't originate "in your area", and it is being shared like wildfire.

Here's what is happening: someone who is NOT in your area is sharing these photos with one thing in mind: getting your money. The scammers are hoping that they can see who is gullible enough to share unsubstantiated posts and hope that they can trick those people into falling for a scam in the future.

One thing I noticed about most of these fake posts is this: whoever is posting the photo is disabling the comments.

Do you know why they disable the comments? So that their cover isn't blown.

Is the guy in the photograph really a catalytic converter thief? Maybe so. Is this guy thievin' converters in your area? Probably not, as there are posts claiming that this guy is stealing converters in several states, within minutes or hours of each other.

So allow this to be another lesson (in the long line of lessons) about the internet: don't always believe what you see, and don't be hasty to post before you verify.

If you have shared this photo (or one like it: unverified), then you might consider going back on your timeline and removing the photo and be VERY leery of any messages you receive, even if they appear to be from a Facebook friend.