Are Pedophile Groups on Facebook?

A warning claims that pedophile groups are seeking to add unwitting members to “parents” groups in order to view photos of their children.

It’s an old hoax.

This particular warning has circulated for at least three years, with surges occurring several times a year. Let’s look at the warning itself:

ATTENTION!!!!!!!!! Do not join the group currently on Facebook with the title “becoming a father or mother was the greatest gift of my life” it is a group of pedophiles trying to access your photos, this was on fox news at 5 last night. Please copy and post!!! Lets Keep children safe (only takes a minute to re post

We have seen this warning circulating for several years. When it first made its rounds, no such group existed, and we could find no evidence that any of the claims in it were true. There have also been no reports on Fox News regarding this.

Note: A good rule of thumb we’ve found is that any social media post beginning with an all-caps warning such as ATTENTION or WARNING or BEWARE is often an alarmist hoax. Every additional exclamation mark used in the warning increases the likelihood of it being false.

After the initial warning spread a few years ago, some people actually created groups by similar names, perhaps as a joke or to be sarcastic.

Facebook Groups

Regardless of whether or not such a group exists, it should be pointed out that joining a Facebook group will not give anyone new access to your private information or photos.

How they can really see your photos

There are much easier ways for a stalker, hacker, disgruntled ex, etc. to gain access to your photos. One easy way is by creating a fake profile and sending friend requests to all of your friends. After a few of your friends have mindlessly accepted requests from this fake account, the stalker will then send you a friend request. The fact that you have “mutual friends” makes this fake friend seem more benign, and you may be tempted to accept this friend request based on this “mutual friend” endorsement.

Befriending this fake account will enable this person to access to all of your posts and photos designed for “friends only.”

Bottom Line

This warning is a hoax, and joining a Facebook group will not provide access of your photos to anyone. It is a good reminder, however, to be very careful who you befriend on Facebook and what you post even for your friends to see.