The McLennan County Sheriff's Office is warning Central Texans about an ongoing scam but disproving it as a human trafficking issue.
The Criminal Investigations Division of MCSO said it has been receiving numerous calls and messages regarding human trafficking, but that this is not a human trafficking issue.
"Most often, these are scams in which the sender is using internet-based numbers, and are often in countries, such as Nigeria," said the sheriff's office. "They will try to garnish affection, or find a way to blackmail you into sending money to them."
The post the sheriff's office is addressing was shared 35,000 times on Facebook, but the sheriff's office said the person who is sending the messages is not tracking, or attempting to traffic anyone.
"If you receive this message, or anything similar, block the number, and delete it," said the sheriff's office.
The sheriff's office also included a list of mobile apps that parents should know about.
"We have added to this post a list of apps parents should be looking for on their children's devices," said the sheriff's office. "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."
