Panic in US over fake news of ‘kidnappers in white vans’ on Facebook

Unverified Facebook posts about kidnappers in white vans have sparked panic across major US states.

According to CNN, some Facebook users made a series of posts about men driving white vans to kidnap women across the US.

Some of the posts, which have gone viral, said the kidnappers sell the body parts of their victims or traffic them for sex.

Reacting to the post, Jack Young, Baltimore mayor, said the report is all over Facebook and asked the public to be wary of white vans.

“We’re getting reports of somebody in a white van trying to snatch up young girls for human trafficking and for selling body parts, I’m told, so we have to really be careful, because there’s so much evil going on, not just in the city of Baltimore, but around the country,” Young said.

“Citizens are it’s all over Facebook, and that’s something that our police officers are aware of, because it’s been reported.

“Don’t park near a white van. Make sure that you look at your surroundings and make sure you keep your cellphone in case somebody tries to abduct you and call 911 right away.”

There is no evidence to back the claims but the posts have been shared by thousands of other people.

A driver in a white van was reportedly harassed over the unsubstantiated claims.

The Baltimore police department debunked the story, saying there are no reports of actual incidents.

The police in Georgia is probing the reports, and they asked the public to call 911 instead of resorting to posting on social media.

When CNN contacted a woman who made a post on the white van kidnapping children, she said she did not really have specific evidence, but that she has heard of it many times.