World · East Asia & Pacific · 3 hrs ago
False Broome robbery post prompts warning about online scams
An anonymous Facebook post claimed a 15-year-old autistic boy was robbed in Broome, in northern Western Australia.
More than 100 people responded, and the post’s author later shared bank details in the comments.
Some commenters said they sent money to the account.
Western Australia Police said they had no record of the incident and that the claimed CCTV footage did not exist.
A person using the same name had earlier posted a request for help after a claimed car break-in, but that incident could not be verified.
Experts urge people to be wary of requests for money and to report suspected scams to WA ScamNet.
Meta said it was reviewing the content and would keep working with government and law enforcement to protect Australians from scams.
An anonymous Facebook post claiming that an autistic 15-year-old was robbed in Broome prompted locals to send money to the person who posted it.
WA Police said they had no record of the reported incident and that claims about police having CCTV footage were untrue.
The post, published on the Broome Noticeboard page on October 26, was later deleted.
A Curtin University professor and a Kimberley consumer protection officer warned people to be cautious about online requests for money.
- Who
- An anonymous Facebook user who posted under the name Greg Sealey. Local social media users sent money.
- What
- A post claiming that the author's autistic son had been robbed led to a scam warning.
- When
- The post appeared on October 26. The article was published on November 5, 2026.
- Where
- The Broome Noticeboard Facebook group in Broome, Western Australia.
- Why
- The post sought help after claiming the boy had been attacked and robbed. The poster's motive is not stated.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
A Facebook post under the name Greg Sealey asked for help after claiming a car had been broken into.
An anonymous post on the Broome Noticeboard page claimed the author's 15-year-old autistic son had been attacked and robbed.
The post was deleted, and WA Police said they had no record of the incident or the claimed CCTV footage.
ABC Australia published its report and scam warning.
- Location
- Broome, 2,200 kilometres north of Perth
- Post date
- October 26
- Claimed victim
- The poster's 15-year-old autistic son
- Comments
- More than 100 commenters asked how they could help
- Police record
- WA Police said they had no record of the incident
What people are saying
The Kimberley community is kind and generous, so I can see why people have opened their wallets
The anonymous function has been abused widely and unfortunately has been very attractive to scammers, who don't even have to go through the effort of setting up a fake Facebook account
One of the literacies we need to develop if we're going to be part of online communities is being wary of these things
Meta doesn’t want scams on our platforms, and we are continuing to invest in tools and technology to prevent them