‘Robert Thibodeau’ is not a serial killer on the run in your city. This is a national scam.

Have you seen a Facebook post warning you about a serial killer on the run in your neighborhood? Don’t run away too fast. The post is a scam. 

The Facebook post shows an image of a bearded man with a caption that reads: “The public around #Plantcity is being warned to be alert & vigilant as there is a serial killer on the run. This man goes around knocking on peoples’ doors claiming to be homeless, seeking help & he attacks you after gaining your trust.” It also says his name is Robert Thibodeau, a 52-year-old. 

This is one of many posts with the same text and photos; the posts switch the city that should be on alert for the supposed serial killer.

PolitiFact found dozens of these posts addressing U.S. cities, including St. Petersburg, Florida; Flint, Michigan; and Okmulgee, Oklahoma.

(Screenshot from Facebook post.) 

In one post, someone commented, “Y’all this is fake,” and linked to a Snopes fact-check. However, most of the posts have the comments turned off.

The posts were flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and Threads.)

Several local authorities have denied the claims of a serial killer on the loose

There are no crime reports of a serial killer named Robert Thibodeau at large in the U.S.

Local authorities in southwest Florida have also said there is no serial killer loose in Collier County.

Local NBC affiliate WBBH-TV reported,  “The Collier County Sheriff’s Office said this is a scam that is appearing across the nation and is designed to victimize people and separate them from their money or personal information.”

Texas’ Eastland Police Department has also said the posts circulating in their communities are false.The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department in California posted Dec. 5 on Facebook warning that the posts are a national scam. Local authorities in Wyoming and Tennessee have warned about the posts, too. 

We searched online and found that a man named Robert Thibodeau was indicted in March in Plattsburgh, New York, on weapons and ammunition charges after police found a loaded gun in his vehicle, according to local news NBC channel WPTZ-TV, which added that Thibodeau’s brother called police with concerns that Thibodeau may try to harm people at a hospital. But Thibodeau’s case is unrelated to the Facebook serial killer claims, and he isn’t the man in the posts’ photos.

Screenshot of Robert Thibodeau from a WPTZ-TV newscast.

Who’s the man in the posts?

PolitiFact conducted a reverse-image search on the man’s photo in the posts and found that the mug shot was published August 2018 by the The Advocate in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Police arrested the man, James A. Vining, a former volunteer firefighter, after they found video cameras in the women’s restroom of a Tangipahoa, Louisiana, firehouse and inside his own home. He also was charged with possessing illicit drugs and firearms.

Why are these posts a scam?

Once the posts go viral,  they’re edited to show some sort of “free” service. For example, we saw that posts with “serial killer on the run” language had been edited to offer “free dental care services.” The post encourages people to book their “free” appointment through a link that asks for personal information, such as home address, gender, birth date, email and phone number.

(Screenshot from edited Facebook post.)

Law enforcement officials recommended the following if people come across the posts:

• Not sharing the posts. 

• Reporting it to the social media platform (usually Facebook).

• Telling Facebook group or page administrators so they can remove the post if it appears on a page you follow.

PolitiFact contacted the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection but received no response by publication time.

Our ruling

Facebook posts claim that there’s a “serial killer on the run” in different U.S. cities.

But the posts are a scam.

Several local authorities have debunked the claim, saying that there’s no serial killer on the run. They added that the posts are scams attempting to steal personal information.

PolitiFact also found that the posts’ mug shot is not of a purported “Robert Thibodeau” but rather of a man who was arrested in 2018 after they found he had hidden video cameras.

We rate the social media posts claiming there is a serial killer on the run False.

By

Maria Briceño

Staff writer

December 17, 2024

Truth-o-meter Ruling

False

IF YOUR TIME IS SHORT

• Several local authorities nationwide have debunked this serial killer claim and have said it’s a national scam.

• A person named Robert Thibodeau was indicted in March on unrelated weapons and ammunition charges. This is not the man pictured in the social media posts. 

• A reverse-image search showed the posts’ photos are of James A. Vining, who was arrested in 2018 in Louisiana after police found he had hidden a camera in a women’s restroom. 

Statement

"The city of… is being warned to be alert & vigilant as there is a serial killer on the run,” Robert Thibodeau.

Context

a Facebook post

Speaker/Target

Speaker: Facebook posts

Statement Date

December 4, 2024