Mom shared her baby’s photo online, then found it on a TikTok post with 41,000 likes offering the child for adoption: ‘People asking HOW MUCH she is’
Ty Lawrence found a TikTok page using a photo of her baby daughter to advertise the child for adoption falsely. Strangers in the comments asked how to start paperwork and how much the child would cost, Lawrence said. After she urged others to report the page, the scam account went dark within a day.
The scam account, called Orphanage Adoption Services, allegedly lifted the image from one of Lawrence’s public profiles, according to Atlanta Black Star. “There’s people asking how they can get her and start ‘paperwork’ and HOW MUCH she is,” Lawrence warned. She called it a lesson learned about posting her child online, as strangers can digitally kidnap a baby’s photos.
Lawrence shared a screenshot showing the scam account, which posted under @genuineadoptionservices, had eight videos of newborns allegedly up for adoption. The page claimed to be licensed in Missouri and had gathered more than 41,000 likes. It reportedly targeted women who had experienced infertility or miscarriages, offering to connect them with newborns.
Lawrence’s warning spread fast, and the page reportedly went dark the next day
Lawrence’s Facebook posts about the ordeal quickly gained attention as she urged others to report the page. The same day she asked people to report it, she said the TikTok account switched from public to private and blocked her. By the following day, the TikTok account had reportedly gone dark.
Lawrence later suggested the reporting campaign had worked. “Looks like we all got the account deleted or at least the videos removed!” Lawrence wrote. However, she left open whether the TikTok account was deleted or scrubbed of the reported videos. She reportedly urged parents to be careful posting their children online, as she believes the world has plenty of weird people.
Fake orphanage pages like this one have turned up on TikTok before
An investigation by Maldita.es looked at 20 TikTok profiles posing as orphanages or adoption centers. Together, they had shared more than 1,000 videos reusing photos of real children taken from other users and websites. When the outlet’s reporters contacted them, the accounts pushed them to WhatsApp or Telegram and asked for between 112 and 4,000 euros.
The National Council for Adoption warns that unlicensed people claiming to offer adoption services often reach hopeful parents through social media, usually for financial gain. Agencies do not typically reach out to prospective parents first, the nonprofit says. It also treats a promised fast adoption as a warning sign, as many families wait at least a year to be matched.
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
Follow The Mary Sue:
