Police are reminding members of the public to “think and verify” before posting public safety messages on social media.

A police spokesman pointed to a recent example of such a “well intentioned” post made on a popular local Facebook page.

It described a distraction scam in which one man lays on the road with a bike nearby suggesting that he has been involved in an accident.

When a Good Samaritan stops to help the man, two other men emerge and attempt to steal either the Samaritan’s vehicle or valuables.

The police spokesman said that after an “exhaustive search of the police computing system, nothing of the sort has been reported to police recently”.

He added: “It is strongly recommended that before members of the public post such warnings on social media — or other information that is unsubstantiated — that they think about how spreading the unconfirmed information could affect others.”

The spokesman suggested that members of the public e-mail the police public and media relations at pmr@bps.bm to verify information.