Exclusive | Slain NYPD officer Jonathan Diller becomes face of sick online scam claiming hes gone missing

Murdered NYPD police officer Jonathan Diller became the face of a sick online scam that’s hit seven states in six months, with swindlers claiming he’s gone missing in a twisted bid to trick people out of their money.Missing posters of Diller, 31, began popping up online less than a year after he was killed during a traffic stop in March 2024 in Queens, circulating on Facebook groups in places such as Easley, SC to Maine and Indiana.“HELP FIND HIM – Police Officer Jonathan Diller went missing yesterday morning here in #Easley,” the poster implores.“His truck was found last night with his son inside but unfortunately, there is still no sign of him,” according to the flyer, which notes Diller stands 5-foot-9 and 165 pounds, and that a “silver alert” notification for missing persons had been issued for him. Diller “is considered to possibly be in EXTREME danger and in need of medical assistance .

We are asking for the community’s help.ONLY TAKES 2 SECONDS to share,” it continues. Diller is one of several officers whose images are used in the scheme, which includes gut-wrenching posts about real or fictitious people, or injured animals to grab eyeballs and make people want to help, according to the Better Business Bureau. Once enough people have shared it, the scammer changes the original post “to a deceptive rental ad, a sales pitch or a link to a survey that ‘guarantees’ a cash prize,’” the BBB wrote in a November warning against such schemes. The Easley Police Department debunked the Diller flyer in a Facebook post. But identical flyers on Diller’s “disappearance” were already going viral in two Maine towns and Indianapolis.The same type of scam hit the Hudson Valley in New York; DeSoto County, FL and Altavista, VA this week. One had a similar narrative to the Diller poster, but reportedly used a fictitious 27-year-old female cop named “Jennifer Bailey.”However, the photo of “Bailey” is actually a picture of real...