BUFFALO, N.Y. — A recent Facebook post circulating has a lot of Western New Yorkers on edge.
The post states: "My dad has an inside source thru the FBI that told him Buffalo just became the main hub for human trafficking, so a bunch of agents from all over the country just flew in to help stake out at all the retail parking lots for the holidays..."
2 On Your Side contacted the Buffalo office of the FBI to see if there is any truth to the post. They say the post is not true. There are no additional agents coming to Buffalo and this area is not a hub for human trafficking.
The FBI advises anyone shopping and walking in parking lots to always be aware of your surroundings.
"We've never had a case with those specifics, so we've never had someone attacked and immediately drugged that's not a scenario that we've seen" said Amy Fleischauer, the director of survivor support services at the International Institute of Buffalo.
Fleischauer works with law enforcement and other nonprofits to support human trafficking survivors while their cases are being investigated and prosecuted.
The International Institute of Buffalo has helped 2,500 survivors since 2006. They are currently assisting 300 survivors.
"Buffalo tends to have higher numbers than other cities," Fleischauer said. "That's not because it's happening more here, it's because we're getting better at identifying it.
Though many people believe women and children are targeted groups, Fleischauer said trafficking victims are very diverse, "we work with a very significant number of men who are victims of both sex and labor trafficking."
Fleischauer told 2 On Your side that traffickers are good at spotting someone's vulnerabilities like immigration status, age, financial hardship or education.
"Someone may notice, wow there is a lot of traffic in and out of this business at odd hours of the night or the employees at this restaurant or hotel seem really nervous and don't want to talk to anyone," said Fleischauer. "Another sign may be someone who you notice may live where they work. So anything that seems off, the tips that we get are not I know trafficking is happening here, it's something doesn't seem right."
If you see anything you are asked to contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1 (888) 373-7888.
