Leo Burnett Tailor Made's Security Captcha is Helping Find Missing People

Thousands of websites use a captcha tool, a cognitive test used to block spam by telling computers and humans apart. Normally, distorted words and numbers are displayed to the Internet user as a way for them to confirm that they are not a robot and thus proceed to access the website. What if, instead of meaningless words, it were possible to give it a social purpose?

With optimizing this space in mind, Leo Burnett Tailor Made created the Missing Captcha for the NGO ‘Mothers of Sé’, which consists of replacing the random words for the names and dates of disappearance of missing persons. "The person's photo appears along with the name and date of disappearance. We also created a shortcut for Internet users to send messages to the NGO should they have seen or have any information on that person in the picture," explains Marcio Juniot, creative director for LBTM.

To join the campaign, you simply need to visit the website of the Missing Captcha and incorporate the code into your html, at no cost. Now you’re all set: the security tool will display pictures, names and dates of missing persons, giving families greater hope.

The expectation is that portals will mobilize to support the cause. After all, the more people who see these pictures and names, the greater the chances of these missing persons being found. According to Mothers of Sé, it is very difficult to give a precise figure on the number of people who go missing in the country every year, but estimates place the number close to 40,000 cases every year.