Losing a pet is a devastating experience. When unscrupulouspeople who find ways to capitalize on your lost pet situation in order to dupeyou out of money, the loss is even more devastating.BBB has receivedcalls about scammers who are defrauding heartbrokenpet owners in order to line their own pockets and advises pet ownerswho have advertised a lost pet to be wary of the following pet scams.
The Pay-Me-First Scam: The pet owner receives a phone call from a person claimingthat they have the lost pet in their possession. This person asks that thereward money be sent to them before they return the pet. If the pet ownerrefuses, they will often threaten to hurt the pet in order to pressure the petowner into sending money. Once the scammer receives the money, they are neverheard from again.
The Truck Driver Scam: Someone claiming to be a long-haul truck driver tells youthat he came across your pet while on his route. He then asks you to send himmoney so that he can send your pet back to you, or he may ask you to wire himmoney to board your pet until he can send your pet back with another truckdriver who's heading your way.
The Tag Team Scam: You receive a call from someone who says that they thinkthey have your pet. After talking to you for a while and getting informationabout your pet, they apologize and say that they're sorry, but it turns outthat it's not your pet after all. They then give all the information about yourpet to a partner. This is a set-up -- in a short time, the scammer uses theinformation received about your pet only to have a second person call and claimto have found your pet who will try collect any reward money in advance..
The Airline Ticket Scam: Someone calls and claims that your pet somehow ended up inanother state or province. They ask you to send money for a kennel and anairline ticket and they'll ship your pet back. Once the pet owner sends themoney, the scammer walks away with it, leaving the owner without their pet andless money in their bank account.
BBBprovides the following tips to prevent falling victim to a pet loss scam:
1. Ifyou must place an ad, include only essential information. Refrain fromproviding information about unique markings or physical attributes.
2. If you get a call from someone who claims to beout-of-state, ask them for a phone number where you can call them back.Scammers typically do not want you to know any of their personal information.
3. If a caller claims to have your pet in theirpossession, ask them to describe something about the pet that wouldn’t bevisible in pictures which may have been posted.
4.Never wire money to anyone you don’t know. This is a common thread in many types of scams.
Many pet owners have also had theirpets microchipped, as this preventive measure has proven to be effective inbringing lost pets home.
For more tips on how to be a savvy consumer, go to www.bbb.org. To report a fraud or scam, call the BBB Hotline:(903)581-5888.