Kern County Animal Services officials (Bakersfield, California) and the consumer group Better Business Bureau (BBB) say scammers are increasingly targeting pet owners who post online about missing animals.
The tactic often begins with a message claiming the pet has been found.
A local reporter in Bakersfield said the problem became clear after her cat, Koda, went missing. She shared a flyer on several lost-pet Facebook groups. Not long after, texts began arriving from people who claimed they had the cat.
None of them actually did.
After she asked online whether anyone else had experienced the same thing, several other pet owners came forward, saying that they had received similar messages.
Nick Cullen, director of Kern County Animal Services, highlighted that payment requests are one of the clearest warning signs. Anyone demanding money, gift cards, or other compensation before returning a pet should be treated with caution, he added.
Cullen recommends that owners take a few steps that can help prevent problems if an animal goes missing. Pets should be microchipped and wear identification tags with a phone number. Owners should also check animal shelters across a wider area, not just the one closest to their home.
In addition to prevention steps, experts from the Better Business Bureau emphasize caution when someone claims to have found the pet. The BBB explained that scammers often try to rush victims into sending money through difficult-to-trace methods such as gift cards.
Instead of paying immediately, pet owners should ask for proof, such as a photo of the animal, or suggest meeting in person. The consumer advocate group also warns that posting phone numbers publicly in lost-pet ads can attract scammers looking for vulnerable targets.
Corey Snyder, an accredited business experience liaison with the BBB, pointed out that meeting in a public place or near a police station can reduce the risk.
The BBB encourages anyone who encounters these schemes to report them through its Scam Tracker system so patterns can be documented and other pet owners can be warned.
Source: 23ABC Bakersfield