Scammers target families missing their pets in Everett
EVERETT, WA - The Everett Animal Shelter is warning pet owners of a new scam that targets families who are looking for their missing four-legged friends.
Staff at the shelter say scammers have already contacted about six people, and one victim gave their credit card information to the crooks.
The way the scam works is thieves target people who post missing pets information online and on social media. Shelter staff say the scammers reach out to the victims and pretend to be the Everett Animal Shelter.
The phone number even comes through on caller ID as the shelter’s main line, even though it's a scammer.
The scammer tells the victim that the shelter has their lost pet and asks for credit card information over the phone for the finder’s fee.
The victims show up at the shelter, but their pets are not there.
While this current scam is impacting Everett, crooks and thieves who target pet owners are not unique.
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The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) warns of a similar situation where scammers try to gain access to your identity through missing pet posts on social media.
The FTC says scammers reach out to the victims and pretend that they have found their pets.
However, the scammers then pretend that they don’t trust the victim, and ask for proof.
The FTC says the scammers send a text message to the victims that has a Google Voice verification code, then ask the victim to give them the code.
If you give the scammer the verification code, they will try to use it to create a Google Voice number that is linked to your phone number. From there, the scammers can hide their identity via that number.
The FTC says in some cases, these scammers are able to get more information from the victims, which can lead to identity theft or fraud.
The Better Business Bureau (BBB) also warns of fake missing pet posts scams.
The BBB says scammers will post fake missing pet content on social media with the hope that people will see it and share it to their own pages.
Then the scammers do a bait-and-switch by editing the original missing pet post into a deceptive advertisement or a survey.
Since you shared the post when it was about a missing pet, your contacts are more likely to trust the survey or the advertisement, which puts your friends at risk for identity theft.
Everett Police ask the community to be cautious when providing information. They say once your give out your credit card, there is not much they can do.
The Everett Animal Shelter says they will not collect lost pet fees over the phone, unless under special circumstances.
They also say they post all lost/stray animals at the shelter on the website.