新媒网 · 跨境数据社区

SCAM ALERT! We received notification that a male, claiming to be a representative of LHS, contacted an owner missing a pet. He informed the owner that their pet was found last night, had been hit by a car and needed emergency surgery. He requested an $800 down payment for the surgery. This is a scam. LHS is a foster organization and does not provide emergency services for strays. The owners had posted their lost pet on Facebook, Nextdoor and Pawboost. All of these outlets can be great avenues to help find your pet, but even if you omit your phone number from the post, people can still use your name to find your contact information and address online. They will use the information from the post about your pet's appearance and the lost story to sound credible. If a vet's office or animal shelter does find your pet running at large and or injured these are the steps you need to do: (1) Get all of their contact information - caller's name, clinic/shelter's name, address and phone number. If they do not have a way for you to call them back, this is a scam. (2) Request that they email you medical records and let them know you will discuss with your family and get back with them - do not let them pressure you into a decision during that phone call. If they do not have a way to email you records, this is a scam. (3) Research the location online to verify their contact information. Call them back directly from the number found online to confirm if your pet is there. (4) Go to the servicing shelter or vet's office in person to be with your pet and make decisions at that time. We are very sorry this happened to this family and glad that they did not make the $800 payment on demand and contacted us directly to verify the status of their pet. Hopefully this situation will help others be leery of these scams and be better equipped to handle the scammers if they every cross your path.