Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control (PBCACC) is warning of a new scam targeting owners of missing pets. PBCACC says pet owners who post about their missing pets online are receiving phone calls and text messages from people pretending to be from their place of work. PBCACC.WPBF 25 News spoke with PBCACC spokesperson Ariel Weinberger to explain how this scam works. “Either you need us to send you money to get your pet back, or your pet was in an accident. We’re withholding treatment until we receive the money for that,” Weinberger said. . She says that’s something PBCACC would never do. “In the cases we’ve seen, the people who get these calls don’t even own the animal,” Weinberger said. “Some people take advantage of pet owners who are desperately looking for their missing pets. That’s pathetic,” he said. After talking to the scammers, you can say something like, “I got a call asking for money saying I got a pet, so I came to pick it up, but unfortunately I have to tell them this.” Some people came out here saying that. Pets aren’t even going to shelters. We haven’t found it yet,” Weinberger explained. Weinberger said scammers appear to be patrolling websites such as Nextdoor, Facebook and local shelter pages. To make matters worse, in some cases scammers impersonate ACC, she said. A phone number that lets pet owners think the number is verified. “Animal Care and Control will never request money over the phone for retrieval or medical services. In particular, we will not withhold medical services until we receive payment. That is not what we do.” added Weinberger. She said there are several things people can do to avoid falling victim to scams. Please contact the PBCACC office directly. Check out the list of all animals found on the PBCACC website SNAP. Never send money to anyone who claims to own your pet. If you receive a suspicious call like this, please report it to the police and the lost pet registry website. For more information about PBCACC’s services, please visit their website or contact them directly. Lost and Found volunteers are available to assist pet owners at 561-233-1282 or, for South County residents, 561-276-1344, ext. 41282.Top Headlines: Stay Informed: Latest Headlines and Weather from WPBF 25 Get the latest news with the WPBF 25 News app. You can download it here.
Palm Beach County, Florida —
Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control (PBCACC) is warning of a new scam targeting owners of missing pets.
PBCACC says owners who post about their lost pets online are receiving phone calls and text messages from people pretending to work for PBCACC.
WPBF 25 News spoke with PBCACC spokesperson Ariel Weinberger to explain how the scam works.
“People claiming to be from animal welfare authorities are calling owners of lost pets and asking them to either send money to get their pets back or that their pets have been in an accident. “We are withholding treatment until we receive payment for treatment,” Weinberger said.
She says that’s something PBCACC would never do.
“In the cases we’ve seen, the people who received these calls didn’t even have animals,” she added.
Weinberger said it’s heartbreaking that some people take advantage of pet owners who are desperately searching for their lost pets.
“After talking to these scammers, I was told, ‘I got a call asking for money saying I got a pet, so I came to pick it up, but unfortunately I have to tell them, ‘They. The pet did not go to the shelter and has not been found yet,” Weinberger explained.
Weinberger said scammers appear to be patrolling websites such as Nextdoor, Facebook and local shelter pages.
To make matters worse, in some cases, scammers spoof ACC phone numbers to trick pet owners into thinking the number is verified, she said.
“Animal Care and Control will never ask for money over the phone for retrieval or medical services. In particular, we will not withhold medical services until we receive payment. That is not what we do.” added Weinberger.
She said there are several things people can do to avoid falling victim to scams.
Please contact the PBCACC office directly. Check out the list of all animals found on PBCACC’s website SNAP. Don’t send any money to anyone who claims to own your pet.
If you receive a suspicious call like this, please report it to the police and lost pet website.
For more information about PBCACC’s services, please visit their website or contact them directly.
Lost and Found volunteers assisting pet owners are available at 561-233-1282 or, for South County residents, at 561-276-1344, ext. 41282.
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