Scammers attacking lost pet owners in Indianapolis

INDIANAPOLIS — Scammers are at it once again, this time targeting people who are missing their pets.

The new scam involves crooks posing as local animal shelters or humane societies and calling the owners of lost pets. Over the past few days, more and more pet organizations have been getting emails saying someone is claiming to be them.

“We’re seeing that it’s popping up in a couple of instances where it’s happening and it’s not us folks. It’s absolutely not us,” said CEO of IndyHumane Donna Casamento.

Below is a post on the app Nextdoor where a person claimed they received a call from what she thought was IndyHumane. They told her they found her cat, but it was hit by a car and that she needed to pay for her surgery now to get it back. Unfortunately, what they thought was a possible hope of finding their pet is fake.

IndyHumane says they would never do that.

“There are under no circumstances that IndyHumane would contact a pet owner and say you must give us money before we treat your animal,” Casamento said.

According to the Better Business Bureau, there’s been an increase in scams regarding pets this year.

The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department has also received calls about the scam, as well as people’s pets being lost. While it’s hard to track them down and arrest them, they did offer tips on finding different ways to verify that the shelter has your pet.

“I would have them call that location back from a number not provided by a caller to verify, ‘Hey, do you have my animal?’ said Lt. William Carter with IMPD. “When you call, just slow down and verify the information for anyone claiming they have the pet.”

They also suggest never giving your pet’s microchip number over the phone. If an actual shelter or rescue has your pet, they should be able to provide you with the number. IndyHumane said they are frustrated with this new scam as it is attacking pet owners who are already vulnerable.

“They are preying on these people who have lost their pet or searching for them and would do anything to get them back,” Casamento said. “That’s not appropriate for people to be taking advantage of our citizens in that way. It’s just not right.”