Pet FBI Exposes Scams on WSYX ABC 6 "Good Day Columbus"

Pet FBI on “Good Day Columbus”!

Our dynamite Facebook Administrator. Char, has been coping with several scams reported by our Facebook posters. We had the opportunity to alert people through a spot on our local ABC station: WSYX ABC 6 . Click this link to watch the video interview about scams affecting lost and found pets.

A problem we are running into more and more often is having multiple people claim the same found pet. Usually it's a purebred dog of some kind. People either claim the dog to keep or more often to sell. We cannot overstate the importance of demanding some kind of proof of ownership before you relinquish a pet you have found to someone who claims it. You should require vet records, license documentation and a photo. You can also tell if a dog is really being claimed rightfully by the dog's behavior towards the people claiming it. Producing a Craigslist "Lost Pet" classified does not constitute sufficient proof because the scammers sometimes use the information in the Found Report to post a phony Lost Report after the fact.

The other scam people need to be aware of are the numerous for profit lost and found web sites that promise various contact services for a fee. Some of them are contacting people who post on Pet FBI repeatedly and pressuring them to buy their services. One such site that exhibits logos from the ASPCA, HSUS and the Better Business Bureau although they are in no way endorsed by those organizations. They have a donation link but they are not non-profit. They also claim an unrealistically high success rate.

Before engaging a contact service - and some are legitimate and can be helpful - be sure to read off-site reviews and contact the BBB in their zip where they are located.