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Scammers targeting those who post lost pets; Animal Control explains what to look out for

By WHIO Staff
By WHIO Staff

GREENE COUNTY — Pet owners sometimes use Facebook groups to post about their lost pets, but scammers have found their way into these groups and are using them to their advantage.

As reported by Taylor Robertson on News Center 7 at 5:00, animal control officers explain how and why scammers are posing as them.

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Vandalia resident Stephanie Wilmoth said she has used these Facebook groups multiple times.

“You scroll through, and you see probably like 10 different posts of missing other people’s missing animals,” Wilmoth said.

The Greene County Animal Shelter is warning people that scammers are starting to catch on to this.

“This is the first time I have dealt with it personally,” Greene County Animal Control Officer Dee Lamb said.

Lamb has been an animal control officer for 5 years.

She got a call from a woman claiming her husband had received an unusual text from someone claiming to be animal control.

“Saying that we were animal control and that we had their canine and that we were going to be sending them a Google video code for them to respond to in order to get their pet back,” Lamb said.

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Lamb let the woman know they did not send that text and did not have her missing dog.

“Somebody was going to be scamming them out of money,” Lamb said.

Lamb wants people to know that Animal Control will not send links or texts to anyone who may be missing a pet.

“We scan them for a microchip, if they do not have one then you know hopefully, they do have a dog tag that they are wearing in order to get that pet back home,” Lamb said.

Greene County Animal Shelter said the best way to find your missing pet is to make sure they are microchipped and registered ahead of time.

If you do this, it’ll be easier for people who find your pet to return it to you.

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