City Alerts Pet Owners about Scammers

The City of Albuquerque Animal Welfare Department (AWD) is warning Albuquerque residents and other animal shelters about telephone scams. Scammers are preying on the vulnerability and hope of pet owners, by exploiting their emotional turmoil for financial gain.

The scams are generally taking two different tactics:

• In one, the thieves are targeting people who lost pets, and asking the owner for payment over the phone to get their lost pet back.

• In another, the owner is being told by the caller that their pet needs emergency surgery and demanding payment immediately in order to do the surgery.

If you are contacted by someone claiming to be from AWD and asking for money in relation to your missing pet, exercise extreme caution – even if the call appears to come from a legitimate phone number.

Note that AWD does call pet owners to inform them that their pet is at the shelter and will instruct the owner to go to the shelter to reclaim their pet. If the pet is already spayed or neutered, he or she will be returned to the owner free of charge. If the pet is not spayed or neutered, the owner will be told the amount of the reclaim fee and to go to the shelter to pay the fee.

AWD would never ask for payment ahead of time to reclaim your pet -- and would not insist you use gift cards, Cash-App or electronic payment.

“This is a heartbreaking situation for people who just want to find their beloved missing pets,” said Carolyn Ortega, Director of Animal Welfare Department. “We encourage the community to help us protect the owners of lost pets by spreading the word of these terrible scams with colleagues, friends and family.”

Sharing information through social media, community groups, and word of mouth can help protect people from falling victim to these scams.  Please report the scams to the Attorney General’s Office Toll Free 1-844-255-9210 and Report scams to the Federal Trade Commission: Report Now .

We need your help! Our shelters are operating near capacity, which can create undo stress on our dogs and cats. There are many ways the community can make a lifesaving difference through adopting, volunteering, fostering.  AWD can help you find the opportunity that’s right for you. Go to www.cabq.gov/pets to sign up today.