Minneapolis officials warn of greedy scammers preying on people trying to find their lost pets

People putting the word out about their lost pets are being preyed on and likely cheated out of large sums of money, Minneapolis city officials said Wednesday.

Minneapolis Animal Care and Control (MACC) said scammers are scouring lost-pet posters and websites, then contacting the owners with a story about being an animal control officer who has their missing four-legged companion and then claiming that a large veterinary bill needs to be paid for emergency surgery.

The perpetrators call or text, sometimes “spoofing” a city phone number, according to the agency. They send a link to wire money in an effort to steal thousands of dollars from worried pet owners.

“This scam angers us,” MACC Director Tony Schendel said in a statement. “These scammers are calling people who are in an already vulnerable situation, having lost their pet, and make the experience even worse. We want people to know this is happening so they can report it to us immediately.”

MACC says it has received 30 reports of the scam so far, with likely dozens more that have gone unreported.

Scammers are asking for amounts around $1,500, which Schendel said seems like a realistic veterinary care bill.

“We believe there’s risk for many people to fall for this,” he said. “It doesn’t seem like an outlandish amount.”

Lee Moua said his family’s still-missing three-year-old Shih Tzu, Max, fled from their St. Paul yard amid fireworks on July 3, prompting him to post a lost pet notice on PawBoost.com. Moua said he got a call about a month ago from a man posing as an animal control officer who said Max “had been in an accident and needs surgery.”

The father of three said the man listed an array of injuries Max had suffered including a fractured shoulder and pinched spine that rendered him paralyzed.

“He told me your dog needs immediate surgery or he will die,” Moua said.

Moua said he insisted on seeing the dog first and wanted a badge number from the supposed officer.

“He got pretty aggressive with me and said I don’t have any right to talk to him like that,” Moua said. “That’s when I said, ‘I’m pretty sure you’re trying to scam me.’ ... Then he was cussing me out.”

Marla Khan-Schwartz, of Minneapolis, received a call last month after a yearlong search for her family’s missing cat, Otis.

The caller said Otis had been found but was in desperate need of an operation and used specific legitimate-sounding medical terms, according to MACC. Then he asked for half of a $3,201.96 medical bill.

“I felt so embarrassed and emotionally manipulated,” Khan-Schwartz said in a statement released by MACC. “It’s an angering experience when people take advantage of that horrible feeling of losing a pet. It’s ridiculous and wrong.”

Khan-Schwartz told the Star Tribune, “I became suspicious when they asked for payment and ended the call” without being out any money.

As for finding Otis, she said, “unfortunately, no,” he was never found.

City spokeswoman Jess Olstad said that “we believe that there are some people who may have lost money but have no idea of knowing how much.”

Officials have yet to track down any of the perpetrators, but “if the city is ever able to identify someone, we will certainly do what’s within our capabilities to charge the individuals,” Olstad said.

Schendel said MACC never sends links or asks for money over the phone under these circumstances. When MACC identifies owners of lost pets in its care, owners must visit the shelter in person and show proof of ownership.

Anyone who believes they have been targeted by this scam is urged to contact MACC at 612-673-6222.