Over the past month, scammers have been impersonating the Oregon Humane Society, claiming to have lost pets.
OREGON, USA — Scammers are targeting pet owners who have recently lost their pets and are frantically searching for them, according to the Oregon Humane Society.
For about a month, someone has been impersonating Oregon Humane Society staff and preying on pet owners whose cats or dogs have run away. The organization is still investigating how scammers are obtaining people's information.
“This scam is a spoofing scam. The way that it works is someone will get a call and it will look like it's from the Oregon Humane Society. They are able to spoof our number,” said Laura Klink, public information officer with the humane society.
In one case, a victim paid hundreds of dollars when they believed they were speaking with a legitimate Oregon Humane Society representative.
“This person pretends to be calling from the Oregon Humane Society, claiming they have that pet, claiming the pet is injured and demanding payment in order to get that pet back,” Klink said.
The pet is never returned, and the victim loses their money. Klink doesn't know where the scammers are getting people's information, but suggests it could be from various sources where people post about lost pets — from posters on lamp posts to social media.
“The bad news is there's a lot of places that people can go and target you with this scam,” Klink added.
She wants people to be aware in case they receive a similar call. Klink said it's difficult to determine how widespread the scam has become but emphasized that even one victim is too many.
Anyone who believes they may have fallen victim to this scam should call 503-285-7722. Klink also noted that a similar spoofing scam has been reported at the humane society in Pierce County in Tacoma, Washington. It's unclear whether these are related incidents.
