WASHINGTON COUNTY, ARKANSAS, Ark. — The Lester C. Howick Animal Shelter of Washington County (WCAS) has released a statement after Facebook posts claimed that a scammer posing as an employee of the shelter is contacting those in the area with missing pets, and asking for money to return the animals.
The original social media post states that a man is reaching out to people "claiming to have found lost pets via microchip, but he has actually been stealing info from microchip websites and lost pet flyers to scam heartbroken pet parents."
WCAS's offical statement says that "This scam caller is requesting that they pay him over CashApp or Venmo before they are allowed to reclaim their animal," and that "For the record, we will never ask you to pay ... If you receive a call from the Washington County Animal Shelter, it will be from our phone number, 479-695-3450."
“If they get a call like that, and someone trying to scam them out of money, definitely inform the Washington County Sheriff's Office” said WCAS's Office Manager Rachel Koch.
She said these calls have brought false hope to pet owners.
“We did have a call come forward. And someone even came inside trying to locate their dog or their cat in one instance" said Koch. “It's devastating for them. And it's hard on us to have to be the bearer of that bad news.”
WCAS goes on to say that "It saddens us deeply that anyone would try to use our name to prey upon those who are missing their pets, and we ask that if you receive a call like this, please inform your local authorities."
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