Paul D.
8 months ago
I know you are desperate to find your pet, this makes you very emotional and susceptible for scammers, and these people WILL use it against you. Still you must remain calm and think it through before you choose. Sense 2015 I have seen a huge rise in scammers in lost pet posts.
There are so called "Pet Trackers" and "Detectives" that are scams Not all of them are but please remain calm when you see these people in your post, you MUST do your research before you hire them.
Real Tracking teams are Search and Rescue Certified (SARs) and trained in finding pets too. They are NOT just a random person with a dog. Real SARs teams are proud of said Certifications and will gladly show you that they have them. They usually have websites and references, social media on top of their SARs training Certs.
Real SARs teams don’t just have one way to contact them not just a social media or text link.
Do not be fooled Tracker/detective scams who will charge you a lot of money and maybe not show up or show up or just take their untrained dog out for a long walk and tell you they found nothing or worse if they stumble onto your pet, will then give chase and potentially hurt or even kill your pet. Real SARs dogs/teams do NOT chase pets or bark at pets. (Tracking something is NOT like the movies).
Pet Detectives will have a website where they have copied free information and videos from other posts and charge you to get it. There is lots of free info out there, and it may take you time to find it all but it is out there. But out of all the scams depending on the price/donation it could be worth dropping a few dollars.
Examples of good free information are:
How to find a lost dog - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cKxfWUXBnY
How to find a lost cat - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2eCoC63B9I
Pet vs money scam.
This usually happens when you put the reward amount on the flier. The person will say they have your pet but will want the money up front.
They will not show you your pet, or have an excuse as to why they cannot show you your pet. Do NOT transfer money to anyone without your pet in person. If someone has your pet meet them in a safe and public location. Police Station, Firehouse, places during the day with lots of people around. Bring someone with you.
The PIN scam. This is a phone/bank scam.
Some people will ask for you to send a PIN to them to verify it is you. May even ask for money or a money transfer. The money transfer is the most dangerous as they can drain your bank account with it.
They use your number to open up other accounts, call you for the pin, you send it, they get a new account to do more scamming. NEVER send Personal ANY information, or money to anyone without actually seeing your pet.
Never Give up looking for your pet.
