Scammers pretend to have found your lost pet
The Order of Veterinary Doctors warned of a new scam involving MBWay and lost animals.
They look for lost pet ads online and contact the owners. They say they found the animal, but that it was run over or has a serious illness and needs urgent care, otherwise he will die.
The perpetrators of the crime pretend to be veterinarians, and guarantee that, as the animal needs surgery, Payment must be made in advance and the fraudsters then provide the details for immediate payment via MBWaysays .
The Order of Veterinary Doctors (OMV) asks for “extreme caution”: if you make the payment, the most likely thing is that you will be left without the animal and without money, it says. OMV also provides some to check if you are being scammed in a case like this.
To check whether the professional is really an expert or whether you are being deceived, ask for your full name, professional card number and name of the clinic. Next, check the OMV website: click on “Member Search” and check whether the person in question is duly registered and carries out professional activity.
Also search the Internet for the contact details of the Veterinary Medical Service Center, check if the phone number matches and call to ask for more information about your pet. If possible, it is best to go to the clinic to find out the situation.
The OMV “calls on all pet animal owners to be aware of this type of fraud and report it any suspicious situation to the competent authorities”.
If you become aware of such a case, the Order requests that you record the telephone contact and present it to the policeformalizing a complaint, so that the fraud can be stopped.
