Coronavirus scam: Animal lovers being conned into buying non-existent pets
Written by News on 05/05/2020
Hundreds of animal lovers are being conned online into buying puppies and kittens that don’t exist.
Criminals are using the coronavirus crisis as an excuse to persuade locked-down customers to pay up before they are allowed to travel to see their new pets.
In the past two months police say 669 victims have lost more than £282,000 after answering fake advertisements on social media and pet sale websites.
Victims across the UK are being duped by scams that typically start with a deposit, followed by demands for payments to cover insurance, vaccinations and even delivery of a pet, says the national fraud and cyber crime reporting centre Action Fraud.
Pauline Smith, head of Action Fraud, said: “The fact criminals will even exploit an international crisis, such as the one we find ourselves in now, to take innocent people’s money is especially cruel.
“But, unfortunately, as we spend more time online, and are forced to adapt to a new way of life, opportunities will arise for criminals to commit fraud.
“During these unprecedented times, it may seem quite plausible that you should have to pay a deposit for a pet and that you wouldn’t be able to see the animal in real life first.
“However, we would encourage you to think carefully before you transfer any money – do you know and trust this person?”
Action Fraud says that before buying anything online customers should research the site and seller and ask to see a video of animals for sale. If suspicious, don’t go ahead.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said: “Unfortunately we’ve investigated many criminal gangs who are willing to exploit animals in order to make a quick buck and now, during this time of international crisis, they will be trying new tricks to cash in and con the public.
“We’d urge anyone thinking of getting a new pet to think long and hard about whether they can properly care for that animal, not just now but into the future when restrictions are lifted and their lifestyles become more busy.
“If people do decide now is the right time to get a pet, then we’d always urge them to consider adopting instead of buying an animal.
“We still have thousands of animals in our care at the moment and have restarted re-homing some animals in England with strict measures to keep our staff and the public safe.”
(c) Sky News 2020: Coronavirus scam: Animal lovers being conned into buying non-existent pets
