TULSA, Okla. — FOX23 heard from Tulsa Animal Welfare (TAW) about scammers pretending to be with their organization and targeting people who’ve adopted pets from the shelter.
TAW says this is a scary thing because you want to help your pets, but owners should always double check if things seem suspicious.
“Twelve last week, we had a call that someone got a phone call regarding their animal being injured and that they needed to send money through one of the apps, for example PayPal, Zelle. That’s one thing we will never ask anybody for money over the phone,” said Sherri Carrier, manager of TAW.
Carrier said one person received a phone call that had to do with a pet they adopted. It claimed the animal was injured and they needed to pay for their surgery and were then sent a code to pay by a mobile app.
“It’s unfortunate because these are good people who are coming in here to adopt animals and get animals out of the facility to save their lives,” Carrier said.
Carrier said they had no idea who it was or why someone would be posing as the shelter.
“We’ve reported it, anybody that’s been affected. Unfortunately, these people are preying on individuals coming in that are trying to obtain new family members, who are pets. They’re innocent victims, people who want to help adopt and get animals out of our facility, which is what we want to happen. “This is the unfortunate circumstance of them being a victim of a crime which is horrifying,” Carrier said.
Carrier said they had another scam that happened several months back.
Carrier said if you ever suspect anything out of the ordinary, call them to verify it’s TAW because the organization never uses a code or on an app.
“It’s unfortunate these things happen and we definitely want to let citizens know that we’re sorry that it does, it’s not us,” Carrier said.
Carrier said the scams haven’t affected the shelter, but they’re over capacity. If you would like to adopt, volunteer or foster, TAW says animals still need a forever home.
If you receive a call or a suspicious message you can always call the shelter at 918-596-8010 or the dispatch number at 918-596-8001.
If you have been the victim of this scam or anything like it, Tulsa Police said to file a police report by clicking here.