HOUSTON — BARC animal shelter and adoptions has a warning about a scam involving lost pets.
BARC says scammers are watching people who post their lost pets on social media. Once they spot a "missing pet" post, they'll call you on the phone using a masked number that shows BARC's customer service line.
They'll then say BARC has found their pet, but in order to get it back, they'll need to pay a $250 "microchipping fee" over the phone.
BARC says don't fall for it.
"We will not require you to make any sort of payment over the phone," Cory Stottlemyer with BARC said. "That's not a common occurrence for any government agency to do that. So we urge the public to be cautious about giving any personal information, especially banking information over the phone.
BARC said there are often fees involved in getting your pet back, but you would have to go to the shelter first, confirm it's indeed your pet and then pay for any feed in person.
Meanwhile, the animal shelter wants to remind you that the shelter is full and all adoption fees are waived until October 15.