BARCS warns of scammers impersonating employees targeting people with missing pets

BALTIMORE -- The Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter is warning the public about scammers impersonating BARCS employees to target people with missing pets.

Scammers have been using the official phone number, 410-396-4695, to deceive people who have posted lost pet information on social media, according to BARCS.

The scammers falsely claim to have found the missing pet, stating the animal is in critical condition and requires immediate medical treatment, and then pressuring people to make urgent payments via CashApp, Venmo, PayPal, or similar apps, BARCS says.

BARCS says it never requests payments over the phone.

Anyone who receives a call should not send money, but report the incident to BARCS at info@BARCS.org.

"We urge everyone to remain vigilant and help us protect our community from these scams," BARCS said.