Online scammers targeting Westmoreland County animal rescue
After helping to rescue some 40 cats from deplorable conditions in Ligonier last week, the Ninth Life Rescue Center is now trying to stop a scammer from collecting and stealing donations.
This is an issue that many animal 501(c)(3) organizations have to deal with.
"We have multiple people claiming our rescue on Venmo," said Jen Johnson. "They are even using pictures of our cats, which is horrible."
Johnson says these scammers have set up separate Venmo accounts with similar names to her charity and she says they have been reaching out to her past donors for money.
One of the former donors was suspicious and alerted Johnson about the scam. Johnson says that while they always accept donations, they never reach out directly to people.
Both the online platform and law enforcement have been made aware of what has been going on, but now, Johnson says she wants the public to know that there are devious people who are out there stealing money and, ultimately, hurting animals.
"We need these funds," said Johnson. "It makes me very angry that people would put that much effort into something fake and try to scam people out of money that is supposed to go to sick cats. Like come on, it doesn't get any lower than that."
If you are donating to a charity online, verify before you certify that donation.
The official links to donate to Ninth Life Rescue Center can be found at this Facebook link or on the 'fundraisers' page of the shelter's website.
