Overview
The victim expects to get a lost pet returned.
How It Works
The scam typically targets people who have posted lost pet notices on social media.
The scam is that the fraudster does not actually have their pet, but will demand payment from the victim for fake veterinary bills, fake animal shelters, and so on, essentially conducting an advance fee scheme.
This "lost pet" scam pretext is also used by scammers in situations where they are trying to get access to a service where an existing phone number is needed (e.g. signing up for a new Google Voice number) or where the scammer needs an OTP code sent to a victim's device in order to take over an account.
In this case, the ruse goes something like this: "I have your cat, but in order to make sure you're real I'm going to send you a 6 digit code first". The code the scammer sends is in reality the OTP code from whatever service the scammer is trying to compromise.
Related Articles
LostDogScams, PEEVA
Related Scams
2.2.5 OTP Or Phone Verification Scam: Applies when scammer is using the lost pet scam as a roundabout way of performing the phone verification scam
Related Crime Schemes
A particular instance of this scam may embed one or more of these related schemes.
Advance Fee Scheme: In an advance fee scheme, the scammer asks for a small upfront fee in advance of providing a larger payout later. In reality, the larger payout never arrives.
Data Loss or Theft: Any scheme that results in victim losing data/scammer stealing data. Data in this context can mean login credentials, credit card details, or other personal or corporate information.
Victim Targeting Context
The scammer may use one or more of the following techniques to reach the victim.
Targeted Conversational Approach: The scammer approaches the victim through targeted, topical online conversation.
Social Engineering: Psychological Manipulations
The scammer may use one or more of these psychological techniques to accomplish the scam.
Authority: The scammer employs an abuse of a position of authority to convince the victim to go along with the scam.
Codes or Jargon: The scammer uses official-looking codes or technical jargon as part of the scam to increase appearance of legitimacy or to confuse the victim.
Guilt: The scammer tries to make victim feel guilt or pity toward scammer or others.
Urgency: The scammer employs urgency to increase the likelihood that the victim will take action.
Social Engineering: Impersonation Techniques
The scammer may impersonate one or more of the following groups as part of the scam.
Business or NonProfit: The scammer impersonates a business or nonprofit.
Catfishing: The scammer creates a fictitious online profile or persona.