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Pet Scams Run Rampant Amid Pandemic

@koczkodan via Flickr | Licensed by CC 2.0

Quarantines, mask mandates, and social distancing have pushed more families to bridge the gap of isolation and loneliness with pets of all kinds and sizes. 

But, as KSFR’s Mary Lou Cooper reports, with this newfound demand for furry friends comes a scam that advertises pets online with the intention of taking money from victims. 

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Resources: 

BBB Scam Tracker℠ | Find and Report a Scam | Better Business Bureau

 

Fighting Online Puppy and other Pet Scams - Petscams.com

 

Consumer scam: Internet pet sales | The Humane Society of the United States

 

Call the Federal Trade Commission at 877-FTC-HELP to report a scam 

 

Call the Department of Homeland Security at 866-347-2423 to report an international pet scam  

Mary Lou Cooper reports on consumer issues for KSFR as well as on politics and elder affairs. She has worked for the U.S. Congress as well as for the Nevada and Tennessee legislatures, and remains a political junkie. She worked many years for an association of Western state legislatures and was a contributor to “Capitol Ideas,” a national magazine about state government. In 2016 Cooper received a public service award from the New Mexico Broadcasting Association for her KSFR story on Internet romance scams. She has received journalism awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and from the National Federation of Press Women. She grew up in Oak Ridge, TN and received her BA from Emory University in Atlanta and her MA from the University of Texas Austin. She also holds fiction and screenwriting certificates from the University of Washington.
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