Local man whose cat is missing targeted by scammer impersonating animal control officer

PITTSBURGH — The call shows up as coming from Pittsburgh Animal Control, but on the other line is a sophisticated scammer pulling on the heartstrings of people with missing pets. It’s happening to Pittsburgh families and for the second time in a year, Pittsburgh Public Safety has issued an alert.

>> Pittsburgh Public Safety warns residents of scammer impersonating animal control officer

When Graham Gregorich’s cat, Stanley, slipped out of his harness and took off on the South Side, he was beside himself. He put up missing posters around town and online. He waited and prayed someone would call.

“He’s such a sweet boy and we’re just so worried about him,” Gregorich said. “We just want him to come home.”

One day, his phone rang.

“On my phone, it comes up as Pittsburgh Animal Control,” Gregorich showed us. “They said ‘Do you have a cat named Stanley? We believe we’ve found him, he’s microchipped.’ I said, ‘Oh yes, that’s my cat!”

Gregorich was told that Stanley was hit by a car, but with surgery, he could be saved.

“They said the surgery is going to cost this much,” Gregorich said. “He said, ‘We understand that’s a lot, we can do a down payment of about $2,000,’” Gregorich added. “He played the part well.”

When the caller asked to be paid with Zelle, CashApp, Venmo or Cryptocurrency, Gregorich says he knew it was a scam.

“I was so disgusted and angry and hurt and I couldn’t believe that someone would do this,” he said. “I’m just waiting to get a call that he’s OK. That someone would do this. I was just so emotional and hurt.”

This isn’t the first time. Pittsburgh Public Safety put out a warning about this scam this week. They also posted an alert about a similar scam last October. Sadly, scammers are scouring social media to find families who are missing pets and prey on them.

At Carnegie Mellon University’s Security and Privacy Institute, or CyLab, researchers study network attacks and spoofing. The CyLab experts say scammers use ‘voice over internet protocol,’ a technology that allows them to make phone calls over the internet.

“The real problem is that these technologies, like voice over IP, make it very easy to make a lot of phone calls with automated software,” Dr. Vyas Sekar tells 11 Investigates. “And you can pretend to be anybody. You can put whatever number you want.”

If you get a call about your missing pet, here’s what you can do:

• Ask to see your pet
• Ask for a picture or detail about your pet that’s not included in the missing flyer
• If they ask for money, become threatening or make excuses for why you can’t see your pet, it’s likely a scam

Police say animal control will never call demanding money and to immediately report a call like this.

Gregorich just wants other people to be aware, so they don’t fall victim while also holding out hope, their loved one comes home.

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