A sting in the tail: Scammers ripping off pet owners with bogus emails about expired microchips

Scammers are trying to extort money and personal information from pet owners by posing as legitimate microchip companies, Trading Standards has warned.

Animal owners across Scotland are being targeted by emails telling them that the microchip for their pet has run out and needs to be renewed, the consumer protection agency said.

People are then asked to verify information about their animals and to confirm their own details before being asked to click on a link to make a payment, usually £29.

The messages are convincing as they can include details such as the pet’s name, breed and owner contact details. But watchdogs warn that this is a scam.

“Microchips do not expire and as well as being ripped off, pet owners could then risk a government fine of up to £500 if their animal is not registered with an approved microchip database,” said Katherine Hart, lead officer for the Chartered Trading Standards Institute in Scotland (CTSI).

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Microchips are small devices with a unique identification number that links a pet to its owner and can help reunite them. They are mainly used for dogs, cats and rabbits.

When rescue organisations, vet practices and local authority animal wardens find missing or stolen pets, they will scan for microchips – but they will only check compliant database operators that are approved by the Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) to find owners’ contact details.

Hart said the CTSI has received reports from across the country from owners who have been targeted.

“We were recently contacted by a dog owner in Angus who had received an email claiming that the microchip for his pet had expired and it needed to be renewed,” she said. “He thought he had already registered the dog when he got it five years ago but on checking this, he discovered that he had signed up with a bogus microchip company in the first place.

“He was being then asked to make a recurring payment for a service that isn’t officially recognised by vets and rescue agencies.”

Hart added: “As well as losing money and his pet not being properly registered, on top he could have also faced a fine from the authorities.”

Members of consumer campaign group Scotland’s Scammers have also reported being targeted in the past fortnight.

One pet owner said that they had almost fallen for the scam after receiving an email telling them the microchip for their 21-year-old cat had run out. Another said that they had believed that the message was real and had responded to it – but only realised it was a con when they were then asked to pay to renew a microchip for a pet that had already passed away.

The Association of Microchip Database Operators said a registration does not expire unless “instructed by the customer that they want to move to another database or the pet dies, and the microchip does not stop working”.

As well as pet owners losing cash to a fake service, the scammers are also fishing for personal details that they can pass on to other crooks, Hart warned.

“Information is valuable currency to scammers and if people give this out then they risk being defrauded further down the line,” she said. “Pet owners also need to be careful about what information they share online about their pets such as age, name and contact details.”

She added: “Particularly when people get a puppy or a kitten, in their excitement they share pictures and other details on social media, but this is exactly the sort of information that criminals are looking for and that they will try to exploit.”

Dos and don’ts of chipping

What to do if you’ve received a scam pet registration email:

• Verify the sender: Don’t rely solely on the email address or logo. Check if the email is from an official, authorised database.
• Look for suspicious language: Scam emails often use urgency or scare tactics to pressure you into making a payment.
• Avoid clicking on links: Be cautious about clicking on links within the email, as they may lead to fake websites designed to steal your information.
• Never pay for microchip registration or updates: Legitimate pet microchip databases typically don’t charge for updating your contact details or for being on the database.
• Check the official list of pet databases: You can find a list of official UK government-authorised pet databases by visiting: www.gov.uk/get-your-dog-cat-microchipped