Lost pet scams: how to recognise them and how Reunika protects you

1. Someone pretending to be Reunika

Fake pages copy the logo of platforms like ours, message owners directly and offer a 'guaranteed search' for a fee paid by bank transfer or a payment app. How to tell the real Reunika apart:

• Our emails come only from addresses ending in @reunika.com. Never from Gmail, Messenger or WhatsApp.
• The only way to pay us is the checkout on reunika.com, processed by Stripe. We never ask for transfers, vouchers or crypto.
• We never contact you first to sell a search. Everything starts from the listing you posted yourself.
• If you receive such a message, report the page and forward it to contact@reunika.com.

2. Ransom demands

A reward offered by you is normal. Money demanded by someone who 'has' your pet is not. Typical signs: they refuse a live photo, send an image that only resembles your pet, will not say where they are, and push you to pay first.

• Ask for a photo of the pet next to today's date written on paper, or a short video where the pet reacts to its name.
• Never pay before you have the pet in your hands.
• Report the demand to the police: extortion is a crime in every EU country.

3. Fake drone, thermal camera or 'GPS tracking' searches

Offers of high-tech searches with vague wording and a large upfront fee. Some real services exist, but they are local, have a verifiable company, an address and reviews outside their own page. Ask where exactly they operate, what they can and cannot do, and pay only after the search, by a traceable method.

4. Suspicious comments and 'they found my dog, write to them'

Fresh profiles with no photo, few friends and comments pasted under dozens of listings recommend a page or a 'pet detective'. Check the profile before you click anything, and never share your phone number or address in comments.

5. The fake vet or animal shelter

A message says your pet was found injured and needs an urgent, prepaid treatment. Ask for the name and address of the clinic, offer to pay on site and ask for a video. A real clinic accepts that. A scammer pressures you and refuses.

If you already paid

• Call your bank or the payment app immediately and report the transaction as fraud. Many can reverse it if you act fast.
• Report the profile or page on the platform where it contacted you (Report, then Scam or fraud).
• File a complaint with the police, with screenshots, dates and the payment details.
• Warn others: a comment under your own listing helps the next owner.

How Reunika protects you

• No phone number on the listing or the poster. Sightings reach you through the platform and your email stays private.
• The poster carries a QR code to the listing page, so people can report a sighting without contacting you directly.
• Every listing and every comment is reviewed, partly with automated tools, and fraudulent ones are removed.
• Payments only through Stripe on reunika.com, with buyer protection and no card details stored by us.
• A real person answers at contact@reunika.com when something looks wrong.

Final thoughts

Scammers count on your panic. Take the ten seconds to ask for proof, and use the listing page rather than private messages. It costs nothing and it works.

Common questions