Police have issued a warning about a ‘despicable’ blackmailing scam in which owners of lost dogs are being told to transfer hundreds of pounds or their pet will be killed.
Fraudsters are posing as dognappers and sending threatening messages to people whose animals have disappeared – exploiting any contact details posted online in a plea for information.
Scammers present no proof they have the pet – but urge the owner to pay up or the dog will be harmed.
The victim is then told they have a limited amount of time – usually a day – to make a Bitcoin transfer.
Lancashire Constabulary has revealed that a woman in Longridge – who had lost her lilac and tan French Bulldog Nelly – was sent a message reading: “I have your dog. It’s fine just scared. Send £450 in bitcoin to this bitcoin wallet or I will kill it or sell it or whatever. When you pay send your address and I’ll drop it off. I won’t contact you again or reply.”
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The message continued: “This is a throwaway phone. Police can’t help. You have until end of Thursday.”
Message sent to a victim of the dognapping scam / Image: Lancashire Constabulary
The victim also received threatening phone calls from a man who claimed he would hurt the dog if the owner did not pay a ransom of £1,000 by 3pm that day.
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The supposed kidnapper(s) did not send any proof of Nelly’s whereabouts.
Lancashire police force said it was taking the offences ‘extremely seriously’.
Officers are advising any recipients of these fraudulent messages to avoid responding and call 101 instead.
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Juliet Clark of Lancashire Constabulary’s Cyber Crime Unit said: “These despicable individuals play on the emotions of their victims when they are at their most vulnerable.
“As upsetting and tempting as it is to pay the ransom, this is [a] scam. If people are contacted after losing a pet with similar messages, contact police on 101.”
Anybody with information about the whereabouts of Nelly is asked to call police on 101, quoting log 0934 of 31 March 2021.
Greater Manchester public urged to help get people ‘off the streets and on their feet’ before Christmas
Emily Sergeant
Locals are being urged to help get hundreds of people “off the streets and back on their feet” this festive season.
As the temperatures told colder by the day, and Christmas creeps closer and closer, Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity is bringing back ‘1000 Beds for Christmas’, and the massively-important initiative is aiming to provide 1,000 nights of accommodation to people at risk of homelessness before the big day arrives.
Forming part of the ongoing ‘A Bed Every Night’ scheme, this festive fundraising mission is designed to provide food, shelter, warmth, and dedicated vital wrap-around support for those who need it most.
The charity says it wants to build on the “incredible success of 2023”, which raised more than £55,000 and provided 1,800 nights of accommodation.
Stockport-based property finance specialists, Together – which has supported the campaign for the last two years – has, once again, generously pledged to match every public donation for the first £20,000 raised.
Unfamiliar with the ‘A Bed Every Night’ scheme? Since 2017, when rough sleeping peaked, the initiative has helped ensure a significantly-higher rate of reduction in the numbers of people facing a night on streets in Greater Manchester than seen nationally.
The landmark scheme has given people the chance to rebuild their lives, while also giving them access to key services and opportunities that allows them to stay off the streets for good.
Despite the scheme’s recent success, organisations across Greater Manchester are under “a huge amount of pressure” to meet the demand for their services this winter, and given the current economic outlook, household budgets will continue to be squeezed – leaving people on the sharp end of inequality and poverty.
The Manc -
7th May 2021 
