01/03/2025
FYI
🚨 Important PSA – Please Read! 🚨 We’ve been alerted to a scam targeting pet owners in our community. Scammers are impersonating the Animal Welfare League of Arlington (AWLA) and spoofing our phone number, making it appear as though their calls are coming directly from us.
Here’s how the scam works:
The scammers claim we have picked up your lost pet and request immediate payment over the phone for emergency surgery or other urgent care. They may even duplicate our main phone number so that if you hang up and call back, you’ll reach the real AWLA team.
Please remember:
➡️ AWLA will NEVER ask for payment over the phone for any reason.
➡️ If you receive a suspicious call, hang up immediately and call us directly at 703-931-9241 to confirm the situation. This will ensure you’re speaking to our team, not a scammer.
➡️ Never share personal or financial information over the phone unless you’re certain of who you’re speaking to.
Additionally, a false page claiming to be AWLA was set up last weekend. While it has since been removed, please remember:
➡️ We will never message you first or ask if you want to adopt an animal via Messenger.
We are notifying Arlington County Police Department about this scam and will provide updates as needed. Thank you for your vigilance and for helping us protect our community from these fraudulent activities.
