Pet owners searching for a missing animal are being warned about a cruel new scam designed to exploit fear and urgency.
Mission Viejo Animal Services says scammers are calling residents and falsely claiming to be from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department or a similar agency.
City officials told KTLA about a reported case in which a woman searching for her lost cat — after posting flyers with photos of the animal and her phone number — received a call from a number that appeared to be from the city. Believing her cat had been found and treated by a veterinarian, she sent $1,400, only to later learn her pet was still lost…