⚠ Important

Safety guide — protect yourself from scams

Unfortunately, some people exploit the desperation of owners of lost pets. Before handing over or collecting an animal, read this guide. When in doubt, stop and contact local authorities.

Local resources — emergency numbers, registries, and law

Emergency numbers, microchip registries, and the law of the country where you'll meet matter more than where either party lives. We've pre-selected the country your visit appears to come from — use the tabs below to switch to wherever the handover will actually happen.

Greece EU / EEA United Kingdom United States International

Auto-detected from your connection. Switch with the tabs above if you're somewhere else.

Emergency: Police 100 · EU-wide emergency 112 · Fire 199 · Ambulance / EKAB 166
Microchip registry: National Pet Registry (Εθνικό Μητρώο Ζώων Συντροφιάς / EMZS) at pet.gov.gr, operated by the Ministry of Rural Development and Food. Any licensed vet in Greece can read the chip and look up the registered owner. The Pan-Hellenic Veterinary Association (Πανελλήνιος Κτηνιατρικός Σύλλογος) coordinates local veterinary associations if a vet is unreachable.
Applicable law: Microchipping and registration of every dog and cat is mandatory under Law 4830/2021 ("Provisions for companion-animal welfare"). Animals must be chipped and recorded in the EMZS within two months of birth or within 10 working days of acquisition. Pet theft is prosecuted as theft under the Greek Penal Code; the Penal Code's fraud and extortion provisions apply when money is demanded for a pet's return.
Reporting: Hellenic Police (100 for emergencies, 1033 from a mobile in many regions for non-emergency), local Δημοτική Αστυνομία, and the Διεύθυνση Κτηνιατρικής of your regional unit (Περιφερειακή Ενότητα). For personal-data abuse: Hellenic Data Protection Authority — dpa.gr.

Emergency: 112 (single EU emergency number — works in every member state, free of charge, on any phone, fixed or mobile)
Microchip registry: Each member state runs its own national registry. Cross-border lookup is available through Europetnet (europetnet.com), a federation of national pet-registry operators. Any local vet can also forward a chip query to the right national registry on your behalf.
Applicable law: Cross-border movement of pets is governed by Regulation (EU) 576/2013, substantially amended by Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/705 as of 22 April 2026: EU Pet Passports are now reserved for EU residents, while non-EU residents need an Animal Health Certificate for each entry. Existing pet passports for EU residents remain valid (a transition period for the old model passport runs until 1 January 2028). Theft and fraud are governed by the criminal law of each member state; personal-data abuse falls under the GDPR (Regulation (EU) 2016/679).
Reporting: Local police (112 in any emergency) and the competent veterinary services of your country. Each member state has its own data-protection supervisory authority — the directory is at edpb.europa.eu under "About EDPB → Members".

Emergency: 999 emergency (police, fire, ambulance, coastguard) · 101 police non-emergency · 112 also works
Microchip registry: All dogs over 8 weeks and all cats over 20 weeks in England must be microchipped and recorded on a DEFRA-approved database (Microchipping of Cats and Dogs (England) Regulations 2023; cat provisions in force from 10 June 2024). Approved databases include Petlog, Identibase, MicrochipCentral, Animal Tracker, Pet-Detect, and ProtectedPet. Any vet can read the chip and identify which database holds the record. Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland have their own broadly equivalent microchipping rules.
Applicable law: The Pet Abduction Act 2024 makes the abduction of a dog or cat a specific criminal offence in England and Northern Ireland, with a maximum sentence of 5 years' imprisonment, a fine, or both. (Wales chose not to apply the Act; Scotland's animal-welfare law is devolved.) The Animal Welfare Act 2006 covers welfare offences; the Theft Act 1968 and the Fraud Act 2006 cover dishonest demands for money. Police forces in England and Wales record pet theft as a separate crime category.
Reporting: Police on 101 (or 999 in an emergency), your local council's dog warden, and the RSPCA cruelty line on 0300 1234 999 (England & Wales) / Scottish SPCA on 03000 999 999 / USPCA on 028 3025 1000 (Northern Ireland). For personal-data abuse: Information Commissioner's Office — ico.org.uk.

Emergency: 911 (police, fire, ambulance — universal across the US and Canada) · For non-emergencies, your local police department's published non-emergency line (often 311 in major cities)
Microchip registry: There is no federal microchip mandate; rules vary by state and city. The AAHA Universal Pet Microchip Lookup at petmicrochiplookup.org will identify which registry holds a given chip across the major US databases. Common registries include AKC Reunite, HomeAgain, 24Petwatch (which absorbed the Michelson Found Animals Registry in 2023), PetLink, and PetKey.
Applicable law: Pet theft is generally prosecuted as larceny, theft, or a property crime under state law. A growing number of states — including California, New York, Virginia, and Texas — have specific pet-theft statutes that carry enhanced penalties beyond ordinary theft. When money is demanded across state lines (including by phone, text, email, or wire transfer), federal wire-fraud and mail-fraud statutes (18 U.S.C. §§ 1343, 1341) may also apply.
Reporting: Local police on the non-emergency line, your local animal control agency, and your local SPCA or humane society. For online or interstate scams, file complaints with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (ic3.gov) and the Federal Trade Commission (reportfraud.ftc.gov, or 1-877-FTC-HELP). Suspected animal cruelty can be reported to the ASPCA online at aspca.org/report-cruelty. (Note: the ASPCA's 1-888-426-4435 line is the Animal Poison Control Center, not a theft or cruelty channel.)

Emergency: Use your country's general emergency number — 112 in most of Europe and many other countries, 911 in North America, 999/112 in the UK, 000 in Australia, 111 in New Zealand, 110/119 in much of East Asia.
Microchip registry: Most countries operate a national pet-registry system reachable through any veterinarian. If you don't know which registry the chip is in, the AAHA Universal Pet Microchip Lookup (petmicrochiplookup.org) and Europetnet (europetnet.com) both span multiple registries internationally.
Applicable law: Microchipping is mandatory in many countries; pet theft and fraud are criminal offences nearly everywhere. The applicable law is the law of the country where the handover takes place — not the country of either party's residence. Online scams that cross borders can also be reported through the offender's national consumer-protection or cyber-crime body (e.g. FBI IC3 in the US, Action Fraud in the UK, Europol's report.europol.europa.eu in the EU).
Reporting: Your country's police service and competent veterinary authority. When in doubt, your local vet or municipal animal-welfare office can almost always point you to the right reporting channel for animal-related crime.

Common scam patterns

Fake "finder" demanding a reward

Someone claims they have your pet and asks you to pre-pay a "reward", "transport cost", or "vet bill". There is no legitimate reward fee. Ask for photos with specific markings before agreeing to anything.

Fake vet or clinic

Someone claims the pet was injured and needs immediate payment to a vet's account. Call the clinic directly yourself to verify. Never send money to unknown accounts.

Fake long-distance transport

"I found your dog in another city — send money so I can bring them to you." No legitimate pet-transport service operates by asking the owner to wire money to a stranger. In every case, this is a scam.

Phishing via email or SMS

Emails that appear to come from the platform asking for credit card details, passwords, or "verification" via a link. The platform never asks for these. Never click links from unexpected emails — type the URL directly.

Identity scam

Someone claims to be the owner of a dog you've found, but cannot prove ownership. The real owner can show you: microchip number, vaccination booklet, old photos, witnesses (neighbours, vet).

How to verify legitimate ownership

1. Microchip: Ask for the number. Any vet can read the chip and look up the registered owner in the relevant national pet registry — see the “Local resources” card above for the registry that applies to your country.
2. Vaccination booklet or Pet Passport: Official document issued by a vet, with owner details and microchip number.
3. Old photos: Ask for photos or videos showing the owner with the pet in different situations, dated before the day it went missing.
4. ID document: National ID card, passport, or driver's licence. Compare the name with the one on the microchip or booklet.
5. Witnesses: Neighbours, the local vet, or a professional trainer who knows the pet.

Handover guidelines

📍 Meet in a public place — not at home. A busy park, a vet's parking lot, or a police station.
👥 Bring at least one witness with you. Tell a third party where you are going.
💰 Never exchange money. There is no platform-legitimate “finder's fee”, and accepting payment to return someone else's pet is treated as theft, fraud, or extortion in most jurisdictions.
📋 Photograph all documents and ask for a signed handover receipt that includes the microchip number.
⛔ If you have any doubt or feel pressured to decide quickly, stop. Call your local police or the relevant veterinary authority — see the “Local resources” card above for the right number in your country.

Legal framework

Microchipping is mandatory in most jurisdictions, and pet theft and fraud are criminal offences nearly everywhere. If you believe someone is trying to take your pet or defraud you, file a complaint with the police and the veterinary authority of the country where the handover would take place — see the “Local resources” card at the top of this page for the right contacts. Keep every message, photo, payment request, and bank detail as evidence; do not delete the conversation.

How to report suspicious behaviour

If you encounter an attempted scam or suspicious behaviour through the platform, email info@petredalert.com with screenshots of the messages and the relevant post. We will never share your details with third parties without your consent.

Disclaimer

The Pet Red Alert platform provides a tool to connect owners of lost pets with people who have spotted or are holding them. We are not a guarantor of users' identity or trustworthiness. The responsibility for verifying legitimate ownership and ensuring a safe handover lies entirely with the users involved.