Lisbon Pet Owners Targeted by Fake Shelter Scam via MBWay

Thousands of pet lovers across Lisbon have spent the last few weeks combing neighbourhoods, taping posters to lamp-posts and refreshing social-media feeds—all while a quiet fraud has been unfolding in the background. Con artists, posing as municipal staff, have begun targeting those desperate to recover a lost dog or cat, demanding quick MBWay transfers or Multibanco references in exchange for the promise of a reunion. The municipality says the calls are bogus, the money vanishes and the animals are never produced.

Why this new scam stings Lisbon so sharply

Lisboa is a city where more than 1 in 3 households now keeps at least one companion animal. Over the past decade, adoption rates have risen as legislation hardened against abandonment, turning pets into full-fledged family members. That intimacy makes the emotional leverage of the scheme unusually powerful: thieves are not stealing phones or wallets—they are exploiting anxiety, guilt and hope. In a post-pandemic reality, where remote working has amplified the human-pet bond, the financial and psychological blow lands even harder.

Anatomy of the hoax

Scammers sift through Facebook groups, Instagram stories and specialised apps where guardians post "lost pet" notices. After selecting a target, they phone or message, introducing themselves as “technicians from the Casa dos Animais de Lisboa”. They claim the missing pet "arrived injured", underwent "urgent surgery" and is ready for pickup—provided the tutor pays an "urgent clinical fee" via MBWay within minutes. Victims report being pressured with threats such as “if we cannot settle the bill today, your animal will be transferred to another district kennel.” Some have been asked for as much as €450.

The real protocol inside Casa dos Animais

City Hall insists the official routine is straightforward and cash-free until the moment you stand in front of the kennel gate:

• No advance payments—ever—for recovery, treatment or accommodation.

• Direct phone call from municipal staff only after scanning the pet’s microchip.

• All fees, if applicable, are settled in person and by receipt according to the 2025 municipal price table.The procedure is designed to be transparent: every payment generates a fiscal document, and no official will ask for MBWay codes on the phone. Microchip identification, mandatory in Portugal since 2021 for dogs and 2022 for cats, remains the fastest way authorities locate guardians without third-party involvement.

If your phone rings: five-second safety drill

The municipality and the PSP advise residents to run a mental checklist before acting. Is the caller cancelling the fee if you show up in person? Do they refuse video proof of the animal? Are they rushing the transfer because “others are waiting”? Hesitation, followed by a firm “I will verify that directly with City Hall”, often ends the conversation. Victims are urged to file a complaint at the nearest PSP station or through the Portal da Queixa, including screenshots and voice notes.

Wider picture: cyber-fraud meets pet economy

National police units that monitor digital crime say the animal-rescue angle is only the latest variation on a broader wave of confidence tricks piggy-backing on MBWay’s popularity. Because transfers are immediate and largely irreversible, the service has become a magnet for impostors. Meanwhile, Portugal’s burgeoning pet-care market, valued at roughly €600 M a year, provides fertile ground for schemes that blend emotional urgency with small-value transactions—amounts often too modest for banks to flag automatically but high enough to hurt individual families.

What officials plan next

Lisbon’s municipal vets are compiling a dossier of phone numbers, IBANs and chat logs to hand over to the Cybercrime Unit of the PSP. City councillors are also considering a city-wide information push—Metro screens, tram posters and neighbourhood newsletters—so that "no guardian is left unaware of the rule: never pay remotely". The Assembly of the Republic is expected to debate, early next year, whether MBWay should adopt a reversible “cool-off” window for animal-related transfers similar to consumer-credit purchases.

Key takeaways at a glance

Lost-pet scams are unfortunately real, but the defence is simple and costs nothing. Verify, show up in person, and remember that Casa dos Animais de Lisboa never asks for money upfront. If a caller breaks that rule, hang up—and keep your euros, and hopefully your peace of mind, intact.