This week on The Perfect Scam.

I got a call and it said Tampa Bay Humane Society.

And they said, we have an orange cat here, microchipped by the name Percy.

He was hit by a car and he has terrible damage.

I think in my gut, I knew something wasn't right,

but there were so many emotions.

You know, my mom's in the hospital.

The family dog has just passed away.

I desperately want Percy to come home.

I don't want to think about him in pain.

So it's like, I'll do whatever it is that you want me to do.

Welcome back to The Perfect Scam. I'm your host, Bob Sullivan. Lost Pet, help find Fido.

I'm sure you've seen signs like that taped on telephone poles, plastered all over bulletin boards at coffee shops, maybe even popped into your mailbox.

There's just something about lost pet signs that always makes my heart sink. I immediately picture a family, worried sick, a young boy without his bedtime companion, and a frightened animal shivering and hungry under a bridge, or worse. If you've ever lost a pet, even for just a few

minutes, you know the panic that sets in. That's why I thought we just had to do today's story.

It's about a new scam when it takes full advantage

of broken-hearted families who are searching for a lost pet. Reports about the scam are coming in

from all corners of the country just in the past few weeks. That's why we are so grateful. Chloe

Patera is willing to share her story with us.

She lives in Georgia with her husband and her pets,

but she has spent the past couple of months in Florida with her mom who is recovering from a stroke.

And in that family chaos, well, criminals found a way to pounce.

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