Airport Duty Spokesman Doug Yakel reported Wednesday a scam that begins on websites offering to give away pets and offering air transport to connect a pet owner with the new pet.
The scammer then requests that the consumer pay a portion of the costs, airfare or other costs such as those related to vaccines, crates or insurance necessary for travel. This request is sent in an e-mail from a false agency known as the "Health Care Department" at SFO.
Airport officials are warning that no such department or e-mail account exists and that the airport is in no way connected to this scam.
For more information on Internet fraud, including pet scams, go to the Federal Trade Commission's website at www.ftc.gov.