JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Tis’ the season of giving but to scammers it’s all about taking, and nothing is off limits.
The Friends of Jacksonville Animal Shelter says a scammer stole thousands from their bank account with fraudulent transactions.
“Unfortunately, a fraudster was able to duplicate one of FOJAs checks. This wasn’t the first time they’ve done they were very professional how they did it and was able to clear three checks from our checking account totaling over $20,000,” said Allison Abbott with Friends of Jacksonville Animals.
Friends of Jacksonville Animals had to temporarily stop accepting donations to prevent losing any more money.
This money supports the pets living in the Animal Care and Protective Services Shelter on Forest Street.
“We lost a precious week of donations. Because of this, we had to shut our account down, shut any links down, links to PayPal etc.,” said Allison Abbott.
Fraud can happen to anyone.
The Federal Trade Commission says it received 2.8 million fraud reports last year totaling more than $5.8 billion in losses.
Friends of Jacksonville has one piece of advice for other non-profits.
“You should have to keep an eye on your bank account like everyone should,” it said.
The Friends of Jacksonville Animals was refunded more than $20,000 by their bank.
The shelter has re-opened donations and you can donate here.
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