DENVER (KDVR) A Denver woman is warning people of a scam that she recently fell victim to on a popular dog walking app.
Mia Rickman joined Wag in 2018.
“It’s been a significant part of my income,” she said.
The app is similar to Uber for dog walkers. Anyone needing their dogs walked can put out a job listing and hire people like Rickman to make it happen. She said a seemingly normal account booked her over the weekend.
“Messaged me and asked me to talk before accepting the booking,” said Rickman.
She sent her phone number and shortly after, her phone started to light up.
“I got these text messages stating that it was Wag! support and I needed to verify my account,” said Rickman.
She called the number, which she thought looked official, and said the person on the phone spoke aggressively and threatened to ban her account.
“The first five seconds were terrorizing and traumatic, I didn’t even know what was going on,” she said. “He literally froze me.”
Rickman said they then started asking for account info like her email and password, which she reluctantly gave them. The person then logged into the app’s money transfer service, Stripe, which holds the user’s money until paying out on Fridays or releasing it instantly for a fee.
“To update my payout method from my debit card to his debit card and once I did that, he was able to transfer my funds,” said Rickman.
Just over $100 was in the account at the time, all gone in an instant. Once that happened, the person ended communication.
“I felt violated. I feel like somebody went to my house and went through my things,” says Rickman.
Fox 31 reached out to Wag about the incident. A spokesperson says the app’s community guidelines prohibit sharing personal contact information. The company said, in part:
“We frequently remind our users not to share such information, as it’s a common tactic used by scammers. Additionally, we regularly provide in-app warnings and email reminders that Wag! will never ask for passwords or login codes over the phone or text.”
Rickman said she chose to share her story in hopes that others won’t fall victim to similar scams and has decided she won’t be using the service anymore.
“I’m going to continue to grow my business off the app,” she said.
Not long after speaking with FOX31, Rickman said she received an email from Wag saying that they would not be able to refund her money. She reported the incident to the Colorado Attorney General’s office Monday morning and hopes the scammer is found.
