Dog Owners Warned Over Bogus Microchipping Websites

Dog owners updating their pet’s microchip details online are being warned to check the website they are using is genuine after a number of bogus sites have been discovered.

Bogus sites came to the attention of East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s dog warden team after they issued a notice to a dog owner informing them they were breaking the law as the details on the microchip were not up to date.

The owner informed the dog wardens they had paid around £15 to update the details via a website found online via a search engine.

Enquiries were made which showed the owner had made a £15 payment to a website claiming to update microchip details but the changes had not been made.

Information was passed to the council’s trading standards team who, after further investigation, discovered there are a number of websites in operation claiming to update microchip details, taking a fee and then failing to make the necessary changes.

The law states that all dogs must be microchipped and the information kept up to date otherwise the owner could face prosecution and all dogs must be registered on one of the Government-approved databases:
• Animal Tracker – www.animaltracker.co.uk
• Identibase – www.identibase.co.uk
• MicroChip Central – www.microchipcentral.com
• MicroChipID – www.microdogid.org
• National Veterinary Data Service – www.nvda.co.uk
• Pet Identity UK – www.petidentityuk.info
• Petlog – www.petlog.org.uk
• ProtectedPet – www.protectedpet.com
• Smartchip – www.smartchip.org.uk
• UK PETtrac.co.uk – www.pettrack.co.uk

Councillor Shaun Horton, portfolio holder for community involvement at East Riding of Yorkshire Council, said: “All dog owners have a responsibility to keep the details on their dog’s microchip up to date.

“In this case, the owner thought they had done the right thing by updating the details online but had fallen victim to a bogus website.

“So not only did they lose the £15 fee and were almost prosecuted but they are also leaving themselves vulnerable to identity fraud as they would have put all their personal details onto this website which could compromise their own security.

“There are a number of bogus websites in operation so I would urge all dog owners to be vigilant and to make sure any sites they are using are approved by the Government.”