​Organisation has made formal complaint to Ofcom and Google

Scam websites are advertising fake RSPCA phone numbers and raking in cash from premium rate lines.

The animal welfare charity has made a formal complain to the regulator Ofcom after it found eight different websites with incorrect numbers in the first 10 pages of a search.

Fake numbers charge premium rates before the caller is diverted to the RSPCA’s National Control Centre.

Dave Allen, head of education and advice at the RSPCA, said: “The amount of sites out there advertising incorrect contact numbers for our charity is very worrying. We are urging people to watch out for websites with fake numbers and information that doesn’t sound quite right.

"Some of the sites can be quite convincing with unauthorised feeds from the RSPCA official Twitter and Facebook page which makes them look all the more real.

“Unfortunately, it can be difficult to get these sites shut down but the RSPCA has been trying to solve this issue by reporting the problem to Google so that the sites are not ranked highly in searches.

"We have also lodged a complaint to the UK’s communications regulator Ofcom and now we are trying to raise awareness of this scam with the general public.

“Not only can these numbers leave people with a hefty phone bill but it also means members of the public may be put off contacting us when an animal is in desperate need of care.”