We discuss the growing popularity of people getting scammed when trying to purchase pets from the Internet and explain what to watch out for.
The Internet is a great place to get all kinds of deals, even on family pets.
Instances where people have turned to the Internet in search for that perfect companion have grown dramatically over recent years, and while the Internet can provide a potential route to finding the ideal family pet, the very nature of cyberspace means you need to be extra vigilant.
However a surge in scams involving the selling of pets has been reported online. Such scams work by setting up posts on auction or social media websites advertising a pet such as cats or dogs. Once someone wins the auction (or responds to a social media post) they are then instructed to make the payment. However – unbeknownst to the buyer – the animal doesn’t exist and isn’t sent to the buyer, leaving them out of pocket.
The scams are close relatives to the advance fee “Nigerian” scams that have been around for decades. Only instead of a large payout being used as bait, the perfect family pet is used to lure victims away from their hard earned money. As is typical with advance fee fraud, the scammers conjure up various excuses why the victim needs to pay them money in order to get their return (i.e. the pet in this instance.)
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Red flags to these scams include –
1. Images of the animal are generic and have simply been taken from the Internet. You can perform a reverse image search using Google Images to see if the image has simply been taken from the Internet.
2. The scammer requests payment is made through an untraceable payment method such as money transfer through a wiring service like Western Union or MoneyGram, or via a prepaid credit service. It is recommended to stick to trusted payment methods as recommended by the auction website that can provide protection and traceability.
3. The price of the animal seems too good to be true.
4. The seller is unwilling to meet in person or provide verified paperwork related to the animal. Generally speaking we only recommend purchasing pets from people you can realistically travel to.
5. The seller makes various excuses as to why you need to make further payments such as courier fees or special handling costs.
6. The seller does not list any contactable information other than a free web based email address.
7. Communication from the seller is inconsistent, suspicious or contains many grammar or spelling mistakes.
Remember, if the seller is acting suspiciously, always err on the side of caution. If you have any reason to believe the seller isn’t genuine or they are unwilling to answer any questions you have about themselves or the animal, leave it. It’s not worth the risk.