How do you know if someone is a pet scammer?

Smile!: How do you know if someone is a pet scammer?
My family and I recently found out about a puppy that we want. We found it on the Mercury News [internet] on the pet ads. But the thing is, since it IS on the internet, I am wondering if it is a pet scam or not, someone who just wants to take our money away. This person supposedly claims that he went to Africa last week or so working on the CHAD-CAMEROON PIPELINE PROJECT, and he took his puppy with him, and he wants a Western money transfer or something, and ship the puppy to the US. He seems a bit eager to make the deal, saying that he wants to send the puppy today and things like that. How do we know if he’s a pet scammer? Please help.

Answers and Views:

Answer by Julie
check their licensure for dog breeding and visit the kennel
if you can’t do that you have no business giving the guy your money

Answer by pnk517
IF it sounds too good to be true, then it usually is.

Go to your local animal shelter and pick up one from them. You need to make sure that the puppy will get along with you and anyone else in the family. You can’t tell that from an ad.

Answer by knightmare_6854
always make contact with your pet seller. he sounds like he’s trying to sell you a stolen pet. if it’s a good deal take it.

Answer by noone
call them……..and email them and if u say oh we will write u a check in few week……test him to see if he want it now

Answer by Diana
scam

Answer by hovisd
Why have a puppy shipped to you if there are plenty in pounds and shelters everywhere? Africa is the home base of scammers – sending money overseas for anything, ESPECIALLY an animal, is like throwing your money in a fire.

Answer by tear_streaked_angel_2006
Ask for papers. My grandmother is a dog breeder(well was) had her own kennel and all people like this have to have papers proving that they really do this!!!!!!!!

Answer by Kris
It sure sounds like a scam. Dunno how you could prove it is or not. I don’t know who you would report it to either.

Answer by Justinfire
I think all pet store sellers are selling bad condition or experimented animals. The safe way is like self breeding 2 spieces or buy from farms.

Answer by OceanStarr
I wouldn’t do it………. his puppy wouldn’t have been allowed to go over there with him, trust me, there are laws about animals traveling to other countries. Hell, we moved to Hawaii which is still US and had to have our dog in quarantine for 3 months before we could get him to our new house. Don’t fall for it, it’s a scam

Answer by Cindy
My mom found a scammer on Yahoo! Pets not too long ago. We lived only about 20 minutes away from him, but he was reluctant ot let us see the puppy in person. He said that he wanted a money transfer and had to first get with his agent in WEST AFRICA! Yeah right! It was definetley a scam. And my mom and I just read your story, and we believe that person is trying ot scam you. I hope this helps!

Answer by shepard_horse94
If it’s to good to be true, then yeah, its a scam. If he is asking way to much money for the puppy then I would not get it, go get one from the pound.

Answer by Questor
It’s a guaranteed scam. Blow it off and do not even contact the person again. Ignore his emails, etc. Animal transport of this nature is full of red tape, time and expense, and is not simply done like sending a package in the mail.

You are in the wonderful position to help save an animal’s life. Visit your local animal shelters and animal rescue places. The dog you bring home may be spared from being destroyed. Most shelter’s have more animals than they can handle and the only management process they can resort to is to destroy unwanted animals that do not get adopted within a certain length of time. It is done humanely as possible, but still, it’s a horrible thing to have happen if someone like you can make the difference for that one special dog……YOURS!

Answer by canela
No free lunch. Run from this guy. Either get a dog from reputable dog rescue organizations or from a reputable breeder; check the AKC website for breeders and inf on dog breeds. Check with a vet to get the names of pet rescue organizations. I paid a lot for my dog from a reputable breeder but he dog is guaranteed not to have hip, eye or genetic defections.

Answer by GitEmGang
OMG!!! What cave have you been living in??? OF COURSE IT’S A SCAM!!!!

RUN! RUN AWAY!! RUN VERY FAST,VERY FAR!!!!

There is NO WAY a reputable breeder will EVER sell a pup on-line! ONLY CROOKS,BROKERS OR PUPPYMILLS!!!!!

Go to the AKC & research the BREED STANDARDS!! Then GO TO SHOWS & MEET the breeds & the people of actually KNOW & CARE about their breed!

Answer by linkinpark_415
IT IS A SCAM!!!! I have answered and questioned many “breeder” and some of the emails come back with the ” I am in africa as a missionary and I can’t pay attention to the dog” and so forth. This is a typical scam. The email that you recieved was a HTML, it wasn’t written by anyone, it was a computer that sent it to you. If you asked any questions in your email, notice that it never answered any of your questions. ANd if it did, the scammer is smart enough to include any answers that a buyer might ask.

THIS IS A TYPICAL SCAM….. I just saw it on MSNBC.
DON”T FALL FOR IT!

If it doesn’t answer your question directly or doesn’t state your name, it is a computer generated response to your email. OBVIOUSLY FAKE!

Oh, for future reference, NEVER DO MONEY TRANSFER!! NEVER, NEVER, NEVER……!!! It provides you with no protection, once you wired the money… it is GONE! USe paypal.com or escrow.com…. they are registered with the BBB.

Answer by mjkl1
and you’re buying all this? hmmm – there’s a bridge in brooklyn you might be interested in. and i can give it to you for a good price.

seriously, though, i’m doubting most of his story. for starters, most foreign coutries require quarentine for at least a month of any animal brought in (including pets). it’s highly unlikely he got there last week with his pooch and is able to release him so quickly.

please buy from a reputable breeder. and don’t throw your money away.