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Puppy Scam Alert!
Our puppies are getting close to eight weeks old - the earliest time that they can be adopted. We are keeping two; a neighbor is buying one, and my procrastinating brother MAY be getting one, so we will have just two to sell. As responsible breeders, we are VERY careful about who will be getting our little dogs. When I bought my first Sheltie over 20 years ago, I was shocked that the breeder made a house inspection. Our family was required to "qualify" before he would consider selling us a dog. He wanted to meet all of the kids, see our fenced yard, and see how our children treated this test dogs - he brought four of his Shelties to play with them for a while. Obviously, we passed.
In addition to the unexpected home visit, we had to sign a five page contract that included, among other things, our agreement to spay, and that we had to return to dog to HIM should the puppy not work out. He insisted on puppy-sitting when we went on vacation, too.
Today, I received a very odd call. It was a RELAY PHONE call, a service used by people that are hearing or speech impaired. The operator stated that her client was interested in my puppies for her son. When I inquired where she (I am assuming she is a she) was located, she said that "she was in the States". I asked her where she saw the ad, she said "in the paper". When I inquired "which paper", there was no response. She wanted me to e-mail her immediately with the price and details. Interesting, since the price and the details are in the ad that she supposedly read.
I asked her a dozen questions, such as her address and where she saw my advertisement. This was another red flag, since the advertisement does not start until next Thursday. I am still wondering how she got my home phone number or knew that I had puppies. Hopefully, she is not a reader of the ALL EARS blog! I can't imaging that a scammer would read my blog, track down my phone number, and go to this much trouble. On a Google search for "puppies", there were over four MILLION hits. Of course, if you put WebMD on this search, you will find my blog posts.
We did register our puppies with the AKC and APRI, so perhaps these institutions release information to the public, just like birth announcements that used to appear in newspapers. I plan on calling them to inquire about their privacy policies.
About an hour later, I received a response. She wanted my physical address and assorted details. She wanted the final price for TWO puppies so she could send a business check or money order. When I received the check, I should cash it and wire the money to her "shipping agent" who will arrange to pick up the puppies and deliver them to her. The e-mail was filled with spelling errors and poor grammar, making me think that this person with an American-sounding name did not have English as her first language.
Good ol' Google. All that I did was type in "puppy scam" in the search engine, and viola! It was the exact, same scam - right down to the use of an untraceable relay phone, and wiring of funds to a "shipping agent". The scam alert even mentioned the poor grammar and spelling errors. A responsible puppy-buyer would (a) never buy a puppy sight unseen, and (b) never arrange for a shipping agent to pick it up. An alert consumer (me) would NEVER wire funds to a stranger, even if I received a money order or check, and even if that check seemed to "clear" the bank. Many times, the scammer will add one more zinger - they will send MORE than the asking price, apologize for the error, and ask you just to wire them the over-payment.
I guess it just doesn't happen with puppies. My brother listed his boat for sale a few years ago, and received a similar e-mail stating that they would send a check, and that he should forward the money on to the "shipper" so that arrangements can be made to pick up the boat. Yesterday, my son told of his friend that was scammed when he tried to sell a nice watch on eBay. The e-mail told of a man buying the watch for his son's birthday, so he needed it quick. He couldn't wait the week for the check to clear and asked that he be trusted. My son's friend actually dropped the box with the watch at the UPS Store, only to have second thoughts. He went back and retrieved his watch. As you might expect, the check bounced.
Traveling con-men and scammers are not uncommon in our area, or in yours. They run driveway resealing scams and roof coatings. I know, because two of them showed up at my door last summer. They just finished sealing the driveway of my neighbor "down the hill" and had a lot of material left; enough to do my entire driveway for a fraction of the cost. They couldn't remember his name. They had a spray trailer on a very nice truck with out-of-state plates, and proudly showed me a bag of their seal-coat - the "best you can buy". They gave me their business card; a very crudely-made computer generated card. While I was talking to one guy, the other was casing my place. They came up with price. They would recoat my driveway for eight thousand dollars! I laughed since it was more than I paid for the entire driveway. Of course, they negotiated on and on, dropping the price each time. Needless to say, I detected this classic scam early and sent them on their way. I reported this incident to the police, and for the next several weeks, I locked my driveway gate and put my neighbors on alert.
I even recognized the bag of seal coat. It was really special sand that is used for sand-blasting. I have a bag in my garage. The spray trailer is probably loaded with used motor oil; the same oil that they would use to spray and coat your shake roof. After they spray your driveway, they tell you it will take several days to dry (it will NEVER dry), giving them time to skip town.
I love these puppies. There is no way under the sun that I would have even sold those dogs to a legitimate person buying them without seeing them. This could have easily been a re-sale situation. They buy the puppies for a reasonable cost, and resale them for a profit to a pet store or puppy mill. Or they buy female dogs so they can set up their own puppy mill. I can't imagine a more cruel life for a dog than to be a puppy mill breeder.
I reported this scam to the ISP, but I doubt there is little that can be done. This scam may even be orchestrated as far away as Nigeria. In this case, they are not interested in the puppies, just the money wired to them via their "shipping agent".
It has been a dozen years since our last litter of puppies. They all went to good families. We even hosted a one-year Puppy Reunion, complete with a dog birthday cake (That was sort of odd, now that I think about it). Our goal was to see those puppies were loved and cared for by good families. This is our goal again.
ADDENDUM: Two days later, we received another "relay call". We refused the call this time. I suspect it was another scammer running the same scheme.
For more on this Puppy Scam: Puppy Scam Alert.
Related Topics:
In addition to the unexpected home visit, we had to sign a five page contract that included, among other things, our agreement to spay, and that we had to return to dog to HIM should the puppy not work out. He insisted on puppy-sitting when we went on vacation, too.
Today, I received a very odd call. It was a RELAY PHONE call, a service used by people that are hearing or speech impaired. The operator stated that her client was interested in my puppies for her son. When I inquired where she (I am assuming she is a she) was located, she said that "she was in the States". I asked her where she saw the ad, she said "in the paper". When I inquired "which paper", there was no response. She wanted me to e-mail her immediately with the price and details. Interesting, since the price and the details are in the ad that she supposedly read.
I asked her a dozen questions, such as her address and where she saw my advertisement. This was another red flag, since the advertisement does not start until next Thursday. I am still wondering how she got my home phone number or knew that I had puppies. Hopefully, she is not a reader of the ALL EARS blog! I can't imaging that a scammer would read my blog, track down my phone number, and go to this much trouble. On a Google search for "puppies", there were over four MILLION hits. Of course, if you put WebMD on this search, you will find my blog posts.
We did register our puppies with the AKC and APRI, so perhaps these institutions release information to the public, just like birth announcements that used to appear in newspapers. I plan on calling them to inquire about their privacy policies.
About an hour later, I received a response. She wanted my physical address and assorted details. She wanted the final price for TWO puppies so she could send a business check or money order. When I received the check, I should cash it and wire the money to her "shipping agent" who will arrange to pick up the puppies and deliver them to her. The e-mail was filled with spelling errors and poor grammar, making me think that this person with an American-sounding name did not have English as her first language.
Good ol' Google. All that I did was type in "puppy scam" in the search engine, and viola! It was the exact, same scam - right down to the use of an untraceable relay phone, and wiring of funds to a "shipping agent". The scam alert even mentioned the poor grammar and spelling errors. A responsible puppy-buyer would (a) never buy a puppy sight unseen, and (b) never arrange for a shipping agent to pick it up. An alert consumer (me) would NEVER wire funds to a stranger, even if I received a money order or check, and even if that check seemed to "clear" the bank. Many times, the scammer will add one more zinger - they will send MORE than the asking price, apologize for the error, and ask you just to wire them the over-payment.
I guess it just doesn't happen with puppies. My brother listed his boat for sale a few years ago, and received a similar e-mail stating that they would send a check, and that he should forward the money on to the "shipper" so that arrangements can be made to pick up the boat. Yesterday, my son told of his friend that was scammed when he tried to sell a nice watch on eBay. The e-mail told of a man buying the watch for his son's birthday, so he needed it quick. He couldn't wait the week for the check to clear and asked that he be trusted. My son's friend actually dropped the box with the watch at the UPS Store, only to have second thoughts. He went back and retrieved his watch. As you might expect, the check bounced.
Traveling con-men and scammers are not uncommon in our area, or in yours. They run driveway resealing scams and roof coatings. I know, because two of them showed up at my door last summer. They just finished sealing the driveway of my neighbor "down the hill" and had a lot of material left; enough to do my entire driveway for a fraction of the cost. They couldn't remember his name. They had a spray trailer on a very nice truck with out-of-state plates, and proudly showed me a bag of their seal-coat - the "best you can buy". They gave me their business card; a very crudely-made computer generated card. While I was talking to one guy, the other was casing my place. They came up with price. They would recoat my driveway for eight thousand dollars! I laughed since it was more than I paid for the entire driveway. Of course, they negotiated on and on, dropping the price each time. Needless to say, I detected this classic scam early and sent them on their way. I reported this incident to the police, and for the next several weeks, I locked my driveway gate and put my neighbors on alert.
I even recognized the bag of seal coat. It was really special sand that is used for sand-blasting. I have a bag in my garage. The spray trailer is probably loaded with used motor oil; the same oil that they would use to spray and coat your shake roof. After they spray your driveway, they tell you it will take several days to dry (it will NEVER dry), giving them time to skip town.
I love these puppies. There is no way under the sun that I would have even sold those dogs to a legitimate person buying them without seeing them. This could have easily been a re-sale situation. They buy the puppies for a reasonable cost, and resale them for a profit to a pet store or puppy mill. Or they buy female dogs so they can set up their own puppy mill. I can't imagine a more cruel life for a dog than to be a puppy mill breeder.
I reported this scam to the ISP, but I doubt there is little that can be done. This scam may even be orchestrated as far away as Nigeria. In this case, they are not interested in the puppies, just the money wired to them via their "shipping agent".
It has been a dozen years since our last litter of puppies. They all went to good families. We even hosted a one-year Puppy Reunion, complete with a dog birthday cake (That was sort of odd, now that I think about it). Our goal was to see those puppies were loved and cared for by good families. This is our goal again.
ADDENDUM: Two days later, we received another "relay call". We refused the call this time. I suspect it was another scammer running the same scheme.
For more on this Puppy Scam: Puppy Scam Alert.
Related Topics:
6 Comments:
What a crazy story! I am so glad you didnt fall for that scam because if those puppies were to go to a puppy mill, that would just be so heartbreaking. Thanks for all that info and stories! I will definitely think twice about selling/buying things that I see on the internet!
I got the exact same scam when I was selling my baby bearded dragons, only it was done through e-mail.
They make it sound like the person does not speak your language so they can pretend not to understand the question and provide an answer that doesn't match the question.
The initial e-mail sent to me said your product which immediately had me on alert. I asked them if they realized what it is they were requesting to purchase and they didn't even say yes, they just went on about how excited they were.
I'm ashamed to admit that I did almost fall for it because I didn't think there was enough money involved to warrant a scam but then I found out that the check they wanted to send for a couple of $50 beardies was two or three thousand dollars (the rest was of course to be wired to their 'shipping agent').
I refused the 'sale' and they tried to hook me back by sending an e-mail that was supposedly from the shipping agent but there was no way that I was going to take the risk, especially when innocent pets' lives would be at risk.
Wow...even bearded dragons. I am so glad that you didn't fall for this scheme.
Any idea HOW these scammers are getting this information? Are they just cruising the net.
My brother had an attempted scam when he was selling his sail boat.
I had already put an advertisement up on the kijiji website so it's no mystery in my case.
There are so many potential victims on sites like kijiji and craigslist that it would seem like to much effort to track down your personal information from your blogs so I'm not sure how they would have gotten to you. Could a friend or family member innocently put up an advertisement in order to help without letting you know?
I don't have a clue how they get this information....
We thought about everything that could have happened, but nothing checked out. The ad for the puppies actually starts today, so I guess I should expect even MORE scams.
If anyone wants these puppies, they are going to be phone screened carefully with a series of questions that would be the envy of an FBI agent.
Thank you for this posting exposing dog scams. I was just out at I was at Awareness Day in Lancaster, PA, an event to raise awareness about puppy mills. So many people don't realize what goes on with the tax-free Amish in that pristine farmland (qualification - it's not only Amish and not all Amish are bad, but puppy mills are prevalent among Amish farms).
I have to say that being in Lancaster amidst so many puppy mills was overwhelming. If you've never been there, what you see is vast, beautifully manicured farmland. There are lots of horse drawn carriages and every farm looks perfect. BUT... if you know about the puppy mills (there are hundreds), all you see when you look around is silent suffering. You can't see or hear the dogs because the farms are so big and set back from the road, but you know it's there, and it's just terrible. What sealed the deal, was when I was on my way out of town, I passed a horse-drawn carriage (Amish - of course) with a sad-looking dog in a 2x2 cage in the back - probably being transported to another mill. So sad, and such a powerful image. Adopt or buy from a breeder whose house YOU have visited!
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