Pet Scammers

By Odesi Desko

From the time a person is a child they develop a love for pets. This is carried over into adulthood and, at one time or another in life, almost everyone has a dog or cat. Unfortunately, pet scammers take advantage of these feelings to cheat people.

Puppy mills are held by several con artists around the world. Sellers receive these animals from brokers through shipping. Internet ads are then put up by the sellers, attracting buyers who take their word for it.

When they're advertising on the internet there's usually a picture of a very cute or pretty animal. The puppy is always touted as a purebred with championship abilities, and an extremely high price tag. If you want to buy, money is always required up front. The scam is that when the animals arrives, IF it ever arrives, it will not be the same one in the picture.

Another downside with these pet scammers is the guarantee they give that the animal has had its shots and is in perfect physical condition. Many of the buyers who fell for this game got a puppy that was sick and/or died soon after. Do not plan on buying any live animals for a source you cannot certify as being legitimate.

The person buying the puppy thinks they are paying for the animal they saw in the picture on the internet. What's real is that there never was an animal for sale, and the money you sent is now gone. Lots of people have lost hundreds to thousands of dollars because they thought they were buying purchasing a purebred champion - which are extremely expensive. Stay aware of this potential problem and always take the time to check with a service such as ip-hunter.com/37/index.phtml to verify the person who calls you is truly who they say they are.

One of the more common pet scams is advertising the animals are going to be shipped from another country (overseas)and the only thing buyer is responsible for the shipping charges. Needless to say, once the money is paid, the animals never show up. The buyer is left with no options for the return of the their money.

There are a lot of detailed stories told by pet scammers to engender sympathy. Sob stories abound about pets who were abandoned and are just looking for a good home, which you might provide. There are other stories about people who go overseas and have to abandon the pet they own. No matter the story, they ask for cash up front.

If you want to keep from getting scammed, verify the original owner of the pet, or its location. Try to get to where you can meet the pet face to face, or trace the lineage of the dog. You'll just end up regretting buying an expensive dog online sight unseen. It's not hard at all to get in contact with perfectly legitimate breeders. Don't trust any sort of transaction that asks for money before the product. - 32167

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