Warning About Fraud In Buying Puppies

Wanted to let everyone know about a scam that is going on also, plus past this information on to all breeders that you know. My friend had some doberman puppies that he was selling. Since his computer was down sick with a virus , I was helping him with his Email contacts and replies. I was contacted by a man in London. He was asking about getting a Doberman puppy. He did not care if it was a male or female, show or pet, black or red. the asking price was $500. He said that he wanted to handle the shipping. Well, after several strange emails about the payment and how his shipper was going to contact me, I got a little worried. I even tried to call long distance and he would not talk to me. Well, a money order did come in the mail, no return address, no note, no signature just my name, and way too much money. The next email I got was instructions to cash any payment, keep out the money for the puppy and western union the rest to his shipper. Well, $4600 was way too much $$$$. Then another payment from him for $1850 was received in the way of a cashier check. Again I was told to cash the check and send the rest to the shipper by Western Union in Nigeria!! I call the banks that both check and money order were drawn on and both are fake!! So be very careful!! My friend and I call the local police, the FBI, and the postal inspector. Have not received any more email from the guy? I have heard from a few more friends in my club and circle of dog breeders that they have gotten the same sort of emails. BE VERY CAREFUL!! These type of people are crooks! They are wanting you to cash a bad check or money order that is over the amount of the puppy that you are selling and then send them the difference. Well, it is all a scam!!

Wow that guy isn't too bright is he? It's not really hard to make a check or a mail order the right amount LOL.

Well, here is the way the scam works. A person pretends to want a dog from you. They always want to handle the shipping themselves instead of you. They send you a money order or check for way over the amount that you are asking. They say they need your help with the transaction. They are hoping that you will put the check or money order in your bank and withdraw the overage to Western Union funds to the "Shipper Agent" before the check or money order that you put in your bank has cleared. By the time you find out that they sent you a bad check(usually 10 days) you have already sent money to them. Now you are out so much money and also still have the puppy, and the scammer has the CASH.. I am still hearing from people today(got 4 emails this morning alone) about people contacting breeders about wanting to buy a puppy. Please be VERY Careful!! This scam could cost you Thousands of Dollars!!

The breeder that I got Mack from had the same thing happen. Except the people purchased two puppies from them and paid with the money order. Well the people got away with the puppies and they got nothing. So they were out over a thousand dollars.

This kind of thing happens alot MOSTLY on ebay.
Any time i go to sell a mobile phone or a games console i get a email offering me £400 for a phone thats £100 brand new and they ALWAYS want it sent o africa.

NEVER ACCEPT WESTERN UNION or any money order at all.

I heard of a guy who sold his £1,200 laptop on ebay and got a email from western union saying u have received payment, he sent the iteam and realized the link on the payment wasnt to westernunion.com but a different address (the site looked just like western union) by which time it was too late.

If you have to accept payment from abrod use paypal and ship only to a confirmed address and make sure whee it says seller insurence you are eligable.

It might cost you around £5 but at least you know you wont get ripped off.

Can i also say how dissapointed i am that the goverment have not made people aware of this before.

This kind of thing happens every day from pups to laptop people are getting screwed out of their goods that they worked hard for and i almost fell for it myself (when selling my tv) we pay tax's for a reson and it's the goverment responsibility to let people know.

I agree. It is time that something is done to stop this type of scam. I do a lot of business on Ebay and thank the LORD I have had nothing but good. I just got 3 more emails from friends of friends that have had inquiries about their puppies. All have had the same problems with this scam. People who scam like this should be SHOT!

Always watch out for anything coming out of Nigeria. For many years Nigeria has been the origin of choice for scams. Even back before internet use there were scams like this coming out of Nigeria.

Most of the scams revolve around the temptation to make some quick, easy money. If you aren't tempted by quick, easy money you're a much more difficult mark. These people probably do manage to rip off a lot of backyard breeders - someone responsible would want to know a lot more about where a pup was going than an address and would never consent to let a third party arrange for transport.

I would be suspicious of anyone who wanted a pup and wasn't willing to come and inspect it before purchase, I mean mail order pups!! You could be getting any old dog!! I think that is taking internet shopping a bit far!

Actually, when you want a specific breed or specific bloodlines it's a good way to be able to get that, but you do have to do your homework thoroughly on the breed and breeder!

What I meant really was that, If I was a breeder I wouldn't just let my pups go like that to someone I hadn't met or knew nothing about. But that's just me.

If I were a breeder, I sure wouldn't sell a puppy to someone over the Internet. I'd be so picky who got my pups.

This scam has been going on for some time now, I was contacted last year, same thing, I told many about it then.

There are also another few, whereby someone in Nigeria, wants to make a money transfer out of Nigeria, for many different reasons, (goverment taking it, to save on taxes, etc etc) they ask you for your bank details to transfer LARGE AMOUNTS OF MONEY into your account and in return they will pay you a considerable sum for this to happen, its a scam to get all your details, some of the scams also send you money drafts and ask for you to send half of it back to them and you keep the other half but of course the drafts they send to you are fake.

Mo

My Friend has done some local showing but mostly working Dobermans, See the guy in London gave me his address, phone number and fax number. He asked for photos of the pups and parents.. Ask for AKC numbers and pedigree information. I even called long distance to London one day just to talk to him because my friend was getting a little worried and so was I. When payment came he even gave me the shippers email and name. It was not until the last email that he gave us a Nigeria address for sending the payment.. What a Jerk!! Another friend who has boxers has a guy in Canada but works in London.. Well, I told her to tell him to forget it.
What is the world coming too!!!???

Good breeders who do sell pups over the internet usually spend a great deal of time corresponding and checking. It's really been a boon to the rare breeds, more than anything else and gives you a chance to expand your own bloodlines in a way that wasn't possible before. I really didn't become aware of the good sides of it until getting involved with the Filas. But you do have to be very, very careful.

I realize that some breeds do need to go via shipping and internet contact, but I am just not comfortable with the idea. I was going to buy a pup from a lady who lived in the mid-west and I am in Oregon. She checked references on me and also checked show entries to make sure that I actually show dogs since this was to be a show puppy. She also would not ship, I would have to fly there and take the puppy back with me in cabin. She will not allow her pups to fly alone and they are never allowed in cargo on a plane. Now that is how I think it should be done. Someday when I breed my first litter, I will not allow my puppies to be shipped. People can fly here, meet me, and take the puppy back in cabin with them. I think flying a young pup alone is very stressful for the pup and would not want mine to go through it. I think responsible breeders require a meeting to take place before selling a puppy and that is the way it should be. I also spoke with a lady in Brazil and I spoke with her about buying one of her puppies...she required us to fly to Brazil to pick up the puppy and fly it back with us. She even offered to let us stay in her home while we were there.

That's the ideal, Pugs

Personally, if I ever decide to purchase a Fila from a breeder in Mexico or some other place a long way off, I'll drive out and pick the pup out myself and drive back with it.

I see all of your points.. I am not sure how many of you have traveled with your pets before. I am been traveling with my cats since 1976. We have lived in England, Japan twice, FL., TX, Crete Greece and Alaska before coming to Missouri. Unless the animal is very Very small and can fit into the smallest size kennel (stand up in it with 2 to 3" of head room) and the kennel must fit under the seat. If not then the kennel must go in the cargo. My cats have travelled all over the world, with me and once without me and never a problem ( I am not saying that problems can't happen, Just that I have never had a problem) Now if you are shipping a large breed puppy, at the age of 8 weeks, then the kennel size will be TOO big to fit under the seat and will have to be in cargo. The main thing is that you must be happy with the way your new baby is going to be shipped to you whether it be by plane, train, car. Just my 2 cents worth.