No pets, all scams: Recognizing the signs of pet scammers
By: Shamontiel L. Vaughn
Tags: Dogs, Pets, Scam, Zelle

No pets, all scams: Recognizing the signs of pet scammers

Filling the pet void during social isolation without getting scammed

If you’ve looked around in 2020 and felt like you were at that weird age in your 20s where everyone was married with kids and you weren’t, you know this feeling already. It seems like everyone has it but you. Or, maybe you’re the one they’re looking at. So what is that thing that everyone seems to need in order to cope with social isolation? Pets — dogs specifically.

“Demand for all pets were strong in May and June and continues thus far,” said Joe Watson, CEO of Petland, in mid-July to Washington Post.

And the four-legged friends are still powering through this autumn apparently.

Nielsen (via USA Today) reports that in 2020 fewer dogs are left at shelters. Even dog diaper sales have increased — “$24 million for the 24 weeks ending Aug. 15, up 202% from the same period last year.”

Photo credit: Koshu Kunii/Unsplash

If you’ve been to a protest or two, you may even see folks bringing their dogs along for the walk. Who said your row dog can’t be your real dog anyway? You chant your thoughts, and he barks his.

But here’s the part that’s not getting enough attention. What do you do if you’re pining for a four-legged addition to your family, but you’re worried about being the next victim of the latest pet adoption scam? While families and individuals are on the prowl for a new pup, scammers are on the prowl for new victims— and some of them are outsmarting innocent people at an alarming speed for hundreds or thousands of dollars.

Check out the Better Business Bureau for some of the latest pet scams in October. Two days ago, one person reported a website selling puppies for $500 with free delivery. However, the user was charged $1,000 for a nonrefundable “crate.” When the user asked for a refund, regardless of the website saying it offered a 100 percent money back guarantee, the request was rejected. Even worse, when the user threatened to file a police report, the company chose bottom-of-the-barrel logic: guilt. The “seller” reminded the user that this lonely puppy would be abandoned at the airport if the shipment charge wasn’t made.

Another web user paid $700 for a dog, only for there to be a new charge of $1,150 for insurance. All funds had to be sent through Western Union, Walmart, Zelle or Cash App instead of credit cards, the latter of which could be disputed. The seller also requires personal information like a full name, mailing address, phone number and the nearest airport.

Catching these pet scammers is tricky business though. It’s not as simple as an offer for “airport insurance” or “picking the pet up at the airport.” This is a group who is well-versed in what kind of shots certain pets will need, with detailed information on the age and breed of the dog, along with offering “AKC registration application,” multi-page pet care handouts and even blankets that smell like the mother. When buyers meet the “pet carrier” at the airport, they’ll get all of this at once.

Oddly though, although some instructions say for users to meet the carrier at the airport with cash, there’s a persistent need for funds to be sent electronically beforehand as opposed to meeting in person to exchange funds. How is this rationalized? Well, if the dog is from a further distance, the person with the pets doesn’t want to pony up the money for these dogs to travel here and there. It makes sense — until it doesn’t.