A couple months ago, I posted an article here about Online Puppy Scams.

I wanted to bring this issue back to the top, after someone posted the following comment to the above article...

I never knew about puppy scams until this week because it happen to me and know I'm tryin to make sure that everyone know about this woman that tried it on me! Her name(or so called)is Rev. Sister Melanie Green. She is claiming that she will send you a FREE puppy as long as you pay shipping and give a donation to AWWAH MOTHERLESS BABIES FOUNDATION in Cameroun. She told me that she had already paid for the puppies flight but when I called there was no such reservation. When I emailed her and told her that I checked she said that she needed a Western Union code before she would put the puppy on the flight. I put a hold on the western union money...THANK GOD!!! I called one more time to the airlines and they had no reservation but found out that there was a puppy put on board...so I went to dallas and to my suprise NO PUPPY!!! SO BEWARE!!!!

The so-called African Puppy Scam is real, as evidenced by this person.

In the navigation bar at the top of this website, I put a link for "Adopt a Dog". This link takes you to PetFinder.com. PetFinder is a place you can go to adopt a puppy, without being scammed. The puppies there are from shelters and rescues in your local area.

If you're going to adopt a dog, adopt one from your local area so that you can see it in person, touch it, play with it, and know that you're not going to get scammed.

Labels: Puppy Scams

"Purebred Puppy - FREE To Good Home."

It's easy to see why ads like this pull on the heartstrings of dog lovers who jump at the chance to adopt an adorable, soon-to-be-homeless puppy -- especially when the puppy is a sought-after, expensive breed.

Dr. Audri G. Lanford, Co-Director of ScamBusters.org, cautions would-be puppy parents that puppy scams are growing at an astounding rate. ScamBusters.org is a public service website that has been helping people protect themselves from Internet scams since 1994.

It's almost impossible for a consumer to recover money from a wire service if they've been scammed. It's far better to use a credit card.

"Dog lovers have become frequent victims of a very old-fashioned scam: selling something that doesn't exist," says Dr. Lanford. In the case of puppy scams, con artists advertise puppies in a classified ad or online.

Some scammers claim to be seeking a home for a puppy they can no longer keep, and then ask you to wire them hundreds of dollars to ship the new, non-existent puppy to you. Other scammers, posing as breeders, have puppies listed for sale -- often asking ridiculously low prices for purebred puppies that may otherwise cost $1,000 or more.

ScamBusters.org urges consumers to use due diligence when purchasing or adopting a puppy, especially online or via classified ads. Here are a three questions to ask:

1. Is the advertiser insisting that you pay via Western Union or another wire service? "That's a tell-tale sign of a scam," says Dr. Lanford. "It's almost impossible for a consumer to recover money from a wire service if they've been scammed. It's far better to use a credit card."

2. Does the alleged breeder seem to care more about payment than about the welfare of the puppies? "That's a big red flag. Reputable breeders will be far more concerned with the suitability of your home than the contents of your bank account," says Dr. Lanford.

3. Can you see the puppy, its littermates and at least one of its parents in person? (Probably not if it's a scam -- because there are no puppies.)

If you have your heart set on adding a new purebred puppy to your family, ScamBusters.org suggests that you personally visit established breeders in your own area. Better yet, says Lanford, "save a life and rescue a dog from your local animal shelter."

You can find additional tips on avoiding puppy scams by visiting ScamBusters.org.

Labels: Puppy Scams