Tips to Spot an Online Pet Scammer

Below is a list of the most common tactics used by online pet scammers. 


By keeping these in mind, hopefully, you will be able to spot a potential scam ad or fraudulent website. By finding a much "cheaper kitten" you may run into loads of heartache when that darling kitten you *thought* you were purchasing, actually does not even exist and it was simply a picture that was stolen from an actual cat breeder's website or off the Internet.
Things to watch out for:

• No personal name, only a cattery name
• When you call the number listed on their website it will lead you to an automated voice message system such as "Google Voice" or "Text Mail Subscriber" where you will be directed to leave your number and they will most likely text you back.
• NO CITY or state listed
• BUY NOW BUTTONS or "Adopt Now" next to each available kitten
• They always ask "How soon do you want/need the kitten?"
• Kittens never have a coat color listed because online pet scammers do not know actual coat colors.
• Kittens usually do not have a date of birth listed.
• Many of the kittens pictures do not look remotely similar as those they came from the same litter/parents.
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• Ask them to if you can meet in person and pay cash for the kitten, and they will make every excuse in the book not to or quit talking to you.
  

 

•  (They usually say the shipping process takes between 6-18 hours, this is just insane.

• Many have a percentage of 30 -60% off​ sales.

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• Buy Now Buttons or Adopt Now next to the "Available Kitten". They do not care who you are, they just want your money! They only want you to fall in love with that picture and price tag and forget your common sense.  ​
• They prefer doing communication via text message, whatsapp, Facebook messenger and email because they can not speak good English!!!!!! REMEMBER THIS FACT!!! Read through their responses, much of it does not even make any sense. (Why on earth would anyone buy a kitten off the Internet from someone without speaking to them directly anyway???) Number one sign of an online pet scammer - POOR GRAMMAR!!! 

 

•  Their preferred payment methods are: Western Union, Apple Pay, CashApp, Google Pay or Money Order. Once you have paid any of these ways, you have no buyer protection what so ever!
  

• They say they can ship your pet. NO AIRLINES WILL SHIP PETS AS OF 10-30-2020!!

•  They never give out their actual physical location. TRUE ADDRESS with a street number. If you want to pay by money order they will give you a PO Box address. 

•  Online scammers like to mention the use of a "shipping services," or "a shipper,".

• They have VERY small 5-8 page websites! THIS IS KEY! Pay attention to their website!! They toss together quick and easy websites that a five-year-old could build, these sites generally take less than an hour to build and usually have a have about 5-8 pages (Available kittens, About Us, Contact Us & Testimonials) Of course the "testimonials" are always fake and written by them. 
• Bookmark and watch their website for a few months, you will notice they change their cattery name every 6 months or less!​
• Once you have sent payment for the shipping, there will be a problem: the pet needs a different kind a crate; needs a health inspection; needs insurance; etc. You will need to "send more money". 
• They Use different company names or variations of the same company name on their website and emails or very vague names such as "Persians Kittens".
• They call the pets their “babies” and insist that they only want a loving, forever home. They always send you a list of questions about how you will take care of the pet, if you’ve had a pet before, etc.
• They will have rotating banners and or pictures on their front page of their website. This is called a front-page carousel, it is a series of images that rotate on the homepage of a website. They do this trick and confuse people. Most people will remember a website in their heads and take a "mental snapshot" and say "Oh, I have been on this site already".  Scammers do not want you to remember being on their website because they have often changed the kitten's name and gender since you were on it last.

 

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Pay close attention to their available kittens!

Many of the scammers have the EXACT same kittens for sale but with different names. (Passionate Persian Kittens and New Life Persians) BOTH have the EXACT same kitten for sale on their sites. (They may have changed this since we posted this screen shot.)

It is little things like this that you MUST pay attention to.

Passionate Persian Kittens is a Pet Scam Site!! Buyer Beware!!!

New Life Persian Kittens is a Pet Scam Site!! Buyer Beware!!!

You will also see the exact same calico kitten available on Sky Mini Persians, New Life Persian's AND Mini Persian Cattery's website, just various different photos of her!!!!!!!

Mini Persian Kittens Cattery is a Scam Site - Buyer Beware!!

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Here's another example!  Two catteries - Same exact kitten for sale - two different names.

This same kitten is available on another website with a different name. Buyer beware!!

This same kitten is available on another website with a different name. Buyer beware!!

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​Below is a sample email from a scammer. You will usually receive a pre-typed email similar to this one. 

Hello Debbie,
        My name is Fru, Gabi is still available and ready to go, she currently weighs 2.1 Lbs and he is expected to stay at 7-9 Lbs when fully grown. She is healthy, vet checked, and has had her 1st & 2nd shots. She comes with a year's health guarantee & a clean bill of health. All pictures on our website are current but I have also attached her most current pics and videos. We are considering placing Gabi in your home but please note before we proceed; We want to be assured she would be loved and spoiled, I can have her delivered to you by shipping being that we're in Oklahoma City, OK.
I can guess the question you have in mind right now,**Flying a Cat: Is it safe? This question is often asked. We certainly wouldn't consider it if it wasn't. When we book a flight for a Kitten it is only on safe, approved Airlines that have pet-safe programs that Follow USDA guidelines and there would be someone to look after the kitten on & off the plane, providing the Kitten with food and water whenever necessary. Our kittens have always arrived safe and sound to their new owners and it is even better and more comfortable to fly a cat on a 2-8 hours flight than to drive with that cat especially the small size cats and moreover, someone will be there to care & look after the Kitten on and off the plane since the Kitten will not have to stay in the cargo area of the plane but actually stays in the crew cabin.
The delivery process normally takes between 6-18 hours to complete. So total for Gabi is $600 re-homing fees plus $158 shipping making a total of $758 USD. So if you are ready to welcome Gabi into your family, then let me know so that we can proceed with further arrangements. Thanks and looking forward to hearing from you.  

Angu Fru,

Visit our website here.