Protect yourself from Internet pet scams

Protect yourself from Internet pet scams You or a family member has been dreaming of owning a pet for some time. Don't be swayed by overly emotional appeals or messages that dwell too much on one's family; legitimate businesses don't play that card. Don't give out more information than is necessary. Don't wire money to anyone you don't know. They also use websites which offer "free trials," so they're able to avoid leaving a paper trail that paying for ads would create. ) answered first. What consumers may find, however, is a confusing assortment of sales pitches, some of which contain more truth than others. A pet is offered for sale, but after the outlay of money, no pet is delivered and the prospective owner's money cannot be recovered. That was the case of our very disappointed consumer from northern Maine. This crime has been repeated so often, it's been named the Cameroon Pet Scam. Once a pet has been "sold" several times, the scammers simply move on. That would cost another $950, but she was assured that "upon the delivery of the puppy, $900 will be refunded back to you" and the delivery people would take back the kennel. "If we'd stepped back and really looked at it, rather than wanting the dog so badly, we probably would have acted differently," she told me. Curiously, identical puppy pictures and puppy names turned up on two other websites not registered in the United States. The site names suggest the registrant may or may not also deal in "French Bullies" and "Hyacinth Macaws. She found a puppy on LovelyBulldogPets. Our prospective adopting consumer at first was told she would receive a 40-percent discount, with her puppy costing $500 "including shipping and delivery. Protect yourself from Internet pet scams Trade News selected by Local Linkup on 03/06/2012