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. Once a pet has been "sold" several times, the scammers simply move on. In a later email, she was advised a special air-conditioned shipping kennel was needed or the airlines would refuse to transport the puppy. 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. 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. There are a few "do's" and several "don'ts" here: Do read ads carefully for misspellings and grammatical errors. A pet is offered for sale, but after the outlay of money, no pet is delivered and the prospective owner's money can't 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. They also use websites which offer "free trials," so they can avoid leaving a paper trail that paying for ads would create. ) answered first. The dispute in this case was the company's failure to deliver. "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. Our prospective adopting consumer at first was told she would receive a 40-percent discount, with her puppy costing $500 "including shipping and delivery. Don't wire money to anyone you don't know. Protect yourself from Internet pet scams Trade News selected by Local Linkup on 03/06/2012