How to Tell it's a Scam

With online scams on the rise, please be aware of the many different types of pet scams. Many times users are lured in by a cute puppy or other pet for sale, only to find out that they have been scammed out of their money. The best way to avoid being scammed by those who are selling pets online is to educate yourself on the warning signs of a typical online pet scam. Below are listed some of the common and known scams that we see on a regular basis. If you have questions about a company, email, website or if you feel you have been scammed, please contact us at petscams@ipata.org.

Purchasing a Pet Online

• Do an online search (Bing, Google, AOL, etc.) for the email address of the advertiser. Scammers often place ads on several free sites or locations. If you find multiple ads, it is most likely a scam.


• Try to make arrangements to pick the animal up yourself, saying you will fly/drive to wherever the animal is. If they aren't willing to make those arrangements, it is probably a scam.


• Do an online search on part of the text used in the email you receive from the shipper. Especially search for their introduction or information about the company.


• Do not make any payments through Western Union, MoneyGram, or similar services. Once this payment leaves your hands, there is no recourse for recovery or refund.

• Ask for the name and contact information of the “shipper” the advertiser plans to use.


• If they claim to be a member of IPATA, you can easily check on that by using our “Find a Pet Shipper” page. On occasion, there are new members that are not listed on the IPATA online directory. If you have questions, the only way to confirm a companies membership in IPATA is to contact IPATA directly.

Already been Scammed

I've been scammed, now what can I do?

• Stop contact with the scammer; simply ignore their email or telephone calls or block them.
   
• File a report with your local law enforcement and with your local FBI or equivalent office.   


• File a report with the Internet Crime Complaint Center:  www.ic3.gov. This agency is a collaborative effort among several law enforcement agencies who use criminal email addresses and websites to track these, and hopefully, apprehend these criminals.   


• Contact the publication or site where you saw the ad. Let them know that this advertiser is a scammer, give them the email address of the scammer, and ask them to remove the ad(s) and to blacklist this person.   


• Talk with a manager at the MoneyGram or Western Union office you used to send the money. Be sure to take a copy of the emails with all the telephone numbers, names, email addresses, etc. of the scammers. 
  • If you used Western Union, forward the copy of the email with the scammers recipient information to customercare.
     
  • If you used MoneyGram, call:  1-(800)-MoneyGram. Ask them to release information about the scam by contacting: Fraud Aware at MoneyGram  


• Do an online search for the advertiser’s email address. If you find the ad on other publications, let the site know about your experience so they can remove the ad or blacklist the advertiser.   

 

How to Report a Scam

Click the GREEN BUTTON at the tops of this page to report your scam.
Then report the scam to as many of the following list as you can. The more you report it, the more you can save other people from being scammed.
(All of the links below will take you out of the IPATA.org site)

• Better Business Bureau - BBB Scam Tracker to report a scam online.
• Scamwarners.com
• Petscams.com
  • Report Scam Websites
  • How to shut down a fraudulent website
• Artists Against 419  - Fake Sites Database (Search for reported fake pet shippers/sellers)
• MoneyGram
  • Report Fraud
  • Fraud Prevention
  • Email MoneyGram Customer Service
• Fraud.org
  • Pet Adoption Scams
  • Fraud.org - File a complaint (On-line form)
• Scam Watch - Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC)
• FTC - Federal Trade Commission
  • Scam Alerts  
  • Report/File a Complaint
• Facebook - Puppy Fraud Advice group by PetScams.com
• Antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca (Canada)
• Content.met.police.uk (UK)
• Consumerfraudreporting.org/reporting   
• Econsumer.gov
• Tineye.com (Reverse Image Search)
• If you find a fraudulent advertisement through a Google or Bing search report it Here.
• Your credit card issuer - if you provided your credit card number, even if the transaction was not completed.