I have written many times in the past, particularly during the pandemic, about scams involving sales of non-existent puppies. People buy dogs or other pets online and, although they think they are taking proper precautions, they often end up getting nothing in return for the money that they wire to the scammer who may have a website or some other way of marketing their non-existent pets with photographs and false information. Recently the Federal Trade Commission issued a warning about scammers posing on social media including TikTok, Instagram and Facebook as sellers of exotic pets such as rare birds. Following up on the social media posts will take you to a legitimate appearing website, but it is simple for a scammer to create a phony website.
One telltale sign of exotic pet scammers is that they all require prepayment through Zelle, bank wire transfers, cryptocurrencies or gift cards. These are the preferred payment methods for scammers because once the payment is made it is impossible to get your money back.
TIPS
It is simple for a scammer to construct a website that appears to be legitimate and scammers can readily steal the name of a legitimate pet retailers. Always check into the reputation of the seller with the Better Business Bureau, your state’s attorney general and even Google the name of the seller with the word “scam” to see if a legitimate seller’s name that is being used has been stolen for scams previously.
There also are a number of ways such as using the website http://www.tineye.com to do a reverse image search of the photos sent to you of the pet to see if they appear elsewhere other than the website attempting to sell you a pet. If so, this is a good indication that you are being scammed. Finally, you are always going to be better off buying a pet that you can see in person prior to buying the pet.
If you are not a subscriber to Scamicide.com and would like to receive free daily emails with the Scam of the day, all you need to do is to go to the bottom of the initial page of http://www.scamicide.com and type in your email address on the tab that states “Sign up for this blog.”
#exoticpetscam
What do Steven Spielberg, Kevin Bacon, and John Malkovich have in common? In addition to being famous entertainers, they are also scam victims. Anyone can be a scam victim. Scammers have a knowledge of psychology that Freud would have envied, and they know how to manipulate us into becoming victims of scams. Phone calls, emails, and text messages are favorite methods scammers use to contact their victims, and it can be all but impossible to know who is really contacting you. Through a technique called “spoofing,” they can make their call or text message appear to come from anyone they wish. So, how can individuals help proactively avoid becoming a scam victim? The answer is ScamAssist® from Iris® Powered by Generali. Anytime a ScamAssist customer gets an email, text message, or phone call luring them into providing personal information or making a payment, all they have to do is use ScamAssist to learn whether the communication is likely to be a scam. While Iris® Powered by Generali doesn’t offer ScamAssist for direct purchase, if you’re a business professional looking to fill a product gap in your portfolio and want to provide customers a service they’ll truly value, contact Iris to learn how you can get started. Join a growing list of companies – such as major retailers like Staples – that have offered ScamAssist bundled with other core offerings to help differentiate themselves in the market and provide their customers with a tool they will truly utilize.
