english bulldogs for sale scam

[viklmikg]

I was looking for a puppy an came across a site which had 2 for sale when i contacted the person they then sent me an email telling me to contact another person in nigeria who was posted there.they said there pups cant cope with the heat.i was very interested but they want me to send money with westeren union before they will send the pups.they said i would get the pups withing 24hours after money was recieved.a site scanned the email which said they think it could be what do u think.the email asked for full name address and email address for shipping company.i contacted these people first as it was a for sale ad.some of the words that was wrote in the email i searched for on the net and they came up as scams

[Nyla]

It sounds like a textbook scam, but it sounds like you already know this.

Just a bit of general advice, first, for your puppy search. You want to buy puppies in person, not sight unseen, off the internet. Not just to avoid scammers, but to avoid "puppy mills" or, heaven forbid, buying a completely unsuitable dog who will then end up abandoned in the pound when you decide you can't keep it. You want to see the puppy in person, be able to confirm it is healthy, that it's had its shots, and that it has a good disposition. The last thing you want is to bring home a puppy you've never met and discover that it has a rotten personality and will not get on with you as an owner, or that it has severe health problems of some sort. And believe me, that does happen, and it happens often. I have a coworker who volunteers in an animal shelter, and she sees this with great regularity.

Any truly reputable, responsible breeder (especially one that deals with purebreds) is probably going to want to meet and screen any prospective owners in person before sending one of their animals home with you, as well. Most breeders don't want to sell their pride and joy to an owner that doesn't measure up. I would steer well clear of any dog sale that does not involve you actually going to meet the breeder and the puppy in person before making a decision. There are a few breeders who could be trusted to sell you a dog over the internet, and to ship it to you safely, but compared to the multitude of scammers and sloppy, uncaring breeders out there, they are few and far between.

Ask yourself, why would these "owners" have bought/taken the dogs to Nigeria in the first place if they can't cope with heat? It's not as though the heat would have come as a surprise, even if they supposedly moved to Nigeria to live and/or work. A simple web search consisting of two seconds' worth of research would have told them that the heat in Nigeria can be intense and tends to stay intense most of the year. If they're doing this all "for the good of the pups", why are they charging you anything at all, even for shipping? Why are they requesting payment by Western Union, the scammer's preferred method of payment?

I'm going to guess that these people are supposedly missionaries, or working with some Christian organization in Nigeria. That tends to be the preferred scammer story when cooking up these fake puppy ads. It makes the owners sound very sympathetic and trustworthy, claiming to be Christians. Any pictures they've sent you are probably taken from the internet. The adorable dogs only exist in the scammer's imagination and a few stolen pictures, I'm sure.

[Unregistered]

i got this reply when i enquired about a puppy for sale in the cairns post

Rev Wright Phil (revwrightphil200@yahoo.com)
To:
Subject: Re: puppy info


Attachments: Security scan upon download Jemmy 1.jpg (4.0 KB), Jemmy 2.jpg (4.1 KB), Jemmy 3.jpg (3.7 KB)


Greetings peta, First of all I thanks my Living God for helping mesee an intending parent for the Interest in my Baby.However, i want you to know right now i'm currently ofAustralia. I have been transfer to West Africa to HeadUN Branch in West Africa, but right now the Puppy isin Australian Capital Territory with my Sister. I haveattached her pictures, and i'm asking $700 for herincluding shipping. I will want you to Pay the Moneyto West Africa, I will Contact my sister right nowabout where the Puppy will be delivered and i willneed your Name and Address where the puppy will bedelivered. All these will be forward to my SisterImmdiately and Once Payment is Confirmed your Puppywill get to you the Nextday as soon as possible. Ilook forward to your quick response. God Bless You. Cheers

[Nyla]

The reply you received also has many of the hallmarks of scams. The scammer is posing as a "Reverend" and scattering religious references througout the email to make victims trust him more. After all, who would accuse a Reverend of having the intent to scam someone? The scammer also keeps referring to the dog in a super-affectionate manner, calling it his "Baby", and referring to you as a prospective "parent". This is to curry sympathy and make you feel responsible for the dog.

For someone who is supposedly Australian, the scammer's grasp of written English is not particularly good. The dog is conveniently with "his sister" in Australia, yet, he expects you to send money to West Africa, which, unfortunately, has a strong reputation for fraud. And he wants it sent by Western Union, which is the scammer's preferred payment method.

Again, it makes little sense to sell a dog located in Australia, yet expect payment to be made to West Africa. I'm sure if you suggested going to the sister's to meet the dog in person, there would be a flurry of excuses as to why this is not possible.

[abnixo1]

I also receved an email from a REV, but after reading your post i didnt buy the dog. Please no one fall for these scams

[Unregistered]

Ive been dealing with this "Reverend" and he's offered me a chihuahua for a $150 adoption fee. I would also pay for shipping. He sent me pics, but they were small. After many requests for more pics, he never sent me any. I made plans for my father in law to pick up the dog for me, but he had SO many excuses. He gave me an address to send the CASH ONLY. SO I googled it and certainly enough it was a church for future priests. I asked him to leave me a contact number, and he didnt. WHich I found very odd. So I called the school. They never heard of him. I talked to the lady there for a long time. We're both disgusted.

[Unregistered]

Like all the stories above he did the same thing to me. I did my research (thank God) before pursuing anything. I was so furious I continued to lead him on saying that I had sent the money so he would get it when it was not there. He kept asking if I sent it and I always said tomorrow so he would go to the western union to get it. So this went on for three days and he got really mad cause I kept leading him on. I know this sounds pathetic and maybe wrong but in the end I wrote I was part of Interpol and we had enough information for making a arrest and told him to turn himself in within a certain amount of time or he would get a even bigger punishment for us chasing him. Ya I know that was pretty lame but it was funny. I'm waiting for his reply now.
mo

[Nyla]

What you are doing is called "scambaiting" or "baiting". We recommend NOT doing this with your real information, which the scammer probably has. It's not a good idea to give a known criminal information that actually identifies you. This means no real names, no real email address, no email address that can be connected with your real name, no real home addresses, no real phone number. Nothing identifiable. You may feel safe, thinking the scammer is in a foreign country, but 419 gangs have members all over the world. These people ARE criminals. There's nothing to keep him from having a friend in your country pay you a personal visit. Please drop the communication immediately and find a scambaiting community. There are numerous forums and websites that teach you how to scambait effectively, and more importantly, SAFELY.

Also, impersonating a member of law enforcement is illegal, and the authorities tend not to be amused by it. Most scammers know that an employee of Interpol has zero chance of getting them arrested anyway. Interpol can't even carry out an arrest on its own. They're primarily a coordinating agency that acts as a go-between for international law enforcement operations.

[Unregistered]

I also had a guy who sent me pictures of the lab. I'm going to notify my local paper tomorrow about this scam. I didn't realize where the guy was at first, but then he said he was in Cameroon and moving to England. Originally, was from Chicago, IL. He also said lab puppy was usualy lab color. WHAT??? When I asked him what color, he sent pictures of a very white puppy. I asked him why he didn't get rid of the puppy while in the states and he said they went over for a wealth convention. I'd say, they thought they would be getting wealthy. Get this one, he didn't want to take the dog to England because it wouldn't be good for the dog to move from one country to another....BUT...it's alright to move the dog from Africa to central U.S. Wow, what a flight. He also would have shipped the dog to my little local airport. Isn't life grand and thank God for our sixth sense.

[kimy]

i was scammed aswel.I was told id receive my pup at my door,all i had to pay for was the flight.i am gutted doh.after finding this site and realised iv been scammed i feel so foolish.