Well lookie here - we caught ourselves a scammer!

[draggar]

Not domain related.

My wife got a call (though a relay service) about someone who wanted a puppy to be a hearing ear dog. He wouldn't give a home # etc.. but he did give my wife an email so she can send him the application / questionare.

My wife never got the questionare back. Something fishy.

Today she received a check for $1500 OVER our asking price for a puppy with a note that a courrier would be by to pick up the puppy for him. Red flag! When a breeder ships a puppy they take it straight to the airport.

He also said the difference was to pay for shipping and she could send him the difference (change) though Western Union. Red flag!

My wife called the police and filed the report - there isn't much that can be done since nothing was lost (Cadence never left our house).

It turns out a lot of people outside the USA will use a relay service to hid the fact that they can't speak English (or can't speak it well) and use their own courrier to hide where the puppy is going.

I'm just glad my wife was smart (wise) enough to catch this quickly before the puppy got shipped out. God only knows what she would have gone though.

 

[DomainMagnate]

Ed, why is that a scam? Can't someone outside the US buy a puppy?

 

[TheLegendaryJP]

Some poor deaf non english speaker is peeved lol

 

[grcorp]

Ed, why is that a scam? Can't someone outside the US buy a puppy?

It's similar to an "advance fee" scam. That check was no good, and the scammer was hoping that Draggar's wife would not have thought twice about accepting it.

Saying a courier is going to come by and pick up the dog later that day was merely an attempt to pressure her into thinking it will all work out.

Re: sending the difference via Western Union - that's textbook advance fee. Let's say the check was for $6,000, and once the asking price has been paid and shipping is added, the difference is $700. By her sending out the $700 via western union, she does so out of pocket. When the check bounces, she's out the shipping costs, the $700 she sent to the scammer, and worst of all, the dog.

---------- Post added at 04:45 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:40 PM ----------

He wouldn't give a home # etc.. but he did give my wife an email so she can send him the application / questionare.

I have an uncle who was born deaf, and it's funny that you mention that foreigners will use a relay service to cover up their lack of ability to speak English, because the way he types his emails is the exact same way that scammers type. No wonder he had trouble getting people to respond to his emails to craigslist postings when he needed to furnish his apartment.

But when you think about it, the supposedly deaf person could not have provided a home number, for they are only able to use relay.

It's scary that more and more of these scam tactics have been thought out by these people.

 

[draggar]

It's similar to an "advance fee" scam. That check was no good, and the scammer was hoping that Draggar's wife would not have thought twice about accepting it.

Saying a courier is going to come by and pick up the dog later that day was merely an attempt to pressure her into thinking it will all work out.

Ding ding ding! The police called the bank where the check came from and sure enough, the account was in good standing but then was closed due to fraud.

100% scam!

Also, it never costs $1500 to ship a puppy. I could call an airline today and have one shipped tomorrow (or Friday) for under $500 - usually under $400.

We're going to try to keep the last 3 local - the 2 girls will make god breeding stock (great temperaments) and the boy, well, he'd be a joy to train and work.