If you are fortunate enough to have done some extra research before buying your pet, please read these before purchasing a pet online.
The IPATA link gives very useful information of what to do if you have been a victim of these scammers and also provides important buying information)
Click Here to View useful Pet Scam info from the IPATA website
Click Here to View posts of various Pet Scams on the SCAMWARNERS website
N.B. It is important to note the following regarding Pet Scam’s. We DO NOT do the following:
We are a totally Irish Company and only have an office in Ireland, if you are not talking to us directly in Ireland then anyone using our name is most likely a scammer. Check with us first.
Pet scammers are extracting logo’s and company details (ours included) from valid websites and using them to add credibility to their own correspondence. If you have been scammed by someone using our name illegally we can only sympathise with you as we, in no way have anything to do with these individuals or their activities.
Do not be double scammed. Cheque/Check Frauds: If the scammer offers to pay you more then the pet is worth, then asks for the difference in money back it is a 100% scam. With this type of scam he sends you a payment for a large amount and asks you to deduct some costs and transfer the difference back to him but the original payment will turn out to be false, either the check is fake or the credit/debit card has been stolen.
SAMPLE OF AN ACTUAL SCAM BELOW…
Does something like this look familiar:
Scammers are using legitimate company names and logos but the biggest giveaways are when you see phone numbers that are not Irish in our case or from the country the company is supposed to be contacting you from, most scammers use numbers 0047 or 0044 which are not Irish prefixes. Also check the email header of the sender properly, you may find that the company name displayed is masking a free anonymous email address like gmail or yahoo. The email domain of the sender should be the same as the company name at least.
But the biggest giveaway is the excuse that they cannot accept normal payment methods due to bank problems and ask to use anonymous, untraceable payment systems such as Western Union, UKASH, Moneygram or any of the cash transfer companies. These payment systems were set up for individuals to send cash to family and friends.
DO NOT PAY FOR GOODS OR SERVICES USING THESE PAYMENT METHODS, THEY ARE UNTRACEABLE.
NO ONE HAS ANY AUTHORISATION TO USE OUR NAME OR OUR WEBSITE DETAILS ON THEIR CORRESPONDENCE NOR IS ANYONE AUTHORISED BY US TO ACT AS OUR AGENT. OUR DOMAIN IS WWW.MULTICARGO.IE OUR E-MAIL ADDRESS DOMAIN IS @MULTICARGO.IE. IF YOU SEE OUR NAME OR LOGO SHOWN ON ANY CORRESPONDENCE PERTAINING TO THE SALE OF A DOG THAT IS NOT DIRECTLY FROM US THEN YOU CAN BE ASSURED THAT SOMEONE IS SCAMMING YOU. PLEASE READ THE PET SCAM INFO ABOVE CAREFULLY BEFORE YOU CONSIDER PARTING WITH ANY MONEY.