Is This A Scam

Bettyboop

An ad on(dont know if I should say where!!) well anyway 2 shih-tzus were advertised free I am currently looking for one,and seen this ad and sent off an email.This is the reply I got.

HI THANKS FOR GETTING BACK ON THESE SHIH TZU PUPS.THEY ARE A MALE AND A FEMALE THEY ARE 8 WEEKS OLD.THEY WILL BE 4 TO 4.5 POUNDS WHEN FULLY GROWN.THEY HAVE BEEN WORMED.THESE PUPPIES ARE VERY LOVELY AND ADORABLE AND ARE CURRENT ON SHOTS AND VACCINES.THEY HAVE BEEN REGISTERED AND WILL COME WITH ALL THEIR PAPERS THEY HAVE ALL THEIR QUARANTINE PAPERS AND CAN TRAVEL FROM HERE TO ANY OTHER COUNTRY IN THE WORLD.I MADE THIS PAPERS WHEN I WANTED TO TRAVEL WITH THEM BUT I DECIDED NOT TO TAKE THEM ALONG BECAUSE I WILL NOT HAVE TIME FOR THEM SINCE I WILL BE TOO BUSY.THEY CAN MAKE YOU VERY HAPPY.THEY COME WITH THEIR PLAY PACK.I AM GIVING THEM OUT FOR FREE AND I AM NOT SELLING THEM.ITS FOR FREE BECAUSE I WILL BE TRAVELING OUT FOR TWO YEARS AND CAN'T TRAVEL WITH THEM THATS WHY I WANT TO GIVE THEM OUT TO SOME ONE THAT WILL SPOIL THEM WITH LOVE.I AM IN LONDON IF YOU LIKE YOU CAN COME PICK THEM UP OR I CAN HAVE THEM DELIVERED TO SEATTLE WASHINGTON YOU AT YOUR HOME.IF YOU WANT THEM DELIVERED GET BACK WITH YOUR FULL NAMES
HOME ADDRESS
TELEPHONE NUMBERS
AND CLOSEST AIRPORT
THANKS
Dr Thomas Dopping
certified networking engineer and network consultant
IN GOOD FAITH WE SUCCEED

liah

Sounds oddly familiar to a response I got today when inquiring about a Fennec fox.

thank you very much for the interest in my baby fox .
i am presently located in the US and in Florida precisely . the main reason
why i am giving out my baby is due to the recent lost of our only little daughter
who use to take good care of the baby fox . my job does not permit us to always
be at home and look after the baby . so we are looking for a lovely home that will accept and spoil her with much love and care .
the issue here is that i will need to ship the baby to you in Ireland and will therefore
need your full contact address so that i can take your baby fox to the delivery agency and register her for delivery . i don't know so much about the cost for delivery from US to Ireland but i think it will range from $300 - $400 . so you shall immediately provide me with the following ..
full names.................
telephone number..........
street and home number............
fax number................
city/state.......................
zip code..................................
closest airport to your home...............
As soon as i have these information's , i shall immediately take your baby fox to the delivery agency here and register her for delivery . after this is done , the delivery agency will then contact you to confirm the delivery .
thanks and i wait to read from you as soon as possible

Was the ad on Mercattel by any chance?

PurplePrincess

It just screams scam from start to finish. I would avoid like the plague.

There's loads of info in the stickys about getting a pup and plenty of people here can advise you about choosing a reputable breeder and what to look out for etc etc.

Bettyboop

no it was on a well known Irish ad site.:)Afraid to mention it as I don't know if its allowed here;)

Tony H

I found the ad you are referring to, check the header on the email reply and I bet you will find it originates in africa , I was looking into getting a new dog before christmas last year and had more or less the same experience , and it was very convincing , she had to give a lab puppy away and she first lived in co clare then galway and so on , after the second email I checked the header and found the origin was Lagos in Nigeria, I reported it to the site and they pulled the ad and thanked me ,

tricky D

Scam

Giveaways:
'certified networking engineer and network consultant' would be unlikely to write in all caps

Googling:
he's had ads up for pomeranians, teacup yorkies (since removed) and persian cats and uses different yahoo! email addresses

likely trying to get enough info to open bank account in your name

Avoid

ISDW

Theres one on there at the moment for 2 siberian husky pups. I must admit I'm having a bit of fun with them. I knew it was a scam, cos they do it with all kinds of breeds all the time, but I thought I'd waste their time a bit.:D

riskydisco

Bettyboop, if you write to him expressing an interest, his next email (or one after that) will involve him requesting that you pay over sums of money to him. When free isn't free then yes, it's a scam.

Sigma Force

There's loads of these kind of scams about they are so obviously scams but some people do fall into the trap even so.

boomerang

It's a well-known scam. In his next email he will ask you to wire him the money to pay for their transportation. But guess what, the pups will never arrive!

Scammers are even targeting rescue groups now. In one scam email, a supposed veterinary surgeon tells you that she really admires the work that [insert rescue group's name here] does and that she has a second-hand mobile unit, autoclave and examination table that she wants to donate free of charge. In "her" next email, she asks you to wire her the money to cover the cost of shipping.

You can guess what happens after that.

jessicaR

Seems like your standard gumtree scam

SCI

I worked at a local airport in Belfast at the cargo office and I had to listen to poor people at the other end of the phone who had been conned by people like this on a weekly basis. Another part of the scam they also have running in the UK (I don't know if ROI allow them or charge them) is for the scammer
to ask the person inquiring about the animal to phone them back on a 070 number which looks like a mobile number in the UK but it a premium rate number and you know most animals people,they could talk about there pets for hours. :mad:

If it too good to be true,on the net it ALLWAYS is.

biko

Looks like a classic Nigerian scam

Dusty87

There is a special name on these scams. Cant remember it but i googled it before and i got a site where a fella leads the scammers on. They want you to wire money through western union etc as its the 'safest' for you. I played along with a fella from scotland about a macaw and told him im going ther for holidays in a week and would pick them up. The emails back stopped:rolleyes:

nephster

Have a look at http://www.419eater.com for some entertainment on similar scams turned back on their perpetrators!

Dusty87

thats the name. i was going to say 619 scams:rolleyes:

cloudy day

I think I've come across one of those recently.

Ad for 2 boxer pup's champion bloodlines. On OXO site ( i think ) supposed to be in Athlone, then norhtern ireland. thought it was strange as when i asked for the breeding line it wasn't mentioned.

then they wanted my details to 'register' pups. E mailed me a few times. Said they were Polish and were going back to Poland.

God, nothing is safe anymore is it.

TwilightWillow

Very poor standard of English, also why the need for CAPS?

If something seems too good to be true then it probably is! No sympathy for people who fall for the God awful scams!

Emerald Lass

ISDW wrote: »

Theres one on there at the moment for 2 siberian husky pups. I must admit I'm having a bit of fun with them. I knew it was a scam, cos they do it with all kinds of breeds all the time, but I thought I'd waste their time a bit.:D

ISDW - word of advice - NEVER reply to these scams. you might think you are wasting their time, but you really are not. Instead you are verifying that your email address is valid and attended and they will then sell it on to various other junk mailers and scammers!

Whenever you get a scam email like this, add the sender to your blocked senders list. then forward the email, including all headers etc to the email provider, flagging it as an abuse of the T&C's of usage. its is usually abuse@ - i.e abuse@yahoo.com, or abuse@hotmail.com
the mail provider will then cease their account. I know they have thousands of them, and it won't stop them, but if everyone who got one of these mails did this, then it would start to have an impact on these most annoying wasters!

Cocoloco

I got something very similar about persian kittens and I actually think it was the same site you found that add .

There was 2 different adds by 2 different people but funny enough the kittens looked identical in both .

They weir not located where stated on the advert and when I advised both owners that I lived too far to collect them , they both replied to me the same day offering pet delivery agency .

here is one reply I got - the website stated they weir located in Carlow and found it very weird .

I think its a scam and am shocked to what lengt they would go

Thanks for the interested in adopting my kitten.
The last kitten left available has the following details:
Sex:....................male
Specie:.................Persian kitten
Temperament:............very friendly.
Age:...................10 weeks old
Weight:.................1.8 lbs
Health Problems:............n/a (have none)
Living Conditions:.........can live in any condition
Grooming:.................Moderate grooming is needed.
Recognition:..............TICA registered
Trained:.................well trained,home trained and potty trained.
Health Condition:.........excellent in health condition,vet
checked,registered and confirmed health guarantee.
I am located in Cavan.
Where are you located?
Do you have a vet?
have you ever had a pet before?
Does your home favors pet?
I will love you review the agreement for adopting this kitten.

Conditions of the adoption of my Persian kitten of a is as follows:
1.
- Adopter must accepts the responsibility for the care and the welfare
of this kitten/cat for the lifetime of the animal.
-This kitten / cat will not be allowed outdoors unsupervised to insure
it's health and safety.
-This animal will receive regular vet visits and will be given top
quality medical care.
2.
-Adopter agrees never to declaw this kitten/cat, unless approval is
granted in writing by breeder, and understands that declawing is a
mutilation and cruelty that is likely to alter the kitten's/cat's
temperament and health.
3.
-You can contact me if at any time during the kitten /
cat's life, you the adopter is unable to keep the kitten.
-This kitten will never be placed in an animal shelter.
The adopter agrees never to sell this kitten but can sell the it's
offspring to, or through any pet store, animal shelter, or for
research.
4.
-The male Persian kitten is not for sold but for adoption and the adopter has promised with the sign and signature to take very good care of the kitten.
Owner's Signature
Adopter's Signature

If interested and accept all the terms and conditions
you c an email me.

ISDW

Emerald Lass wrote: »

ISDW - word of advice - NEVER reply to these scams. you might think you are wasting their time, but you really are not. Instead you are verifying that your email address is valid and attended and they will then sell it on to various other junk mailers and scammers!

Whenever you get a scam email like this, add the sender to your blocked senders list. then forward the email, including all headers etc to the email provider, flagging it as an abuse of the T&C's of usage. its is usually abuse@ - i.e abuse@yahoo.com, or abuse@hotmail.com
the mail provider will then cease their account. I know they have thousands of them, and it won't stop them, but if everyone who got one of these mails did this, then it would start to have an impact on these most annoying wasters!

I didn't get an email from them, I replied to an ad on a website.

divadoll

Bettyboop wrote: »

An ad on(dont know if I should say where!!) well anyway 2 shih-tzus were advertised free I am currently looking for one,and seen this ad and sent off an email.This is the reply I got.

HI THANKS FOR GETTING BACK ON THESE SHIH TZU PUPS.THEY ARE A MALE AND A FEMALE THEY ARE 8 WEEKS OLD.THEY WILL BE 4 TO 4.5 POUNDS WHEN FULLY GROWN.THEY HAVE BEEN WORMED.THESE PUPPIES ARE VERY LOVELY AND ADORABLE AND ARE CURRENT ON SHOTS AND VACCINES.THEY HAVE BEEN REGISTERED AND WILL COME WITH ALL THEIR PAPERS THEY HAVE ALL THEIR QUARANTINE PAPERS AND CAN TRAVEL FROM HERE TO ANY OTHER COUNTRY IN THE WORLD.I MADE THIS PAPERS WHEN I WANTED TO TRAVEL WITH THEM BUT I DECIDED NOT TO TAKE THEM ALONG BECAUSE I WILL NOT HAVE TIME FOR THEM SINCE I WILL BE TOO BUSY.THEY CAN MAKE YOU VERY HAPPY.THEY COME WITH THEIR PLAY PACK.I AM GIVING THEM OUT FOR FREE AND I AM NOT SELLING THEM.ITS FOR FREE BECAUSE I WILL BE TRAVELING OUT FOR TWO YEARS AND CAN'T TRAVEL WITH THEM THATS WHY I WANT TO GIVE THEM OUT TO SOME ONE THAT WILL SPOIL THEM WITH LOVE.I AM IN LONDON IF YOU LIKE YOU CAN COME PICK THEM UP OR I CAN HAVE THEM DELIVERED TO SEATTLE WASHINGTON YOU AT YOUR HOME.IF YOU WANT THEM DELIVERED GET BACK WITH YOUR FULL NAMES
HOME ADDRESS
TELEPHONE NUMBERS
AND CLOSEST AIRPORT
THANKS
Dr Thomas Dopping
certified networking engineer and network consultant
IN GOOD FAITH WE SUCCEED

its a scam in every sense of the word......avoid it like the plague........

Call me Socket

Defo a scam! For some reason they like to call themselves 'Doctors' of some sort....

Reading this thread reminded me.....On IrishDogs last year we were discussing scams like that one, and we decided to have a bit of fun with the 'Doctor' that had his ad on gumtree for Yorkie pups, so I replied to it. Just had a look through my email sent items and it's still there, so here's what I sent....

---

Original Message

---

From: XXXXXXXXXXXXX@yahoo.co.uk>
To: XXXXXXXXXX@aol.com
Sent: Sat, 9 Feb 2008 1:18 am
Subject: Yorkies

Hello Dr. Johnston M. Wright,

My name is Eileen Ova. My friend told me you have Yorkies you don't want anymore. Oooooooh, I just LOVE yorkie workie borkies!!!!!!! They are the ones in the dulux paint commercials yes? Do they look nice in green? I want 1 or 2 of them for the St. Patricks Day parade. I want to dress them up as Irish snakes, that would be soooooo cool!!! I could make people think they were REAL snakes, I'm very good at dressing things up, everyone will be really scared hee hee hee hee hee hee hee!!!!!!

I was going to use my pet pot bellied pig, Snot, but that will not work now because all of the 19 people in the village know him so they won't believe me when I tell them Snot is a real snake. Anyway I would have nothing for next year's parade cos we're eating Snot for Christmas this year.

So can I have them? I live in Ballycallyahascra - only about 35 miles from the village Pog Mo Thoin. I will really mind them. I won't let them go near the bear traps in the garden.

My friend, Ulick Mc Gee, told me you are a doctor of down south. So can you deliver the doggies yourself? Cos I have some questions to ask you when you are here, about itchiness.

Write back soon!
Eileen.

---

Original Message ----
From: Dr. Johnston M. Wright XXXXXXXXX@aol.com>
To: XXXXXXXXXX@yahoo.co.uk
Sent: Saturday, 9 February, 2008 8:15:59 AM
Subject: YORKIE DETAILS !!!

Hello,

Regards to your mail and i quite appreciate your interest in the puppy. First of all i most thank my living God for your willingness to adopt the puppy from me and i will also thank him again for answering my prayers. Yes i want an urgent home for her because my tight state of work and study would not be able to take good care of the pup. But a good and comfortable home where she will be treated with much love and care, Sandy is 10 weeks old and 6 days Currently, the puppy health is 100% OK! (+1 year health Guarantee), 1st shots, AKC registered, de-wormed, 30 Days pets Insurance. Baby is so animated and will keep you entertained for hours. She really had her own distinct personality. Loving and very affectionate personalities are standard with other animals. She is very affectionate and like to give kisses all the time. This Female pup presently weighs about 2.2 lb and will estimated to weigh between 4lb to 5 lbs at maturity.

I will have the puppy ship along with her certified health certificate, vaccination and worming record, copy of USDA paper, AKC registration application for the puppy, its pedigree and your puppy's guarantee. also the airline ticket, an approved carrier with a soft, comfortable bed, health certificate from my vet, a puppy pack including sample food your pup has been eating, a tube of nutri-cal,I also include a special gift to your puppy from me. Everything you will need will be taped to the top of your puppy's carrier. I'm Locate someone around New Mexico State here in (USA) with the pup's, The puppy price is $170 and shipping is $180, total cost $350 with same day delivery,and Include your Full Name and Address, Phone number and the Nearest Airport,where the baby will be shipped to in your next e-mail so as to have her registered for shipping, and also can you Afford the total cost of the price ??? $350.

All of her documents are up to date. Am attaching her pictures for you view .
Looking forward to read from you as soon as possible.

Thank you.





Oh Doctor she is only the cutest!!! I'm so so so so so excited cos my other friend is on a holiday in Mexico collecting crabs! She can come to your house to get Nits (that's what I'm calling her)

I don't have that much money, I've been saving my allowance that I get for skinning sausages and sexing frogs for nearly a whole month now and I have £53.87. But my friend, Fanny, will give you £50 and she can tell you that I'm a man of my word and I'll send over the other $300 as soon as I have it, I promise.

Give me your address and I'll pass it on and Fanny will go to your house to get Nits. If you're lucky she might even show you her crabs while she's there!!!!!

Eileen.




He didn't mail me back after that.....:D:D:D

PinkTulips

my dad enquired about a car last week and got a very similar response to liah's... think it's a new type of scam being run.

luckily my dad told them to feck off, he wasn't paying half up front for a car to be delivered to him!

Maggie.23

Fair play Socket, your emails were really funny.
I was just on a certain site most people will be familiar with, looking at the Jobs, and I had a look at the Pets section because I saw this thread yesterday. Every second post on it looked like a scam. The pups are picture perfect, popular small breeds, all under three months of age, and 'for adoption'. I suppose the site has to allow the benefit of the doubt until it becomes obvious these people are con artists, but those ads all take attention from the genuine pets seeking homes.

Dusty87

PinkTulips wrote: »

my dad enquired about a car last week and got a very similar response to liah's... think it's a new type of scam being run.

luckily my dad told them to feck off, he wasn't paying half up front for a car to be delivered to him!

No there not a new type, they have been around for years. Type 419scams into google.

PinkTulips

funny, must have my head in the clouds then as i've never noticed them before!

reading the email my dad got just made my jaw drop though... person claimed to be norwegian and returning to norway and had left the car with an agent, upon agents receipt of 50% of the car value the car would be delivered to him (delivery was free of course and he had '7 days to examin the car and return at no cost if unsatisfied' )

he was phoned by an asian man a few hours later asking him to pay immmedietly in order to secure the car!

it's kinda sad that some people rush into these things without using their common sense though, i'd never heard of these scams before and i read the email and laughed at how completely inplausible it was... but if they do them so often there must be people who fall for it