Con artists/scammers - Page 1

How often do you guys get emails from weirdo's after putting an ad on here?I put an ad in the Rottweiler section (and accidentally on the GSD ad's too, sorry), about 2 weeks ago and I got emails daily from someone claiming to be in the UK who wanted my dog and wanted to give me a check or deposit money into a cc account.No matter how much I drilled it into her head that i would not ship my boy and that payment would be made in cash at time of personal pickup, she kept wanting to know my account number and arrange shipping.I finally told her as bluntly and rudely as I could the terms and conditions under which i would sell my boy, and the emails stopped coming.This led me to beleive it was just someone wanting bank account info.Am I right or could I have run off a paying customer??

You are right  ...Read the threads back last week   another person and I , also posted some of the email by a deaf person ,,supposidly and the Bank said ...all info is a scam   its world wide right now...and on the streets here where I live on Senior Citizens ,by phone , because in person ,people will say no.....

Its unbelieveable how many people think these are real...the couple in the thread I posted , thought so  ,,,she got the cashiers check and actually took it to her bank, thinking she was going to be shipping a pup .....

Also on Local tv the banks are telling on nightly news espos.....do not accept cashiers checks and mo or any form of these phone or email on internet payments......

Old scam, nothing new. But they are getting far more sophisticated. I recently actually had someone who had done some home work re GSDs. Thought it was for real. We talked about lines and what he wanted. He even knew about the UK pet import scheme. Wanted to come in person to view the dogs. Payment terms had been discussed from the get go, then at the very end the check issue comes up. Apparently someone in Germany owed him money. So I told him he should send me the address and I would send a few guys over there to collect :o). That was the last I head, hehe. Only eats up valuable time. More frustrating than anything. More sophisticated too regarding communication. They know now that dog owners want to talk to people in person so they provide numbers. Most of these people are not even from the UK, only have UK cell phone numbers, which can be used pretty much anywhere in the world. Someone could have mailed them a phone. When they write to you in the middle of the night that they just spoke to person X, Y, or Z, who is supposed to be in Europe and would be asleep then, that is one clue that something is off. No landline number available is another. Calling them and cathing them alseep (in the middle of their night) is another. And yes, you can tell them a cazillion times that you will not accept check etc, they will still persist. Such a pain.
Keep in mind that every time you hand out a check your bank info, home address, phone number and your signature are on it!!! Them getting your banking info should not be a risk for you. Your bank should have proper provisions for customer safety. I don't write checks period. My bank knows that since they have never issued me any checks.

One other thing to watch out for, and this is NEW... Friend of mine recently was offered to have cash sent by mail. VERY DANGEROUS!!! He thought it would be enough to have the package insured for the amount and have it sent UPS or FedEx. Who is to say though that the amount is really inside? Then they can claim cash was sent, with UPS or FedEx they get a delivery confirmation and YOU are responsible for cash that was never sent. Envelope is empty or has only paper inside. So if someone offers cash payment they have two options: a) if they want to pay cash in person we go to the bank together so they can make a direct cash deposit into my account in their name (cash in hand is not secure by any means), b) if cash is sent by mail I will let them know that I will take the unopened envelope to the bank and have the bank teller open it, so in case there is no cash inside there is an impartial and reliable witness on hand.

Yes, D>H> and I said over and over    THE CROOKS ARE AS SMART OR SMARTER THAN WE ARE>>>>>>

Bank of America has made a statement about all the thousands of certified cashier checks issued that are fake and contain no signature by a teller who issued it,  and is missing a watermark of theirs that most people dont even know about....do not take them and take to your bank, or especially a large bank , as they know what to look for...Police Dept.s dont get into this scam   its too world wide and the Bank of AMerica is on top of it...and tthe FBI is working and will one day zero in on all of them.....and wont some people be surprised to find out who and where all this originated or originates......

But it still amazes me how many people , just buy into all this and get rooked and dont use some common sense...or at least go to your bank and take it inside to an officeer.....dont just deposit it in your account and then wait to get told , you just lost 2000.00.......

Most of the checks they use are Visa marked   but they are fake...and there are some Federal Savings and Loan Banks they have made copies of their look a like's ,

There are some scammers and con artists lurking these boards every day.  Some even closer than you'd think. But one way to avoid being scammed is to be smart- trust NO ONE, especially if they are out of the US and you've never dealt with them.  I was gonna wire transfer some money for a dog I bought instead of paying the breeder an additional 4% to cover the cost pay pal would then in turn charge the seller who'd have to pass on this expense to me....while at the bank I tell the teller what I want to do and how much blah blah blah he then asks me if there is another way I can purchase the dog preferably with visa?  So I explain the pay pal issue and how the wire would only cost $15 but the additional 4% would have cost me over $100.  He then says to me, you already spent a few thousand wouldn't you rather spend another $100 and have peace of mind that you are covered by VISA and the bank should you get scammed?  He told me you have 0 protection with a wire transfer.  NONE!  He even said there's some scammers that will go to the bank withdrawl their money you sent and close the account so that the banks can't track them down because it was a fraudulent acct.

So I elected to take his advice and pay with pay pal despite the fact it cost me a little more I still feel better knowing if I don't get my dog then I at least get back my money.

Lets not forget KWD dirty to the last, kinda like a case of the clap it was fun at first just all the pain and suffering to clear it up.

Yup.  Increasingly common practice.  When I listed a dog in the ads section I got a very lame attempt at a scam, from a "lady" who was interested in buying my YORKIE.  At least some of the crooks are still stupid. 

Last dog I bought, I drove 7 hours to Michigan to see the parents, see the litter, meet the breeder, work the puppies on a rag, and hand my check to the breeder as well as my 2 page written guarantee that he agreed to sign. 

I've been burned before by importing a dog, from a top German working kennel, from a guy who is a top competitor and trainer here in the US acting as broker.  Oy!  Never again!  For the $1000+ that I lost on that deal I could have flown to Germany myself and made an educated decision. 

Buyer beware!

Yvette

Oh yeah... and thanks for the note about the wire.  Wasn't aware that sending money via wire is unsecure.  I personally would be highly suspicious of any importer or breeder who insisted on getting payment via wire.  I'll gladly pay the $5 for a certified check from my bank, or use my credit card.  At least with my VISA I get 1% cash back.  :)

Maybe I should finish my coffee before posting so I can get all my thoughts in one post...

Personally I would never do business with any breeder or importer who would not let me visit their house/kennel and give me their home phone or cell phone.  (Not everyone even has land lines today).  I like to keep in touch with the breeder, and send pictures.  I understand there are privacy issues, but for me I would never do business with someone who says, "Just send me the money and I'll send you the dog."  I don't care if they offered me the Bundesseiger on a silver platter. 

Yvette

Yvette I agree it makes for a very stressful process until you get the dog.  Most of the larger scale brokers offer pay pal which makes me a little more comfortable to do business with them.  However it's to a disadvantage to the seller's because pay pal charges them additional 4% which my thought are "that's your problem not mine, add it to the cost of the dog upfront if you have to".  I don't think for some extra added security and peace of mind a buyer would be more than happy to pay the up charge especially when you're already spending thousands.  I'll never do wire transfer after what the bank teller told me.  Even certified check can not really be stopped once the buyer's got it in their hands.  The bank teller told me that VISA logo has more security for the consumer than people actually know.  You will get your money refunded back to you regardless if Visa can become successful in recovering the loss.

Honestly when I bought Agar from Eurosport I was not at all uncomfortable and that was when I did not know much about importing dogs, security issues, getting ripped off.... lol  I guess they just conducted themselves in such a professional business like fashion that I felt they took extra care in making sure I was happy and they knew this was my first dog.  The smaller kennels that aren't as well known are the one's I'd probably be more leary of; in your case how were you to know???  You probably had the same thought process as I did- buy dog from larger well known reputable breeder and have no issues right? lol  Hey it happens,even the smartest ones get duped sometimes.  Maybe because we're too smart that the cons have to get a little more creative?? lol 

This board is a good place to network your product, reaches people who are specific in what they're looking for but at the same time is an easy target for cons to seek out their next victim.  Makes sense though- they figure if the people here have thousands to spend on a DOG then they don't have to work as hard to hit up several people; all they need is one good score for the day.