GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan — The West Michigan Better Business Bureau's scam tracker has received over 300 cases of pet fraud in November alone this year, that is four times the number of cases reported in November 2019.
They sent out a release early September, warning that pet scams compromised almost a quarter of their scamming reports this year.
The BBB cited the pandemic for a growing interest in pets, noting a spike in pet fraud reports after restrictions tightened and more people went online to buy them.
The Scam tracker asks victims to report businesses and offers that seem illegitimate so that they can investigate and spread the word, in order to protect other individuals.
A local woman from Wyoming, Carol Ford, just wanted a toy poodle this holiday season.
She searched online and couldn't find the breed she wanted locally so started looking elsewhere. She stumbled on a site that had her toy poodle breed at a great price.
"I've wanted a dog for a while but was taken care of my mom who didn't want a dog, but I figured during this time, now was my chance," Ford said. "This would’ve been my pal, my buddy, my take everywhere because my kids are all grown and I see my grand kids every once in a while but I was raised with a poodle and I miss it."
After sending $500 to Walmart for the dogs 'traveling fee's' and being asked for more, Ford realized something was up.
She asked to speak to the person she was working with believing it was a woman, but a man with a foreign accent picked up the phone.
"When I heard who was on the line, I asked I'm supposed to speak with a woman and he said Oh that's my wife and then got frustrated with me when I wouldn't complete my transaction."
Ford looked up scams, realized what had just happened to her and stopped contact before she reported them.
Now she's trying to look locally.
"I can't believe the worlds come to this," Ford said, "I’m going to wait for a newspaper, I don't even trust craigslist now, if I can’t see the dog first, I’m not getting the dog-no way now I have to see it before it happens."
The website was still up the day this story was written, and most websites are. Most scammers are located across seas and put up websites for months at a time before taking them down and creating another one when caught, recycling the pictures and testimonials but using different names, according to a pet scam study done by the Better Business Bureau.
"Most scammers are never caught and if they are they cant be punished because its usually out of the department of justice's jurisdiction," Troy Baker, The West Michigan Better Business Bureau's head of education said. " The best thing we can do is educate the public n what to avid if people didn't fall for it the scam would go away because there’s no money in it."
Americans have lost over $3 million to pet scams just this year according to the bureau.
Below are the BBB recommendations for buying pets online:
- See the pet in person before paying any money. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, consider a video call with the seller so you can see the seller and the actual pet for sale. Make sure the call is live, and not a recorded video that could be old and reused for multiple potential buyers. Since scammers are not likely to comply with the request, this may help avoid a scam.
- Do a reverse image search of the photo of the pet and search for a distinctive phrase in the description or testimonials.
- Do research to get a sense of a fair price for the breed you are considering. Think twice if someone advertises a purebred dog for free or at a deeply discounted price. It could be a fraudulent offer.
- Use caution with breeders offering shipping. Check out a local animal shelter or breeder for pets you can meet before adopting or buying.
For more information visit their website.
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