With the proliferance of criminals using the Internet to Scam people it was inevitable some would target the Pet Transportation Industry and during the last couple of years this has sadly proven the case.
This is how a typical Scam works;
Firstly the criminal gang either advertises a Pet on the internet or responds to an ad posted by somebody looking for a Pet. They tend to use free classified sites. They email their victim and say they have a Pet available for free, all you need to do is pay for the Transportation. They will even send photos. To make the deal sound realistic they will mention the name of a real Pet Transport business they claim to have organised to ship the Pet. They then request payment for the Transportation to be wired to them via a service such as Western Union. If the victim sends them money they then contact them again and ask for more money on some other pretence such as Travel Insurance. This continues until the victim finally realised they have been conned and refuses to send more money. These gangs are known to operate in Cameroon and Thailand.
We have some simple tips on how to avoid being scammed;
1. Ring the Pet Transport Company first and make sure they have a booking or quote number for the job.
2. Ring the Person who owns the Pet and talk to them about it. Even if they say they are overseas they should still have a contact number. Never rely purely on emails when purchasing or acquiring a Pet.
3. Never pay for services in a way that the payment cannot be traced. We (and most of other Australian Businesses) will always request payment by cash, card or bank deposit. We would not want (or accept) payment by Western Union.
4. Refer to this website for more information on scams; http://www.scamwatch.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/693900