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Internet fraud, classifieds scams, abuse and suspicious email replies are world-wide problems that have become widespread in targeting people everywhere. Often these individuals are buyers and fraudulent sellers from Nigeria, Africa, Holland and other countries.
Check any other websites that have classifieds. If they don't have a warning about fraud, they should have!
Unfortunately, MyDreamPuppy.com is no less hit than any other popular websites. However, we are determined to fight back making it harder for the fraudster.
Just remember the following: use common sense while using MyDraemPuppy.com classifieds:
For the Sellers:
1. For your protection, your email address and other personal information are hidden from the public unless you post it in the additional information portion of your advertisement.
2. We block known fraudulent buyer accounts. If you receive any suspicious looking emails, please forward the email to our support department.
- The majority of replies are genuine, but if you receive a suspicious reply, please don't bother to reply which will reveal your email address.
If you are offered or received a check for over the asking price, most likely it is a scam. Your bank will accept the check. It will probably clear and allow you to draw money against it, it will eventually bounce leaving you out of pocket.
Often the emails are written in broken English, contain misspelled words and are not appropriate for the ad they are responding to. If a phone number is given to you, it is generally an out of country phone number. Do not call it, it may cost you thousands due to phone charges not regulated by the US Government. Do a Google search for the area code of the phone number given.
Get everything in writing, including all contact information and details of your agreement.
Don't be pressured into a quick sale and delivery of any item FOR ANY REASON, especially if the funds for payment are not in hand.
The best protection is to use common sense - if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Never refund any amount from a payment made in the form of a check!
Try to utilize www.PuppyEscrow.com whenever possible to protect yourself from receiving a bad check, fraudulent money order or a chargeback from a credit card transaction.
For the Buyers:
Smart ways to avoid scam
Have you heard of an Escrow service? If you haven't, here is an explanation of Escrow services.
An escrow service offers you the protection you need from disagreements on receipt of product or services, misunderstandings, and all sorts of other issues that can come up in the online marketplace.
Essentially, you are hiring a licensed and bonded 3rd party company to hold the funds until both parties are satisfied with the transaction. When the OK is given by the buyer, they funds are released to the seller. It provides protection for both the Buyer and Seller.
There are a number of online Escrow services available to choose from. Be careful while choosing an Escrow service though. The fake Escrow service providers are on the rise. Check for "Fake Escrow sites" on Google.com to find a list of fake Escrow services. Try to stay away from escrow services that a seller recommends.
Protect yourself from pet classifieds scams by using www.PuppyEscrow.com
1. Ask a lot of questions. Get additional pictures of the puppy with objects that you ask for to be in the photo. Get pictures of the puppy's parents.
2. Ask for references such as a veterinarian phone number, people who purchased puppies in the past. Always ask for references when dealing with a seller/breeder. If they're reputable, they'll have plenty of references to give you.
3. Don't be pressured into a fast purchase especially if the seller starts dropping the price or adding costly additional services in the deal for free.
4. Avoid buying puppies from over seas. Be wary because there are a lot of scammers taking advantage of the American People. Also, the long journey can be harmful, even deadly for some puppies due to extreme conditions and lack of food/water. If you do purchase a puppy from over-seas, you should take extra measures to ensure that he/she is well taken care of while in transit. Choose a shipping company that is experienced in animal transport.
5. Don't purchase from non-reputable breeders: Ask the seller to send you pictures or videos of their facilities, dogs, etc. You don't want to buy a puppy from someone who is breeding and raising puppies in an inhumane, unhealthy environment.
6. Ask for a website address of the breeder if they do not provide one in their ads. Most breeders now have websites to provide additional photos of their puppies, dogs, and facilities. Verify the website by going to www.dnsstuff.com and look the website address up in the "whois lookup". This search will verify the owner of the website with contact info. This is a good tool to verify and validate the info provided to you from the breeder.
7. If you come a crossed any negative puppy selling practices or have a negative experience with a seller, please report the incident to MyDreamPuppy.com Support team using our online support form.
8. If you do fall victim to an on-line scam, you can report it to the Internet Crime Complaint Center by visiting www.ic3.gov or Electronic Secret Service Center
9. NEVER WIRE MONEY TO ANYONE!!!!!!!
Please Help us to Fight Internet Fraud by not becoming a victom.
Clues to spot scammer postings:
-Small images of dogs often 100 x 100 to 200 x 200 sized images [this is because they steal other peoples photos].
-Unable to post multiple photos of the puppy in question.
-Unable to provide pictures of the parents.
-A yahoo, gmail, hotmail email account. While not everyone with one of these accounts is a scammer, many with them are.
These email extensions are all free to obtain so its very easy to create multiple email accounts by one con artist.
-An invalid phone number, or a number not matching the area code the ad is listed from.
-Mispellings and nonsense posts that talk backwards and are not proper english.
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For additional specific breed information, please visit the resources below:
The AKC website is an extremely informative online resource for any puppy buyer. Stay informed of upcoming AKC dog shows, join a national breed club or register your puppy with the AKC online.
www.akc.org
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Links to other websites:
Burton Bullies
Teonix Web Directory
Top One Hundred Pet Sites
Petdoors.com
petfinder.com - Adopt an unwanted pet!
Animal Lover's Gift Shop!
PuppySites.com
Link Marktet- #1 Free Link Exchange Directory on the Net!
Dog, Dogs, a Canine Wonderland! If you love dogs, visit I-Love-Dogs.com now for tons of free dog stuff!
PetsSquare.com
Online advertising, web directory, free advertising Web directory providing free and paid quality listings. Boost your business popularity, increase your site traffic. Just one click away from success.
Pet Site Index - Be included in the link directory
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