Fraudulent Transactions

If you plan to use the Internet to rent, buy or sell, you have to be aware of some of the dangers. You need to make sure that you use common sense, do good research on potential buyers (and sellers) and have a good line of communication. Dealing locally, where you can see the other party face-to-face, is always best. There are a few things to look out for:

    * Use Common Sense - If a potential buyer seems too good to be true, isn't worried about shipping costs or the price of an animal or item, that can be a warning sign. Don't fall in love with a buyer just because they are willing to pay top dollar. Offering more than the asking price is also a common scam tactic.

    * Watch for International Buyers - Buyers wanting to purchase items or animals from international locations (not locally) are usually not actually interested in the item. Shipping anything is expensive. You'll be out the animal or item, and the buyer's payment will not clear. Sometimes fake cashier's checks or money orders can take more than a week to be denied. Just because your bank initially accepts the check doesn't mean it won't bounce.

    * Watch for International Sellers - Sellers wanting to send you their item or animal from international locations (not locally) are usually not going to send the item. Shipping anything is expensive. They will notify you that the item has shipped (even though you didn't purchase it). Sometimes their price will be very, very low, so you can't refuse. You'll then be asked to pay their shipping company (a fraud) with your good money. They never ship the item or animal, and you are out the money. We've been hearing of this scam recently occurring in Cameroon

    * Generic First Contact E-mail - Many scammers will send out lots of e-mails to various sellers trying to find one that might be a potential target. When they do this, they often write a form e-mail that could apply to any ad. An example might say something like: "I saw your bird for sale online and am very interested. Please contact me." Communication that could apply to anything for sale during the first contact can be a tipoff to a scam.

    * 809 Area Code - There have been phone scams related to this area code. Be cautious if you are contacted by someone and asked to call a number with an 809 area code. You can read more here or Google that topic for more information.

    * Cashiers Check Payments - Buyers not willing to pay in cash may be scamming you with fraudulent cashiers checks or money orders. If you receive a check/money order that looks real, remember that computers can print almost anything these days.

    * Pressure Tactics - If a buyer seems in a rush or wants to speed up a transaction / shipping, be careful. They may just be interested in scamming you before you realize that the transaction is fraudulent.

    * Financial Information - You should never give out your financial information. Asking for bank account info in order to wire funds or other personal information is a sign of a scam.

    * First contact via phone - You are much better off with a buyer if they contact you via phone on the first contact. Online and e-mail solicitations are easy to do, but phone calls are not an efficient means of communication for scammers.

To protect yourselves and others against this type of activity, it is important to try and obtain as much information about the buyer as possible. If you suspect the buyer may be involved in this or similar scams, please forward any information you can obtain to the following organizations:

For U.S. complaints contact uce@ftc.gov

Visit the Federal Trade Commisions website

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/index.shtml