"Puppies for Sale" innerwebs scam? (1 Viewer)

[glock]

Pet lovers- bear with me. Long story made as short as possible:

So, I finally decide that it’s time to give in to my wife and son’s pleas for a dog. And a cat. More specifically a Yellow Lab pup and a kitten to raise together. For the comedy I’m guessing. I’m totally on board. Really.

After checking around a bit and digesting the prices for Labs from breeders and pet stores in the area , I thought I would pay heed to some in my office saying that I should look into rescue dogs. At the same time I began looking on line for private sales- people who simply had litters to move.

Searching”Lab puppies” I came across a listing on oodle.com – since removed – that seemed too good to be true. A litter of reasonably priced pups not far from where we live on Long Island! “Respond by text” the ad asks, and I do. This morning I get a response to my response. “Send an email address for pictures and more info.” I’m excited now! Sent.

The email I receive contains a series of pictures of four adorable little Lab pups- black, chocolate, yellow and one almost white. PUPPIES!! This email doesn’t contain any text/info, so I reply asking for some. Still perplexed about the lack of info, I check my “sent” folder- and now I see the text- formatting issue? This is what I get:

Hi,

It was great reading from you regarding my lovely Labrador Retriever Puppies for good home. The puppies are still available, and I have 2 boy and 2 girl available for loving home. My puppies are Well trained and socialized with people and other home pet, potty and house trained, Pure breed, 11 weeks old. They have gotten all shot to date,KC registered, Health and vet check, vaccinated, Micro-chipped, comes with medical record and a health guarantee. The puppies are so gentle and sensitive,love to play around with kids, and will make a good family companion and friend's.

Actually i am giving the Puppies out due to my inability to look after them, as the nature of my job and my new environment doesn't permit me to have them around.So hope to find a caring and loving home that will take good care of these puppies. Presently i am out of the state in Griffin, IN due to a military relocation , and i am looking for the perfect home for these puppies.

I am giving each puppy out for $400 and that include all papers and a 1 year health guarantee. I want the best for my puppies and will be happy to see them go into a loving and caring home, that will take good care of the puppies as part of their family. Also it will be nice to know more about the home my puppies will be going,

So please do respond with answer to my question below! * Do you have any house pet's ? * Do you have any experience with this breed type of puppy's ? * Where about are you located ? * Are you okay coming over for the pick up in Griffin, IN or will love door step delivery ? * Are you interested in the male or female ? * How soon do you intend having the puppies? I will be happy to hear from you, and also to get answer to my question above which will help me to know more about the home my puppies are going into.

Waiting for your swift respond.

Best Regards.

Okay. Did you read that? Because it reeks of Nigerian email scam to me. Having already sent the email, I waited for another response and decided to look into the phone number to which I initially responded by text:

(812) 463- 2534

…to find that it has been associated with a whole crapload of classified ads hawking puppies, kittens, birds. All OVER the U.S.! And a couple of those phone number spam sites have multiple responses indicating that they have received spam or multiple calls from this number

Then I received the reponse to my response for more info:

Hi,

It was nice reading from you regarding my lovely Labrador Retriever Puppy.

I am so happy with the information you've provided, this really proves that you are a pet lover. One last thing i will love from you is to assure me that you will take very good care of the puppy.Well since i am located in Griffin, IN, then i will need to have this puppy delivered over to you.The delivery is just $100. In other for me to do so, i will need some information from you to have this puppy registered at the agency for home delivery at your door-step.

I will need the following;

Your full names:...........?

State/city:......................?

House address:..............?

Zip code:......................?

Mobile and land-line number:....?

Here are items and documents this puppy will be coming alongside with

# Health guarantee

# Vaccine record

# Registration paper

# Microchip Registration

# Pedigree

# Nutrition supplement

# Traveling Crate

# Ownership paper

Once, i have the above information , i will then take the puppy to

the delivery agency for registration against urgent delivery over to

your home address. When i am done with the registration, the delivery

agency will then contact you for confirmation of address regarding the

delivery of this puppy and how you will be making the payment of the

$500 for them to change all paper and have your puppy delivered over

to you at your home address at your door-step.

Waiting for your swift reply.

Kindest Regards

Thinking of all those who might get actually get duped into providing info or giving money to these scumbags in turn brought me here to the collective genius- however warped at times it may be!- that is the FFA.

I have not provided any info as of yet. I would love to string these bastards along, and perhaps document it here. OR, better yet- if someone could come up with a way that we could- en mass!- make those behind this scam suffer for their indiscretions, I'm all ears. (I also have an AOL email addy.)

TIA

 

[Raider Nation]

Start hiding Kibbles 'n Bits.

 

[glock]

Come on. Does anyone have a "mass dialer" or some #### that could bury these clowns with calls/texts?? The same for email?? Or do I need to go this on my own.

 

[Officer Pete Malloy]

Take that as a sign.

Go to your local animal shelter and rescue a mutt.

 

[Das Boot]

Take that as a sign.

Go to your local animal shelter and rescue a mutt.

This has always been my philosophy and how I've gotten all my pets.

[SIZE=13.63636302948px]But I fully understand wanting kids to have the puppy / kitten experience - although s[/SIZE]helters have puppies and kittens as well.

I just hope the OP and anyone else that wants to buy a pet (vs. going to a shelter or rescue) does plenty of research and makes sure they aren't giving money to some scumbag pet mill or bozo that is just in it for the money (to the obvious detriment of the animals).

 

[Amused to Death]

Take that as a sign.

Go to your local animal shelter and rescue a mutt.

This has always been my philosophy and how I've gotten all my pets.

[SIZE=13.63636302948px]But I fully understand wanting kids to have the puppy / kitten experience - although s[/SIZE]helters have puppies and kittens as well.

I just hope the OP and anyone else that wants to buy a pet (vs. going to a shelter or rescue) does plenty of research and makes sure they aren't giving money to some scumbag pet mill or bozo that is just in it for the money (to the obvious detriment of the animals).

Research a good breeder and make sure you get a healthy dog with a good temperament. Tell them you have kids and intend to have cats.

 

[NutterButter]

Take that as a sign.

Go to your local animal shelter and rescue a mutt.

OP could have saved himself a lot of typing

 

[glock]

Take that as a sign.

Go to your local animal shelter and rescue a mutt.

OP could have saved himself a lot of typing

The OP is all over the shelter/rescue angle, just looking to secure a Lab, not a mutt. Doesn't make me a bad guy.

 

[NutterButter]

Take that as a sign.

Go to your local animal shelter and rescue a mutt.

OP could have saved himself a lot of typing

The OP is all over the shelter/rescue angle, just looking to secure a Lab, not a mutt. Doesn't make me a bad guy.

I'll never understand this obsession with having a purebred. Plenty of good lab mutts out there.

 

[glock]

Take that as a sign.

Go to your local animal shelter and rescue a mutt.

OP could have saved himself a lot of typing

The OP is all over the shelter/rescue angle, just looking to secure a Lab, not a mutt. Doesn't make me a bad guy.

I'll never understand this obsession with having a purebred. Plenty of good lab mutts out there.

I'm not opposed to a Lab mutt, but it has to be the right kind of mutt. I've seen several Lab/Pit "mutts" and I'm not interested. Labs are desired for a reason.

 

[glock]

Apparently I haven't reached the right mix of animal lover/spam scam artist hater yet. Was really hoping for some creative vengeance up in here, but it's "early" yet.

 

[McGarnicle]

Our Humane Society has a great selection of puppies. The adoption fee covers all their shots and a full vet exam. That's where we got Carmela Soprano, little hound mutt, smart as a whip and the cutest dog who has ever lived.

 

[NutterButter]

Take that as a sign.

Go to your local animal shelter and rescue a mutt.

OP could have saved himself a lot of typing

The OP is all over the shelter/rescue angle, just looking to secure a Lab, not a mutt. Doesn't make me a bad guy.

I'll never understand this obsession with having a purebred. Plenty of good lab mutts out there.

I'm not opposed to a Lab mutt, but it has to be the right kind of mutt. I've seen several Lab/Pit "mutts" and I'm not interested. Labs are desired for a reason.

Yeah, I follow ya. I've had multiple lab mutt fosters over the years where I wouldn't be able to tell ya if they were purebred or not. They're definitely out there.

 

[3C's]

"guy" has no time to spend with the puppies yet in 11 weeks has them socialized and potty trained? sounds legit.

https://www.google.com/search?q=lab+rescue+new+york&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

 

[eoMMan]

If you are intent on getting a purebred lab, find a good breeder who has been breeding for years. Yes, you might have to pay a little more and possibly drive a couple hours but it's worth it. You won't get scammed and you'll get a quality dog with papers.

 

[Fennis]

Petfinder.com

 

[jhib]

"guy" has no time to spend with the puppies yet in 11 weeks has them socialized and potty trained? sounds legit.

I think I would start with some simple, innocent questions like asking them if they could explain the difference between potty and house trained. Does this mean they can either use the toilet or wait to go outside? They really must be special puppiesS

Of course, do this one at a time, waiting for the answer to the first question before asking the next.

Some other questions:

The name of each of the puppies parents?

What color were the parents?

Are they from a non-smoking home?

The delivery service that they will use?

Then tell them the good news that you have to be in town next week anyway (coincidentally, for some military reason) and you can pick the dog up, so you will need their address.

 

[spOOfy]

fyi, you can get puppies from a rescue

 

[3C's]

"guy" has no time to spend with the puppies yet in 11 weeks has them socialized and potty trained? sounds legit.

I think I would start with some simple, innocent questions like asking them if they could explain the difference between potty and house trained. Does this mean they can either use the toilet or wait to go outside? They really must be special puppiesS

Of course, do this one at a time, waiting for the answer to the first question before asking the next.

Some other questions:

The name of each of the puppies parents?

What color were the parents?

Are they from a non-smoking home?

The delivery service that they will use?

Then tell them the good news that you have to be in town next week anyway (coincidentally, for some military reason) and you can pick the dog up, so you will need their address.

This is good. If you want to string them along just keep asking questions. "What color is their poop? This is important!"

 

[glock]

"guy" has no time to spend with the puppies yet in 11 weeks has them socialized and potty trained? sounds legit.

I think I would start with some simple, innocent questions like asking them if they could explain the difference between potty and house trained. Does this mean they can either use the toilet or wait to go outside? They really must be special puppiesS

Of course, do this one at a time, waiting for the answer to the first question before asking the next.

Some other questions:

The name of each of the puppies parents?

What color were the parents?

Are they from a non-smoking home?

The delivery service that they will use?

Then tell them the good news that you have to be in town next week anyway (coincidentally, for some military reason) and you can pick the dog up, so you will need their address.

This is good. If you want to string them along just keep asking questions. "What color is their poop? This is important!"

Okay- now we're cookin' with gas. Where is EvilGrin?

 

[Jayrod]

"guy" has no time to spend with the puppies yet in 11 weeks has them socialized and potty trained? sounds legit.

I think I would start with some simple, innocent questions like asking them if they could explain the difference between potty and house trained. Does this mean they can either use the toilet or wait to go outside? They really must be special puppiesS

Of course, do this one at a time, waiting for the answer to the first question before asking the next.

Some other questions:

The name of each of the puppies parents?

What color were the parents?

Are they from a non-smoking home?

The delivery service that they will use?

Then tell them the good news that you have to be in town next week anyway (coincidentally, for some military reason) and you can pick the dog up, so you will need their address.

You definitely need to ask if they are indoor or outdoor dogs.

 

[jhib]

"guy" has no time to spend with the puppies yet in 11 weeks has them socialized and potty trained? sounds legit.

I think I would start with some simple, innocent questions like asking them if they could explain the difference between potty and house trained. Does this mean they can either use the toilet or wait to go outside? They really must be special puppiesS

Of course, do this one at a time, waiting for the answer to the first question before asking the next.

Some other questions:

The name of each of the puppies parents?

What color were the parents?

Are they from a non-smoking home?

The delivery service that they will use?

Then tell them the good news that you have to be in town next week anyway (coincidentally, for some military reason) and you can pick the dog up, so you will need their address.

This is good. If you want to string them along just keep asking questions. "What color is their poop? This is important!"

"Were the puppies born in NY or IN? I had a bad experience with an Indiana dog once, so this is kind of a big deal."

"What sex is the black one? My wife really wants a black male."

(gets answer that the black one is indeed a male)

"Whoops. Just talked to the wife. She wanted a female. How about the yellow one. Is that one a female?"

(of course it is)

"Shoot. She says she only wants a female if it's black. A yellow lab would have to be male."

(you could probably go on forever with that...)

"I just realized that it's been some time since you first sent photos, so could you send an updated picture of the chocolate one? Please have him sit next to a piece of paper that says, 'I bark for Shuke!" Thank you."

 

[Jaysus]

so, what did you name the puppy? I assume the kitten was named "Taco".

 

[3C's]

"guy" has no time to spend with the puppies yet in 11 weeks has them socialized and potty trained? sounds legit.

I think I would start with some simple, innocent questions like asking them if they could explain the difference between potty and house trained. Does this mean they can either use the toilet or wait to go outside? They really must be special puppiesS

Of course, do this one at a time, waiting for the answer to the first question before asking the next.

Some other questions:

The name of each of the puppies parents?

What color were the parents?

Are they from a non-smoking home?

The delivery service that they will use?

Then tell them the good news that you have to be in town next week anyway (coincidentally, for some military reason) and you can pick the dog up, so you will need their address.

This is good. If you want to string them along just keep asking questions. "What color is their poop? This is important!"

"Were the puppies born in NY or IN? I had a bad experience with an Indiana dog once, so this is kind of a big deal."

"What sex is the black one? My wife really wants a black male."

(gets answer that the black one is indeed a male)

"Whoops. Just talked to the wife. She wanted a female. How about the yellow one. Is that one a female?"

(of course it is)

"Shoot. She says she only wants a female if it's black. A yellow lab would have to be male."

(you could probably go on forever with that...)

"I just realized that it's been some time since you first sent photos, so could you send an updated picture of the chocolate one? Please have him sit next to a piece of paper that says, 'I bark for Shuke!" Thank you."

thought you might be taking "wife wants a black male" in a different direction.

 

[jhib]

Ha. Yeah, I figured I'd just leave it sitting there.