British Dalmatian Club

[Dalregis]

This is a general warning about selling puppies overseas. I have a friend who has a lovely litter of puppies ( NOT Dalmatians ). She received an enquiry from an apparently genuine person who said that she already owned a dog of the same breed and wanted to buy a show quality puppy.
Details were sent to the purchaser who agreed to buy one of the puppies and she requested bank details to pay into my friends account.
When she was told that wouldn't be possible but a sterling cheque would be OK the potential purchaser replied by saying that she couldn't do that and wouldn't be buying a puppy.
Just a warning, in case anybody is approached in the future - it could easily be a Dalmatian next time so please contact the breed club of the country concerned to ask whether the person is known to them.
Pat
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Pat Wilson

[donothing]

this is a scam that has been around for a long time and has been used for everything from "wanting to buy you Irish dance dress" to "We have a flat to rent". Each time the potential "buyer" or "renter" wants your bank details but no money is exchanged up front as it is the bank details they want. Your account is then "tested" with small purchases or a pound or two to ensure the account is real and not enough for you to notice and then the sting of larger amounts, and often from countires where it cannot be obtained back from. Sadly emails cannot be traced as easily as IP numbers but the fraudster often uses an internet cafe or a series of IP's they think cannot be traced - they can but it takes time and can cost.

When darling daughter was still dancing this came up a lot, and often from hotmail account emails as such I always sold her friends and her dresses via PayPal as the money was protected and could be in my account within 5 working days and was covered by credit card protection for the buyer if they used a credit card for the PayPal payment - yes it cost me about 5% in total for fees, exchange rates etc but worth the protection.

Another scam - sadly my son and his partner got cought by this as they thought they did not need mums help - is a puppy for re-homing as the owner is very ill or has recently died and their partner is re-homing the puppy for free, all you need is to pay the petrol for delivery, then they add insurance as the puppy cannot be transported without it, then vets fees are added as the puppy has suddenly been taken ill, then (think of as many things as you could possibly get away with and add it). If you do not pay the transaction is not completed. I thought my son was intellegent until he and his girlfriend parted with £2000 (yes two thousand pounds) for a spaniel pup as each time delivery was agreed something else was wrong with it. Yes the police are now involved as several other people had also been caught for this same pup. Son originally agreed £50 petrol, then £100 insurance, then £300 vet fees and he still did not twig and kept paying! I have told him if he still wants a pup I will get him one in the new year as will not get one at Christmas.

[angieb]

I'm really sorry that your son & partner got caught out that way. Alarm bells should have started to ring as soon as the vets bill came up. Glad the police have got involved. And yes everything even e-mails are traceable but as you say time and money. And I bet your son & partner will not see a penny of the money they have paid out.

I would not ever give my bank details to anyone unless I know either the person or the company i.e. for gas & electric etc. I only ever buy over the internet if they operate a secure site such as paypal etc.

It never entered my head that puppy and dog buyers/sellers would also be at the receiving end of these scams. But its logical now its been mentioned. There are so many criminally minded people out there trying to steal our money it is scary.