Reptile & Amphibian Forums

When somebody emails you about purchasing an animal and right away asks for your name, address, and phone number in order to send a money order, is this legitimate? Even if it's not, what can they do with that info? What's their motivation? Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

It's a scam. You can see them a mile away. What is your last asking price for the pet? what's your name? whats your address? do you accept bank check? bla bla bla. I've been getting a lot lately so I set up a separate Email address to send goofy Emails and funny pictures to them to waste their time. The trick is to sound sincere for the first couple Emails so they take the time to write drawn out, personalized responses.

So what do they get from it? I mean, without your bank account number or something, what can they do with that info?

They send you a bunk check for more than your asking price and ask for you to send them back the difference while you wait for your check to bounce. I think. It seems like they go through a lot of work and pointless steps to try to trick you. Even stupid people pull of better scams than these.

Someone tried this with me four or five years back. They sent me a check for about 2grand more then the purchase price of the animal, which i was supposed to send back to them when i sent the animal. Yeah, thats it. Anyway, it was obvious it was fake check so i gave it to my bank to see if they could do anything with it and they gave it to some investigators and that was it. Needless to say, it was an obvious scam to me. But some people really are tricked by these low lifes. On the other hand... if i am trying to by an animal and do not use paypal. I always ask for the name, addy and telephone number. So... it does not always mean it is a scam. Just tell them you do not want a bank/business check if you are worried. Postal money orders clear right away. And obviously, do not send an animal before anything clears anyway. Good luck!
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Would you spend money on an animal without asking questions about it first? At first they try to get you to agree to the transaction, then they tell you they need to send a little more for whatever the reason may be, the checks looks real, I know I have received them.

If they send me an email asking to send me immediate payment for a boa or what ever I'm selling, I will respond with and email with "so when do you want to send me the money for the (?)

My post got cut off but I replace the ? with something like "3 legged albino poodle". Most likely you will receive an email stating they still want to send you immediate payment.

There is this one guy that messes with these scammers and gets them to take pictures of themselves - go to http://wwwDOTebolamonkeymanDOTcom/

Thanks,
Angel
www.vazquezfamilyreptiles.com

Damn scumbags!!!!!!!!!!!!

Actually, yes, i have spent money on an animal without asking questions about it first, lol. Not always the smart thing to do, BUT, it is called an impulse buy by OR more appropriatly, just wanting to beat everyone else out on an unbelievable animal. Sometimes it is all about who is the fastest. I have sent an email simply saying, give me your address and the funds will be out. I am taking a chance, but it happens. You win some, you lose some. As far as the checks looking real. To the average person, they may look authentic, but to me, they do not. I have been through this scam twice and both times i could tell they were fake. Then again, i know what to look for. The average person does not. Honestly, i just like messing with them. I knew they were scammers from the start so i figured if they want to waste their time and risk getting caught, great. And i must admit, i like messing with them a bit. I am a Fugitive Recovery agent so i have some great resources. The smart thing to do is turn the fake checks over the the authorities.

Usually I delete such emails, but occasionally when I'm bored I like to play with these bottomfeeders...

Once they say they want to send a check for more than I am asking (and I know for certain I am dealing with a scammer), I tell them I'd be happy to take their check, but I don't have a bank account. Though if they could please make it out in the name of my 'sister', she can easily cash it for me.

By some strange coincidence my 'sister' has the exact same mailing address as the FBI financial crimes division, LOL...

I figure if nothing else, at least I have wasted their time and money (for overseas postage) to mail the check...
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Heather Martin
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I had the same thing happen, they wanted all animals rights away, said they had their own shipping arrangments ect ect, I just insisted that they give me a phone call to talk about the deal and they stopped e-mailing. I think it is a good idea to talk to potential costomers on the phone, scammers don't want to talk, and phone buyers often come threw.

Brian Logan

you should know something is not right.

I don't know if they did in your situation or not, but I always
get replies from unregistered people whenever I post an add here.

Serious Boa people and even kids and teenagers that are into boas
don't usually use that word when referring to boas...

It's even better when they reply to an ad and say "Is the pet still available?"

...When the ad they're replying to is for a pair of animals...

They don't even pay attention to the people they're trying to scam!!! It's kinda funny...
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www.bryansboas.com