reptile sale scammers?

[mis-devious]

has anyone ever been scammed byeing a reptile? ... eg "transfer the money and i will post it off".. and then no reptile turns up?
i want to bye a rep but am not sure of the safeness of this 'transaction'.
does anyone know any questions or anything i can ask to catch out a scammer?
any sugestions or help appreciated. thanks

 

[naledge]

has anyone ever been scammed byeing a reptile? ... eg "transfer the money and i will post it off".. and then no reptile turns up?
i want to bye a rep but am not sure of the safeness of this 'transaction'.
does anyone know any questions or anything i can ask to catch out a scammer?
any sugestions or help appreciated. thanks

Get their address, name, phone number, permit number etc. before the transaction.

Make sure you talk the them on the phone before buying, if they're not willing to talk to you then they're suss.

If you get scammed and you have their details you can contact the police.

 

[mis-devious]

ok thankyou, i dont think there is much the police can do??? thanks for the advice. anyone else have any more ideas?

 

[naledge]

ok thankyou, i dont think there is much the police can do??? thanks for the advice. anyone else have any more ideas?

I'm sure there is.

If it's just a blatant rip-off where they take your money and run and you know the person's details, and have a bank statement and emails proving the transaction I think there's a lot the police can do.

If they give you legit information, their real name, phone number, permit number etc. then I'd trust them.

If they refuse to let you call them I wouldn't deal with them.

 

[Andrais]

has anyone ever been scammed byeing a reptile? ... eg "transfer the money and i will post it off".. and then no reptile turns up?
i want to bye a rep but am not sure of the safeness of this 'transaction'.
does anyone know any questions or anything i can ask to catch out a scammer?
any sugestions or help appreciated. thanks

there here, there and everywhere
your the buyer, and your willing to pay the money for wht ever you want to buy off them right? well if they dont respect your wishes EG:'talking over the phone, seeing the animal in person' then i'd say bugger off to em. YOU as the buyer dont have to do tricks on a ball for the seller, there the ones suppose to be pleasing you lol. If there not prepaired to supply pics or let you see the animal if there local i'd suggest dont bother with them. There are time waster buyers AND there are time waster sellers thats my opinion...

 

[mis-devious]

it could be all too easy to give fake information. i guess its just trust. i will keep all things proving the transaction, thanks

 

[mis-devious]

hmm i really want this rep and it is too far away to see in person. i will see if they give me all the information and will keep posting for advice. thankyou very much for your help.. im pulling my hair out here.

 

[kkjkdt1]

do your research on the buyer before you go ahead with it, etc ask people on here/by word of mouth if they have delt with them before.
it is so easy for someone to make up bank details,address, phone numbers ect and the police wont help.
normally if the deal seems to good to be true then its probably a scam..
like i said just do your homework on the buyer.

 

[naledge]

hmm i really want this rep and it is too far away to see in person. i will see if they give me all the information and will keep posting for advice. thankyou very much for your help.. im pulling my hair out here.

Maybe you can do a bit of research about the seller, find out if he/she is a respected breeder, that could help ease your mind. - kkjkdt1 beat me to it.

Also, if you do believe they've made up the details, call the number they've given you and have a chat with them about the animal. At least then you'll know you've got some legitimate information about them.

 

[mis-devious]

ok i will try squeeze some info out of them thankyou for your help guys

 

[chondrogreen]

Which would make you feel better...

Giving your money to a scammer & expecting a Reptile that never arrives?

OR

Giving me the money for nothing with no strings attached and no expectations?

 

[naledge]

Which would make you feel better...

Giving your money to a scammer & expecting a Reptile that never arrives?

OR

Giving me the money for nothing with no strings attached and no expectations?

:lol::lol:

 

[GeckoJosh]

I dont know in other states but in NSW what i do is ask them for their AKL and full name, i then ring NPWS and while they wont give out any details they will tell if the name matches up with the AKL

 

[Grunter023]

I just wanted to copy this email that was sent to me this week after a potential seller of a Boyds Forest Dragon answering my wanted ad on another website. To me there are many reasons why it screams overseas scammer. Here is what the scammer emailed me:


Hello

I am very happy to have found such a loving and caring person to take care of my dragons.
I have a male and female dragons,They are call Bella and Lucky.Bella is the female and Lucky is the male.I can only sale you the female,as for the male a friend of will like to have him.

I am given her for fee adoption and all you will have to pay is for the transportation fee since i am presently in Katherine with the dragons and preparation for the transfer of ownership documents.
I will like you to let me know if you are interested.



And my reply:


There are so many reasons in your last reply that give it away that you are a overseas scammer! Get a life,and learn proper english. I work for every dollar I earn - why don't you try that you low life!

 

[Jungletrans]

Pay by Pay Pal if possible , gives you a lot of protection .

 

[wokka]

Buy locally. Meet the buyer. Everyone is better off including the reptile with minimal transport. Most reptiles are readily available locally with less stress to all concerned.

 

[HonestPirate]

Wow what a way to rehash an old thread !

 

[Waterrat]

Buy locally. Meet the buyer. Everyone is better off including the reptile with minimal transport. Most reptiles are readily available locally with less stress to all concerned.

Very good advice Wokka, where does it leave the honest and good breeders living outside the big smoke?

 

[Grunter023]

Sometimes its hard to buy locally depending on your location. I don't think there are any Boyds here. And HonestPirate I thought I would use the search function before making a whole new thread about this - hence the reason for the rehash of this old thread..hehe.

 

[Recharge]

it could be all too easy to give fake information. i guess its just trust. i will keep all things proving the transaction, thanks

this is why you want a land line number, then you look up that land line number and verify (including google, phone book and calling them)

you want a drivers licence number and details (which you can pay a small fee to have a police check done on if you so wish)

you may also want to check their reptile licence number too.

if you go through the right avenues you can easily verify someone details.

it is so easy for someone to make up bank details,address, phone numbers ect and the police wont help.
normally if the deal seems to good to be true then its probably a scam..
like i said just do your homework on the buyer.

the police will help with an identity check and record check.

National Police Checks - Australian Federal Police
$45

and if in doubt, go with a well known to the reptile community breeder, you may pay more, but you'll have a much better chance of having no issues.