I found this on Petfinders.com
You can avoid would-be scammers by following these common-sense rules:
Anything that sounds too good to be true, probably is. Remember that there are millions of homeless pets across the country and it is unlikely that someone is legitimately offering you an outlandish amount of money for your pet.
Stay local and avoid inquiries that involve shipping. Whether you are adopting or it is your pet for adoption, use the Petfinder classifieds to find someone local. Speak by phone and arrange to meet in person to make sure it is the right match for the pet. If the person you're dealing with refuses to give a phone number or meet in person, it is likely a scam.
Petfinder.com is not involved in any adoption, and does not handle payments, guarantee adoptions or adopters. Petfinder does manually review ads for appropriate content prior to release but cannot guarantee that information listed in the postings is 100% accurate, nor do we contact posters to certify the information they post in their ads. Postings that appear fraudulent are deleted, but it is not possible to locate all false ads.
Avoid playing into the cruelty of false lost pet responses. If you receive an email from someone who claims to have found your pet, but is no longer in the area/state/country and wants you to send them money in order to get your pet back, it is likely a scam, particularly if their emails escalate into threats of harm to you or your pet.
Do not wire funds, use cashier's checks or money orders or give out any banking or financial information. Anyone that asks you to send money using a wire service is most likely a scam. If your bank cashes a check or money order, you as the account holder will be held responsible for any funds dispensed as a result once the fake is discovered, sometimes weeks later.
Most scams involve one or more of the following:
Inquiry from someone far away, often in another country
Money transfer services (aka money wire), cashier's check, money order, shipping, escrow service, or a "guarantee"
Inability or refusal to meet face-to-face to meet the pet or potential adopter
Greater interest in the financial transaction than adoption
Whom should I notify about fraud or scam attempts?
FTC toll free hotline: 877-FTC-HELP (877-382-4357)
FTC online complaint form (
Federal Trade Commission)
Canadian PhoneBusters hotline: 888-495-8501
Internet Fraud Complaint Center (
Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) | Home)
Your local police department (non-emergency line)