Is this a scam or what?
 

I recently found this guy on puppyfinder.com

He sounds pretty legit seeing how he provided me with detailed information about the dog and transaction. I have no experience adopting puppies from long distances, so if anyone has, can you please inform me on what I should look for. Thank you.

Here is the email they sent:
Hi,
Thank you for your interest in my puppy......Rossa our puppy has been sold, she is in her new home now...However we are presently in our other Kenel at Indiana ....... Katie is our new baby on board needing a new home she is beautiful and she knows it. She is presently 15 weeks old and is completely ready for her new home. There were two in the liter. The vet we go to purchased 1 of them. They are healthy, smart, well socialized and beautiful. Katie should be 4.5 pounds or less as an adult. She has been dewormed, tail docked, dueclaws removed, vet checked . We are not a big breeder. We have several liters a year and do it because we love dogs. We work at home so puppies have been handled from the time they are born.

Below are the details of the puppy:-
--------- Breed----------Yorkie
--------- Current pictures -----Attached
--------- Present weight of puppy 2.6lbs Female( Katie)
--------- Currently 15 weeks old.
--------- Expected to weigh 4.5lbs or less at full grown
--------- Her Papers includes:- AKC cert, USDA papers, shots/worming record, health certificate, rabbies shot cert.
--------- Shipping would be via Continental Airlines(Overnight)
--------- Cost of puppy / shipping is $480.


She is good with other animals and children, already paper trained and also outside trained. Looking forward to hearing from you soon.

Thanks.
Allison and Lawrence.

Second email:
Hi Alex,
You can get through to us on this # (219) 232-527, however Total cost would be $480, this cost covers both adoption cost and shipping the shipping cost covers insurance and escort. Shipping would be via Continental Airlines, Shipping and handling would be over night. Prior to shipping, copies of Katie's paperwork and shipping details(Arrival time of the puppy at your location , a tracking number to track the puppy at the airport, I will email the flight arrival information, flight number, air bill number) would be forwarded to you by fax and also emailed to you as an email attachment, please note that the hard copies would be coming with the baby. Shipping will be 7-8 hours after payment is confirmed, as this time would enable us prepare her for the trip.
For shipping kindly provide me with the following details.

-----Your full names and address.
-----Your day and night phone#.
-----Your fax #(If any)
-----Your proposed airport of delivery.

Home delivery is also available, but it would attrat additional $55. Though this is optional.
You could make payment via Money Gram (Money gram money transfer) in any money gram outlets to:::::::


Lawrence Rich
10463 Dark Star Dr.
Indianapolis, Indiana 46234





Remember to email the reference # of the transaction to us.
Kindly let us know when you have sent funds as this would enable us proceed with the shipping arrangement.
Best regards,





Allison and Lawrence.

Let me know what you think of this email. Thanks

Stay away from anyone who asks you to pay by money gram. This sounds like a scam to me! Please dont send them any money!!

My advice is to RUN!! It's got scam all over it.

Ditto! Definitely RUN. :thumbdown

Scam! Anyone who asks you to send money through Western Union or any other type of money gram is a scammer.

sounds off to me too...
I would call the phone # and talk to these people. I would tell them I was either coming there in person to see the dog, or I would tell them I was sending someone to see the dog and needed directions to their house. See if the story changes or if you could in fact do this. If you get any excuses why the puppy couldn't be viewed, you definitely have your answer.
Best of luck finding your perfect baby!

My first instinct is scam too. I've never seen a Yorkie for that price and including air delivery. I'd be very leary.

*For the record, I don't really know how much it is to ship a pet, but it seems like I've seen prices at least $300.

scam o rama
 

The old saying "if it sounds too good to be true it probabily is" fits here! if I am reading this right he is offering a puppy shipped for less than 500 total??? Why so cheap? Also scammers are known for using money grams as means for getting funds delivered. Since the guy left an address is there anyone on this baord that lives nerby that can check out the address?
My advice, find a breeder that you can drive to and save yourself and your new baby the trauma of a flight.

I couldnt have said it better myself! stay away! :thumbdown

If you call, you could also ask for the vet's contact info, & assess the reaction.

He can't call the phone number, notice, the last number is missing..?
I looked up that person and address on anywho.com and there is no number for that so called person. It's definitely a scam

I agree with the others...this definitely does NOT sound safe!

The moneygram thing is a definite red flag.
As someone else said, too, the phone number is missing the last digit.
I looked up the phone number, trying every possible digit in the last place, and they all come out to Cedar Grove, (or Cedar...something), not Indianapolis.

I realize that not everyone who has puppies to sell is necessarily well-educated, but the grammar and language usage is horrible. It sounds like a foreigner - I see this type of writing in phishing emails often.

How many kennels do they have, and where are they? One in Indiana and the other ??? How do they raise puppies if they are in different locations?

I would think and hope that a breeder would know how to spell "litter", "rabies", and "kennel".

Overnight shipping? I'm not sure, but I haven't heard of that for dogs. Maybe they do it???


Out of curiosity, I went on puppyfinder.com. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to find the dog you are looking for, but right on the main page, Yorkies were featured, and there was one named Rossa. That is the one first mentioned, which is now unavailable. Rossa isn't exactly a common name, so I thought maybe that was the one you had seen. The name on the listing is different (Charles). The info. given doesn't seem to be the same, the language is different, etc. So maybe this is a different listing?? Welcome to PuppyFinder.com - The Most Comprehensive Online Resource for Finding and Raising a Puppy!
Do you mind sharing the link you have?

Finally, the whole shipping thing doesn't sound right. Shipping will be 7-8 hours after payment is confirmed? That doesn't make sense. I did have my dog shipped to me. It was a big deal to try to get to the airport of my choice, and then the first day the breeder could have shipped wasn't available, and at first, she wasn't sure about the next day. These plans were made days - maybe a week - in advance. I don't think you can make arrangements to ship within 7-8 hours. And home delivery? I would think that would be very expensive, and wouldn't he have to know where it was going before giving you a price? Maybe not, but that sounds a little suspicious also.

Those are my thoughts... Please, be careful! I would definitely stay away from this one!! Your new puppy will bring you so much joy, but it would be a much better experience if you didn't go through heartache in the process.

It's a scam, they are using different addresses in different countries now because Nigeria isn't cutting it for them anymore! Airfair is at least 200-300$ itself and a registered PUPPY with shots and everything just doesn't seem like it could work out. don't fall for it

Not safe to buy a yorkie from a person like this.. please look here for a yorkie and I have to say there are times in life we get what we pay for.. pay a good price for a healthy yorkie baby.. one that comes with a guarantee... many good yorkie breeders right here on yt... do some research here and learn plenty about scams.. anne

I am a firm believer in always going to A reputable breeder that you can go to the house and see the litter of puppies, and the mother, father . Honestly it is too much of a risk to do any type of transactions like that one. I hate for you to lose your money over this scam.... PLease be very careful .