You can buy anything online, even kittens. But shop with caution: scams abound, particularly involving the ultra-popular Ragdoll cats, so named because these frisky felines are known to “go floppy” when picked up.
It’s estimated that at least 80% of sponsored links advertising pets for sale in an internet search may be fraudulent, according to the Better Business Bureau.
It could be an advertisement on social media or a spurious breeder’s website that looks legit. These scammers may be crafty, but they often follow the same formula.
The scammer will display many photos of Ragdoll cats against various backgrounds, almost as if these photos are pulled from the Internet. They’ll offer a deal on the cat, way below the industry norm. They’ll even throw in free shipping as if the cat were an impulse purchase from Amazon. The catch: they don’t accept credit cards, only instant cash transfers using services like Zelle.
After the initial payment, the scam evolves. Unforeseen costs will arrive almost immediately, often coming from alleged transportation services in charge of the pet’s travel. That might cost you an additional $250. Then $300 for food, water, and shelter. Maybe another $400 for an unplanned stop in a state with different pet insurance rules. The scam spirals as you find yourself sending more cash to an unknown person for a cat that doesn’t even exist.
The cat may be fake, but the scam is real, and it’s happening across the country right now.
Feline Fraud and The World of Scammers
The FBI receives approximately 2,300 complaints per day citing various scams. According to their Internet Crime Report, Americans lost $6.9 billion in fraudulent schemes in 2021.
In the past few years, the Internet has become a comfortable marketplace for casual duplicity. Scams can come in diverse forms: job offers, promotional emails, advertisements, potential suitors, and even cute pets for sale.
Pet scams are only growing in popularity. Ragdoll scams are new enough that they don’t have their own category on the Internet Crime Report. Instead, they are currently represented by the Non-Payment/Non-Delivery subsection of fraud, a category that impacted 82,478 victims last year.
What is unique about these cat scams is that they can’t be shut down. With no legal or criminal repercussions, a buyer’s only defense is knowledge.
Luckily, one cat lover is getting the word out to protect future victims from deception.
De-Claw The Scammers
Jenny Dean started blogging about cats fourteen years ago. She runs a popular website called Floppycats, which offers information on Ragdolls ranging from rescue recommendations to helpful tips such as “How to Get Rid of Static Electricity in a Cat’s Fur.”
She’s loved Ragdolls since she was three, and today she devotes an entire page on her site to scammers. Dean regularly updates the scam page with the latest nefarious websites. There are over fifty scam sites currently listed on her page. She also includes screen grabs that victims of scams have sent her. One con artist even used Dean’s own photograph in their profile.
Her YouTube video offering a rundown on Ragdoll scams has already been viewed over 2,000 times since she posted it several months ago.
How to Spot a Scam
Dean shares steps you can take to avoid a scam when shopping for that furry addition to the family.
Start with the photos used in the advertisement. Examine the backgrounds. “Most scammers steal photos from Instagram, so usually, the backgrounds of a scammer’s site will all have different backgrounds,” explains Dean. Since the photos can be from all over, the cats won’t look the same, even if the breeder claims they come from the same litter.
Look for grammar errors. Dean suggests looking for mistakes and misspellings. “Are non-proper nouns like kitten or cat capitalized?” she asks. An error in capitalization could mean that the scammer is a non-native English speaker.
In this case: a deal really is a steal. “A scammer will list purebred kittens for sale for around $300 to $600, which is insanely cheap,” cautions Dean.
Another red flag is to be on the lookout for websites with a “buy now” button. A genuine breeder won’t allow you to purchase the cat instantly.
Shop Smart, With Care
“Take the time to research the breeder and the website,” advises Dean. This means using Google to search their website, email, and phone number. She even recommends admitting that you’re weary of a potential scam, suggesting a video call to put both parties at ease. “Always trust your gut and move on,” she offers as a parting piece of advice.
Dean’s scam page on Floppy Cats has already attracted considerable attention from victims of fraud. Still, her efforts speak to a greater issue plaguing the online community: not all scams can be policed.
The scammers might always be there, but they won’t succeed so long as people stay ahead of their games by shopping smart and cautiously.
This article was produced and syndicated by Wealth of Geeks.
source https://wealthofgeeks.com/ragdoll-cat-scams/
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