Individuals
Consumer Report
- 01-14-2012
- 7
In answering an advertisement through dogsnow.com to adopt a Boston Terrier, a man named Morgan Melsem claimed to be from Phoenix AZ. He sent pics of the puppy with what appeared to be very generic information. His written English was horrible. He also began texting me through a mobile. Yahoo account. I decided that it was a scam but continued to see how far they would go. He then claimed to have registered the puppy for shipment (like one hour later, mind you it was in the evening) through a company called International Pet Transfer. The shippers then called me with a horrible connection - sounded like a satellite phone with lots of clicking. His accent was Nigerian or of Zimbabwe. They wanted a payment via Western Union and very strongly instructed me "not to mention to the Western Union people that it was for a Pet, because they would charge me much more." Their replies to all my questions were absolutely hilarious not to mention ridiculous. Then the shipping company began texting me via the same mobile. Yahoo method. I then asked that the "seller" of the puppy to call me directly due to the poor connection with the shipper. He claimed that the microphone on his cell did not work. Within a few minutes he called me from a 480.525.2906. It was a very clear connection but he had the exact same accent as the shipper. I even told them that I knew it was a scam and that I wasn't interested. They appeared to just ignore this. And continued to try and get me to get to a Western Union office so that my puppy could get shipped. I asked them to do several things such as more photos of mom and dad, and they kept coming up with excuses. It was comical. I then inquired about another puppy advertised and got the same type of reply. I've since found a "real" puppy from a reliable breeder, but this scam is alive and active and I can't believe how gullible they are. Other than annoying the hell out of them and stringing them along, any ideas on how to shut these (Inappropriate Content Removed) down?
Company: Individuals
Country: USA