Glaswegians are being warned to be wary of fraudsters targeting those looking to buy a puppy.
Trading Standards Scotland have put out the warning in the wake of recent reports in Scotland of the fake adverts for puppies on online marketplaces. In one case, a woman claimed she saw an advert for a Jack Russell puppy costing £1,000 on Gumtree.
She said that contacted the seller and paid a £100 deposit, arranging a collection date for mid-April. A couple of weeks later, the seller allegedly asked for the rest of the money - £900 - to cover the expenses of keeping the puppy as he was struggling with the cost of living.
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At this stage, the woman said she felt suspicious that the seller may be a scammer and asked them to return her deposit. The seller allegedly did not reply and cut off all contact with the woman.
A few days later she claimed she saw an advert for the same puppy on Gumtree, now for the price of £650. The advert has now been taken down and the seller is being investigated.
In the wake of recent reports, Trading Standards Scotland have issued some advice on how to avoid the scams:
How to Avoid
• You can never do too much research before buying a new pet. Illegal dealers may use the same description and photo on more than one advert - try entering the text of the description and photo in a search engine to see if they have been used on any other puppy adverts;
• Research the seller - is their phone number or email address linked to different profiles? Are they advertising several different breeds of dog? Are they reluctant to answer questions about the puppies' mother or provide paperwork?
• Don't buy a puppy without seeing paperwork and certificates for vaccinations, microchipping and worming;
• Insist on seeing the puppy with its mother in the home in which it was raised - be suspicious if the seller wants to meet in a car park or public space;
• Don't pay a deposit without seeing the dog in person - be suspicious if the seller tries to rush you into handing over cash.
A spokesperson from Gumtree said: “At Gumtree, we take fraud extremely seriously and do not tolerate the use of our platform by bad actors.
“We urge anyone who has any doubts or suspicions about a user to report it to us immediately via the ‘Report’ button listed next to all ads. Our dedicated trust and safety team will always investigate and take the necessary action, such as removing adverts and blocking offending users, and supporting Trading Standards Scotland or law enforcement in their investigations.
“More information on buying and selling safely on Gumtree can be found at our dedicated safety hub online here: https://help.gumtree.com/s/safety”
To find out more, visit the Scottish SPCA Say No To Puppy Dealers website here or the Trading Standards Scotland website here.
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