PITTSBURGH (Newsradio 1020 KDKA) - If you are looking to buy a new furry friend, be very careful if you plan on purchasing it online.
"The Better Business Bureau has found that 80% of sponsored ads for pets that are online are likely to be fraudulent," said Caitlin Driscoll, Public Relations Director at the Better Business Bureau, during an interview with KDKA Radio on Friday.
As realistic as these sellers portray themselves, they can still be fake.
"They set up these legitimate looking websites with adorable pictures of kittens, puppies or any type of popular pets, especially highly sought after, expensive breeds that people are looking for," Driscoll added.
When should a red flag pop up?
"They ask for the payment to be made in advance using some type of untraceable method," Driscoll states.
Ask the seller for their specific location to make sure it is real.
"Research it and make sure it exists," Discoll explains.
Peggy Eslami, a victim of the scam, spent $900 dollars on a cat before realizing she was being duped.
She tells KDKA Radio when her and her husband were overcome with a bad feeling about the situation.
"My husband starting getting emails from a shipper that said 'your cat is here; now we need the money for the rental, because it was shipped to the wrong crate. That will be $1000, in which you will get most of it back,'" Eslami said.
They eventually realized that they were never going to receive a cat.
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