Re: Wazoo, Puppies up the:

Chicago IL

Description

It is amazing! It appears NEARLY ALL of the Craigslist pet postings are scams. The most likely scam ads are for fancy dog and cat breeds and expensive exotic pets like parrots and snakes. There are certainly some legitimate postings, people re-homing an older dog because of his owner's medical problems, someone selling a used dog house, aquarium, or bird cage; people forced to re-home pets because of unemployment; but how can a buyer know for sure? With a little study, most scams are not hard to identify: Pick any distant state- Texas, New York, Georgia, and California are always good examples- and you will soon find the same pet ads with the same pictures and the same sad, stolen stories. Most scam ads end with some statement like: "respond with your E-mail address and telephone number," or "text messages only." Often they provide an E-mail address outside of Craigslist, disguising it with extra symbols. Sometimes they provide a telephone number. If you check the area code, you may find the contact number for a "local" advertiser is from a distant state. I feel sorry for honest advertisers whose messages become lost in the confusion. Users who "flag" questionable ads have to respect them. Craigslist does not police ads closely, it would require several full time positions just for pet ads. One thing Craigslist could do is require that advertisers only use the secure and traceable E-mail link they provide, not allowing advertisers to request other contacts. The shopper could then easily recognize ads asking for personal telephone numbers or E-mail addresses as questionable. If you are looking for a pet on Craigslist, shop carefully, communicate with sellers only through the secure "reply" link provided, and ask many questions before spending money. It is perfectly fair for a shopper to ask for photocopies of advertised "vet records" sent through the Craigslist secure E-mail. Never respond to a code, never disclose unnecessary personal information. Read the Craigslist cautions and follow them. Have you noticed it seems to be raining Yorkshire and Shih-tzu puppies in Chicago? Cities all over the U.S. have the same problem. If all of the pups were real, advertisers would have to pay people to take them. How could anyone believe such puppies are rare or expensive?