Pet scams (monkeys, puppies, horses, birds, etc.)

How to avoid them:

Only deal with people in your area. The best way to avoid scammers is to deal locally, with people you can meet in person. Scammers will often contact you from another country or somewhere far away, asking you to ship the item you're selling. Beware of pets that are otherwise expensive or rare being offered for adoption or for very cheap.

More details:

• They will ask for shipping money even if the animal was initially listed as free. The animal will never arrive.
• It could affect any category such as dogs, monkeys, cats, horses, birds -- anything that tends to be expensive where they can trick you with a really good price.
• It could even include pictures and other details – often copied from a genuine seller‘s ad.
• The seller will claim they had to move or give another excuse for why you can't see the animal in person (examples: moved to Africa for missionary or development work, sold the pet to someone who moved overseas and now they want to sell it back, etc.).