A Bengal Cat Cattery

Please take the time to read through this warning.

It pains me to bring attention to how serious of an issue this is in our society.

The Better Business Bureau (BBB) estimates that 80% of all online pet sales are scams.

That is a shocking amount. We have put together some tips and tricks to spot scammers. Also, what to do if you find one and how to report them.

• Take a look at the address bar. If it has a padlock in front that means that is secure. This isn’t the standard, some websites just don’t use a secure platform, and scammers can purchase the padlock. It is just a good place to start.

• Look up the domain name through who is. https://whois.domaintools.com/ This will give you information about the website. Pay close attention to when it began. Most scam websites won’t be more than a month or two old.

• Use googles safe browsing site status at https://transparencyreport.google.com/safe-browsing/search

• Use other search engines to find out if there are complaints against them. A good way is to use https://www.bbb.org/search and enter the website or business name.

• Check the design quality of the website. Look for things like bad grammar and misspelled words. Also look at the amount of quality information.

• Pay attention to the contact information. A lot of scam pages offer no contact information and ask you to fill out a page that send them your information.

• You should be able to find their business on google maps. This is my favorite tip.

• They should contact you by more than just email. If you cannot speak to the breeder over the phone, you should not move forward with them.

• They should offer multiple forms of payment.

• You should be able to visit the facilities. If that isn’t an option for you due to travel and such, you should be able to see updated live videos or photos on a regular basis.

• If it is too good to be true… it probably is…

• The price is negotiable or discounted.

• The price changes after the deposit.

• Avoid craigslist ads, eBay, and Facebook.

• It is free but you pay shipping.

• No refunds, warranties, or health screenings.

• The breeder is knowledgeable and offers an abundance of information. Asks and answers questions.

• The breeder should make you feel safe and comfortable and never rush you in your purchase.

You can report scammers to

https://www.usa.gov/stop-scams-frauds https://developers.google.com/search/docs/advanced/guidelines/report-spam https://www.bbb.org/scamtracker/reportscam