A Columbia woman is warning others to beware of scammers selling popular pet breeds.One year ago, one of Sally Stunkel’s cats, a Maine Coon, died.”I miss my cat so much,” she said.So, she started looking for a similar cat online. Last month, she came across someone selling that particular breed on Facebook.Stunkel made a deal to buy the cat for $800.”I gave her a down payment on Venmo for $400,” she said. Stunkel said the seller told her the payment did not work.”It didn’t go to the right one as she said. So, she said, ‘There is another way to do this: gift cards.’ There went the red lights. But love makes us do the stupid,” she said.She bought a gift card, and the seller told her to text the front and back numbers of the card. But it did not stop there.”She said, ‘We can’t transport the cat until you buy or rent a carrier for the kitty. Another $800.’ I said, ‘I wasn’t told that,’ but I went ahead and did it,” Stunkel said.On top of that, they asked for another $1,500 for insurance and told Stunkel that she could be charged with abandoning a pet if she did not pay.After that came the final straw.”The next day, they said, ‘We need one more thing. We need $2,000 from customs.’ They were coming from Delaware. At that point, OK, stupid, stupid, stupid. Then I stopped,” Stunkel said.The Better Business Bureau said this is one of the few scams that is also a “two for one.” The victim pays for a pet they never get, then often pays the scammer more than once to cover misleading fees related to transportation.The agency suggests meeting with a seller in person to inspect the pet. If that isn’t possible, do an image search to be sure the picture is actually from the seller instead of another site.”I’m looking at it as a very expensive lesson in my life. So, I’m trying to be philosophical about it, but I really urge people to look into these things carefully (before) you start spending money,” Stunkel said. Stunkel said she filed a police report about the incident. She’s now working with a seller in Columbia to buy another Maine Coon.
A Columbia woman is warning others to beware of scammers selling popular pet breeds.
One year ago, one of Sally Stunkel’s cats, a Maine Coon, died.
“I miss my cat so much,” she said.
So, she started looking for a similar cat online. Last month, she came across someone selling that particular breed on Facebook.
Stunkel made a deal to buy the cat for $800.
“I gave her a down payment on Venmo for $400,” she said.
Stunkel said the seller told her the payment did not work.
“It didn’t go to the right one as she said. So, she said, ‘There is another way to do this: gift cards.’ There went the red lights. But love makes us do the stupid,” she said.
She bought a gift card, and the seller told her to text the front and back numbers of the card. But it did not stop there.
“She said, ‘We can’t transport the cat until you buy or rent a carrier for the kitty. Another $800.’ I said, ‘I wasn’t told that,’ but I went ahead and did it,” Stunkel said.
On top of that, they asked for another $1,500 for insurance and told Stunkel that she could be charged with abandoning a pet if she did not pay.
After that came the final straw.
“The next day, they said, ‘We need one more thing. We need $2,000 from customs.’ They were coming from Delaware. At that point, OK, stupid, stupid, stupid. Then I stopped,” Stunkel said.
The Better Business Bureau said this is one of the few scams that is also a “two for one.” The victim pays for a pet they never get, then often pays the scammer more than once to cover misleading fees related to transportation.
The agency suggests meeting with a seller in person to inspect the pet. If that isn’t possible, do an image search to be sure the picture is actually from the seller instead of another site.
“I’m looking at it as a very expensive lesson in my life. So, I’m trying to be philosophical about it, but I really urge people to look into these things carefully (before) you start spending money,” Stunkel said.
Stunkel said she filed a police report about the incident. She’s now working with a seller in Columbia to buy another Maine Coon.
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