With the growing number of scam accounts promoting fake social media cattery pages, breed specific social media groups, google business listings and websites (all of which filled with stolen photos and videos of animals they are not in possession of) I wanted to put out a quick warning to our Lake View Coons Friends and Family:
BEWARE OF ONLINE PET SCAMS!
RED FLAGS which often times indicate you’re dealing with a scammer
More often than not there will be red flags that should immediately clue you in on the fact that you are dealing with a scammer. A scammer’s social media page, group, or cattery website will have the phrase "for adoption", "for rehoming", "for sale, "adorable", “giant”, or "available in the title. When you see this, you can be confident it’s a scam. Established and legitimate breeders don’t typically use these catch phrases as a title for their cattery name, social media page or group. The majority of the "free" adoption, rehoming, and rescue “near you” pages with these words in the name are scams as well.
The work of scammers is evolving and more recently they have started opening breed specific Facebook groups in which to scam people. As admins of these social media groups, scammers are able to control every post that is made, and they are able to ensure those who could help call out the scam are denied membership or immediately blocked from the group.
Don’t be so quick to Like / Follow / Join
Before liking, following, or joining a breed specific social media page or group, be sure you are not dealing with a scammer! Here are a few things to help you with your detective work:
Look up the names of the admins and moderators of the Facebook group.
Look at the URL of their Facebook page (ex: http ::/ Facebook . com / name_goes_here).
If it's different from the their public profile name, then you know they are likely scamming.
If they just created their page in the last few months or have only a couple posts up, then you know they are likely scamming.
If they only have a few friends, or if their friends and post interactions are full of people who are from high fraud areas like Cameroon Africa, India, etc. (even though their profile picture and “about” section doesn't reflect that), then you know they are likely scamming.
Scammers will create many fake profiles to pretend like they purchased from the admins or another scammer within the group. They will leave raving reviews on their fake animal sales pages, or comment to say how they love their Maine Coon and everything went great with the sale. However, all of these individuals are operating within the same scammer network, under multiple fake names, and leaving these fake reviews. If you take a closer look at the accounts of those leaving positive reviews, you’ll see all of the accounts are fake/scammers too.
The photos being shared of the cats or kittens for sale, or the photos of the “breeder” are stolen from others. Often times the background in each photo is different. The photos of kittens’ parents are missing. There is no photo journaling of each kitten’s growth and development.
Most times scammers will steal photos because they are not watermarked, but on occasion the scammer will go as far as cloning a breeder’s page and pretending to be that breeder. You can do a reverse image search of the pictures they are using to confirm if they have been used by others on the internet.
When in doubt, don’t send money!
Never blindly send money to just anyone. Scammers prey on individuals who rush the pedigree pet buying process, individuals who recently lost a pet, and individuals who are looking for a deal. If the “breeder” you are dealing with always has kittens available, “too good to be true” prices, and/or creates a sense of urgency with sending funds, you are likely dealing with a scammer (or at best, a kitten mill or backyard breeder).
If the “breeder” refuses to let you physically see the kitten before payment is made, refuses the option to pick up the kitten in person, and/or at the very least, refuses to do a live video call so you can have confidence they are actually in possession of the kitten, you are likely dealing with a scammer.
What to expect when you work with Lake View Coons
Most of what you need to know about our cattery’s reservation process is outlined on our website FAQ page (https://www.lakeviewcoons.com/faq), but with the growing number of spammers trying to imitate us, or trick pet lovers into believing they are working with us, here are some things you can expect (or know to be suspicious of) when you work with Lake View Coons.
If there are individuals commenting on the Lake View Coons Maine Coon Cattery Google Business listing (https://g.page/LakeViewCoons), website blog page (https://www.lakeviewcoons.com/blog-summary), or social media posts and asking you to check out their available kittens, to click a link, to like their page, or join a Facebook group, it’s MOST DEFINITELY a scam. As I’ve pointed out already, reputable breeders don’t interact on social media this way!
Also, as some of you may already know, we have PRIVATE MESSAGING TURNED OFF for all of our accounts on social media, and across all platforms. This is to ensure all written communication can be properly logged and archived in one central location. If you happen to get an unsolicited private message from someone claiming to be affiliated with Lake View Coons Maine Coon Cattery, please disregard it. Our cattery does not work with any other breeder or cattery that would engage you in this way. This behavior is most definitely the hallmark of a scammer!
All communication between Lake View Coons Maine Coon Cattery and our present or prospective pet guardians is done in one of three ways:
🐾 We meet you in person after approving your adoption application and scheduling an appointment for you to visit our home (which doubles as our cattery) OR we meet you in person at a cat show.
🐾 We communicate via email which ALWAYS originates from an address ending with a “LakeViewCoons.com” domain.
🐾 We talk on the phone* (audio or video call), and for current Lake View Coons family only, via text message.
Summary
Once you learn how to spot the red flags, and you’ve seen more than a few, it gets easier to differentiate between legitimate breeders and scam profiles, pages, or groups.
Now that you have these helpful tips on what to look for, if you stumble upon a scammer promoting a fake animal sales social media page, be sure to leave a bad review to warn others AND report the page to Facebook as being a fake/scam.
Most importantly, before any money changes hands you should be confident you’ve interviewed and chosen an ethical preservation breeder. When in doubt, don’t send funds. Get a second opinion. Check references. Trust your gut!
