Scam Type
Online Purchase Scam
Date Reported
2022-12-22 00:00:00
Victim Postal Code
None
Total Dollars Lost
4000
Scam Description
We contacted the scammer initially about a Maine coon kitten advertised for sale on a TICA group Facebook page. The initial cost of the kitten with vet expenses included was $300, this was paid through cash app. All communication up to the point was through Facebook. The scammer then sent us an email with a receipt and sent us the cats boarding information for it’s shipment to us. The cat was supposed to be shipped through Pet Relocation which offered a life insurance service to get the cat to us safely. The initial price we were given for the first class carrier and insurance was $2500. We couldn’t get this through to them fast enough so we agreed to downgrade to 2nd class which was priced at $1000. This was paid through Bitcoin. They told us the flight was going to be delayed until the next day, and then we received an email the next day telling us that the kitten was in Toronto (the shipment was supposed to be from Michigan to Ohio) and they said that life insurance hadn’t been paid for the trip from Toronto to Ohio. Around $700 was again paid through Bitcoin, and another $2700 was paid through Amazon gift cards. After this payment was made later that night we got an email saying that the cat had arrived in Cleveland and he would be shipped to us the next morning. The next morning we called the airport and asked about the shipment and they said that a cat had not arrived from Toronto. We got a call from the insurance company and they told us that the cat had passed in the shipping process and that they would refund us double our money. They asked that we send more personal information than seemed appropriate.
