Pet Sitting Ads or Scams?

As a Pet Sitter trying to get some exposure I am glad that I came equipped with a brain and caution. Here are a few things to watch out for when responding to an ad or getting responses to ads you are posting.

This is a recent ad that was posted:

xxxxxxx Pet Care; Insured, Bonded, reliable and full of fun and care for all of your furry family and not so furry family members. Going away or just need help for a day or transport? Summer is booking fast so contact me soon to be sure your pet is cared for reliably and properly. Vet assistant certified. Leave your family in capable loving hands.

Here are some responses and I will give pointers on problems that they pose: Keep in mind this is an actual transcript minus any indicating information and the name and email changed mid exchange;

Hi,

I will like to know if you could take good care of my xxxxx ? Please kindly get back to me as soon as you can .

Thank you !

Hello Jenna,

Can you give me a little more information? When are services needed, where are you located and I require a meet and great before we make any agreements. If you would like to provide contact information so we can talk with a convenient time to call I would be happy to set that up.

Thank You

xxxxxxxx

xxxxxxxxx Pet Care

Thanks for your swift response. My name is xxxxxxxxxx. Me and my

husband is coming on long vacation to your area and we are still

looking for a conducive place to stay first in the area. I’m from

xxxxxxxxxx precisely and my husband is from US but we both stay

in xxxxxxxx.

We are looking forward in arriving on xxxxxxxx. I need you to take

care of my xxxxx when we are away from home but i really love if you

could take care of it at your residence. So I’m arranging on getting a

cab driver that will be coming to take my xxxxxx( name ) from home to

your residence everyday. He is Friendly, very mellow, relaxed, calm

tempered, he gets along fine with other animals and love playing with

someone that share love with him. He is just xxx years old. I can send

you the picture if you need any. You will be taking care of him xxxxxx

times a week and xxxxhrs per day. So i need you to calculate your cost

for hrs and days in xxxx months. And payment will be done by via Cashier

or Certified Check in US dollar. I’ll need you to provide me your full

mailing information so that payment can be issued out to you on

time…

INFORMATION TO FACILITATE THE MAILING OF THE CHECK

* First & Last Name {FULL NAME}:

* Street Address: Not pobox

* City, State, Zip Code:

* Home & Cell #:

* Total amount for xxxx months:

Note; My Husband financiers down in state will be the one to issue

out the payment to you.

I’ll be waiting to read back from you with the information

requested so that the check can be send to you!

My Regards…

Sincerely, xxxxxxx

xxxxxx,

My apologies but I do not do any in home boarding. I do not have facilities to do so.

If your needs change please keep me unto mind.

Sincerely,

xxxxxxx

Can you do it at my our own residence ?

I would need to know where you are or will be located and I can supply business information which consist of a p.o. box and I would need a new client packet filled out.

An approximate date of when it would start and valid contact information with a meet and greet before any agreement is in place.

Thank you

Second Exchange, same first name as the last, hmmmm……….

Hi,

Nice writing to you, a few minutes ago I read your post on xxxxxxxx and it attracted me, right now I have some work need you if you have time,

for the details please read

http://jtd.la/thread5204htm which I post with descriptions.

If you have any questions feel free to shoot me an email.

Regards,

xxxxxxxx

Hi Jenna,

Thank you but I can not open the link if you wouldn’t mind giving me the details. Thanks

Get back to me if you can take care of my pet

Hi xxxxxxx I need a little more information. Where are you located, what time frame are you looking for and I need contact information and a convenient time to call?

I require a meet and great before I care for anyones pets.

Thanks

A couple of things you must watch out for, the obvious ones being:

– Email and Name Change mid exchange

– The insistence of not providing their own information

– Their asking of personal information rather than business information

Now a few not so obvious things to watch for:

– Anyone out-of-state or country that refuses to give information

– A cashier check or certified check can easily be forged or fraud

– The insistence of immediate responses to something that should have long proper planning such as the care

of a family member by a complete stranger

– NEVER open a link for a “description”

– The lack of any information what so ever

When you post an ad or are responding to a job ad, whether pet sitting or otherwise BE VERY CAUTIOUS and if you are going to a meeting and you do not feel comfortable; follow your gut feeling and bring someone along or meet in a public place like a dog park or if not a dog just meet the parents for coffee till you can validate information.

Be Safe and Have Fun!