Spent a fortune on a Bengal cat and it was a scam

Unfortunately, this error, which the victim had to deal with, is far from uncommon on classified ad sites such as Leboncoin. Scams involving pedigree animals are rife. This was demonstrated by yet another victim of these online scams, who decided to buy a Bengal cat. The woman, who lives in Dampmart in the Seine-et-Marne region of France, decided to use the classified ads website Leboncoin to find the rare gem she was looking for. But nothing turned out the way she'd hoped... Here's a look back at the case.

Use the Leboncoin classified ad site to find a Bengal cat

The woman's motivation for wanting to buy a pedigree cat was simple: in 2017, she had already used the classified ads site Leboncoin to buy a cat of the Bengal breed. So she decided to do it again last December, with the aim of finding a companion of the same breed for her first cat. And since the first transaction went off without a hitch, the woman did not raise the possibility of being a victim of scamming.

So she went to the classified ads site Leboncoin to look for the ideal companion for her Bengal cat. That's when she came across a tempting and unusual ad, in which a Bengal cat was offered free of charge, and given away only in exchange for care. And although the ad was obviously too good to be true, the woman was immediately attracted by this ad, which she thought would be exclusive.

An announcement too good to be true

The woman and the seller exchanged a few messages, and the seller quickly demanded charges for transporting the animal and additional costs for caring for it before the woman had even seen the cat. As a result, the woman, who lives in precarious circumstances, found herself having to pay the seller the sum of 1250 euros. And as expected, once the amount had been paid, the woman had no further news of the so-called seller or the Bengal cat, which she never saw.

As soon as she realised she was being scammed, the woman went to the police station to lodge a complaint against the scammer. She also contacted the classified ads website Leboncoin, which did nothing to help the woman who had been scammed.

Buying an animal securely on a classified ad site

There are a number of telltale signs that a pet for sale advert is fake, which we invite you to discover in our article on avoiding pet classified ad scams. One sign that we can reveal to you, because it's crucial in your quest for fake ads, is that it's impossible to ship an animal. So if the seller asks you to pay shipping costs for the animal or refers you to a website specialising in animal shipping (obviously a fake site), simply run away because it's a scam. It is of course preferable to come and meet the animal before making a purchase.

What's more, it's advisable to use a secure method of payment, even for hand delivery. There are far too many cheque and transfer scams between private individuals, and it's vital to take the necessary steps to avoid them. Obvy is the ideal solution for transactions between private individuals via classified ad sites. With Obvy, the benchmark payment method, you have all the information about the transaction and the person, so you can trace the transaction in the event of a scam attempt. What's more, you'll be refunded the full amount of the transaction if you discover an attempted scam on the part of the seller. And don't forget, buying an animal is not a trivial matter, so find out all you can about it and meet it before you buy!