Canadian purchaser of a Maine Coon in America was scammed

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I don't have a lot of hard detail on the story but what is clear is that a Canadian resident of Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, Canada tried to purchase a purebred Maine Coon from what appears to be a breeder in the United States. The Halifax District Royal Canadian Mounted Police were notified on May 17 that the victim had sent money to purchase the cat and then determined that they had been scammed. RCMP spokesperson Corporal Lisa Croteau confirmed that the person scammed was trying to adopt a Maine Coon. We don't know the amount of money involved and therefore lost. And it appears that there have been similar scams in the past as reported by Global News.

Handsome Maine Coon.
Handsome Maine Coon. This cat is no associated with the scam mentioned. This cat is simply here to illustrate the page.

Comment: this particular scam will be one of very many. It is a classic scam of purchasing an expensive cat online and sending money online perhaps by bank transfer, direct, customer-to-supplier without first checking out the breeder and the breeder's cats. And without checking they are genuine and inspecting the standard of the facility. And without checking all the other bits and pieces that need to be checked such as vaccinations, spaying and neutering, registration with a cat association, and so on, including a proper contract. And the purchaser of a purebred cat should never, never send money upfront unless you are certain of their bona fides.

You don't know who you are sending money to. And there are lots of scammers out there. It is getting worse. That is certainly the case in the UK and I'm sure it is similar in Canada and the USA. In my honest opinion if a person wants to buy a Maine Coon cat, they should not do it online. All transactions should be carried out on the ground with a visit to the breeder or the cat rescue centre. You have to meet the cat before you buy the cat. And you have to gauge the quality of the breeder's facilities. There is no shortcut to this because it is so easy to fall into the trap of being scammed and if you aren't scammed out of money you may purchase a cat which is non-purebred. The whole process is fraught with difficulty so please do not buy a Maine Coon Online sight unseen unless you are absolutely sure that you can guarantee the integrity of the seller and that you have all the requisite paperwork in place and are satisfied with it.
Location: Cole Harbour, NS, Canada

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