Protect Yourself from Pet Fraud
Help us Protect You, Your Pets and Everyone Who Loves Them
– Authored by Royalworth Kennel
The AKC has issued warnings to both Breeders and Buyers that pet fraud is at an unprecedented rate. Both sincere Owners seeking a pet and responsible Breeders seeking good homes have been victims of fraud.
Please be aware that “Royalworth” is an AKC Registered Kennel Name, (think trademark),. That means that NO other organization can use this name in the registration of their dachshunds. At this time, there are several organizations that are attempting to use our name, or slight variations on it, to trade on our reputation. We strongly recommend avoiding these sites as they are unlikely to be legitimate programs.
Below are examples of some elaborate pet frauds and how to avoid them….
Some “trickier” examples of pet fraud…
In one instance a veteran breeder of 30-plus years had her website completely cloned. The fake website was kept up long enough to collect deposits and then taken down leaving the poor breeder with many folks who assumed they were owed a pup and an unfairly damaged reputation.
In another case, prospective owners dishonestly represented themselves for the purpose of obtaining a puppy for resale. When denied the puppy, (although no funds were ever collected), they threatened to “ruin” the breeder, created a campaign of negative fake reviews, and sent a ransomware notice on their website. This happened to us and has been reported on by both GoodDog and the AKC.
Recently, our profile on one of the listing sites was one of many that were hacked. All of the contact information was redirected to a fraudster.
We’ve never been associated with this person, place, or contact information, although we doubt this is a real name. Both the contact phone and emails lead to dead ends when background checked. Fortunately, though, the FBI has greater resources and has a special interest in pet fraud as it’s an interstate fraud similar to mail fraud. Additionally, new laws are being rapidly pursued both in the U.S. and the U.K. that will offer greater protection and consequences for animal-related crime.
So, how can you protect yourself?
Protecting yourself from pet fraud…
The AKC articles referenced below under, “Related Resouces,” have good general information on protecting yourself from fraud. Here are a few additional tips we recommend…
Be familiar with the breed standard as provided by the Dachshund Club of America to the AKC. While much of it may seem cosmetic, it’s primarily about health. If a breeder is deviating too much from these recommendations or is unable to explain how their pup compares to the breed standard, you may want to go elsewhere. This is important for obtaining a quality puppy in any breed as well as qualifying the investment you make in a prospective pet.
Ask for a Veterinary reference. Any good breeder has a close relationship with one or more Vets and will readily provide their contact info. (Our general Vets are Dr. Natasha Vilchez, Heritage Oaks Veterinary Hospital, Lecanto FL, and Dr. Singh, All Pet Care, Clearwater, FL.
Insist on a video chat if visiting in person is impractical, video chat, and take your time so you can see the pup “live.” Most folks will get a much better sense of the pup’s countenance from a video than from photos alone. (Also, most fraudsters don’t even own dogs, and they certainly don’t want someone taking a screen capture of them. Requesting a video chat will often make fraudsters disappear.)
Require that the pup be microchipped by the Vet, that the veterinary record show the pup’s microchip, and that it be recorded on his/her Health Certificate; (Without the same, a healthy pup can be taken for an exam, and you can be given a completely different pup that has a generally similar description.)
Make payment through a verified business account such as PayPal Verified Business, GoodDog, or a similar system that offers fraud protection. Do not use PayPal’s Friends and Family as it waives fraud protection. (A verified business account means that the payment organization has verified both the business and the owner. You can always call PayPal for verification on an account. They are happy to help as they don’t want the liability of fraudulent transactions in their system.)
Verify the contact details of the breeder and their website. Check the related AKC profile and GoodDog profile. If you’re still unsure, you may contact either organization for verification. Make sure that the URL, (the site in your browser’s address bar), matches the website that you visit. Only call the breeder at the phone number on these profiles and have them call you back from their legitimate published phone number so you can see it come up on caller ID. (Note: Most of the badges in our header and footer are clickable so you can verify our website and contact details.) To verify our information directly you may use the following:
To verify our information, you may check our listings on both the AKC.org website and GoodDog.com, or contact either organization directly. Please see details below.
Royalworth at the AKC:
Our page: https://marketplace.akc.org/breeder/royalworth
AKC Phone Number: +1.919.233.9767
Royalworth on GoodDog.com:
https://www.gooddog.com/breeders/royalworth-kennel-florida
GoodDog’s customer support: help@gooddog.com or call 855-446-6336.
We hope the above will keep you and your loved ones safe from pet fraud.
Our Best Regards,
The Royalworth Kennel Team
Related Resources…
From the AKC:
A website for legitimate breeders…
If you’re not familiar with GoodDog, they’re an organization that raised several million dollars to open the website GoodDog.com. GoodDog prides itself on extensively background checking both the breeders and non-profits they allow to list on their website. An organization cannot just ask to list on GoodDog. They must pass their background check and will be removed from the community if they’re found to have dishonest practices. Additionally, GoodDog offers their own payment system that more or less acts as an escrow service and comes with certain assurances and owner resources. For details please go directly to the GoodDog.com website.
Here’s our page on GoodDog: https://www.gooddog.com/breeders/royalworth-kennel-florida
For more information about the background of GoodDog, please see the Techcrunch article here….