Social media is a great tool for responsible breeders and rescues to connect with potential owners. Unfortunately this also opens the door to scammers! These may be backyard breeders selling badly bred and often unhealthy animals…or they may not even have the animals at all and are using stolen images.
This is particularly prevalent for sought after breeds such as Skinny Pigs, and there have even been cases of fake rescues out there.
Here are some tips to help you stay safe (these can be applied to any animal!):
* Ask lots of questions! A genuine Guinea Pig person will love nothing better than talking about their piggies. E.g. Ask what sort of food they use, I once engaged with a would-be scammer who replied “guinea pig food” and that was an instant red flag.
Are they asking you any questions, wanting to see your set up?
If they want all the money up front, or are really really keen to deliver, it’s probably a scam. They may try and con you into extra “insurance” for transporting the imaginary animal.
Ask for a specific video or photo of the piggie, e.g please could you send me a photo of the Guinea Pig next to a spoon. A genuine person will be happy to do this and proves that they do actually have the Guinea Pig in question.
If you are looking for a breeder, ask around for recommendations. If you have a local Cavy Club, they can help you.
Trust your gut, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is!
Thank you to Sussex skinny pigs for your help with this one!
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