Animal Lovers Web Forum

Delta Airlines has uncovered a pet shipping scam using their name and logo. People go online and arrange to pay for pet shipping.
The site looks legitimate, but it is not the airline and no pets are ever shipped. The scam is also linked to a dog selling scam.
Dogs are paid for, but there are no dogs to purchase. In both cases the scammers keep the money


https://wtop.com/animals-pets/2017/10/de...et-owners/

There are scams surrounding everything. I am glad the airline has acted on this one, but there will be others. 
Pet scams are common. It think you shouldn't pay for an animal that you have not physically seen. Something contacted over the internet is too uncertain. There is no way to prove the pet exists. Also I don't think pets should be sold over the internet like  this anyhow. Taking on a pet is more like an adoption anyhow.

I am amazed that people are so trusting that they sent money via Western Union (by which means the money can be collected in cash). A reputable website would have its own facilities to pay online via an https secure and verified card payment. Then, of course, the receiver account could be identified. I am glad that Delta are chasing this fraud scheme. Their motive may be to protect their own reputation, but no matter, if the result is that a scam is exposed and dealt with, that is good.

You are right about people being trusting. A big airline doesn't take payment in cash from Western Union. 
People also paid for dogs that they had never seen.

People are weird about who they trust. There is a scam in Canada where they claim to be the CRA(Canada Revenue Agency/tax people) and they will fix things for you if you do a Western Union money transfer to an address in the USA. People actually send money, sometimes thousands of dollars. Our tax people don't phone anyone. Good luck trying to get them on the phone if you need them. They certainly don't ask for money transfers. Unless you earn a lot and don't pay taxes you couldn't possibly owe thousands of dollars. So why would anyone fall for it?

Even if the airline is really only protecting its own reputation, it is still good that they are trying to stop this.