Stephaniee Goana


Country United States
State Afghanistan

Stephaniee Goana Reviews

  • Apr 10, 2014

ANYONE LOOKING TO ADOPT A KITTEN ONLINE, BEWARE!

I recently endeavoured to adopt a Russian Blue kitten. In my travels on the internet, I came across an ad on Craiglist advertising ""Russian Blue Kittens for Adoption""... (I can hear people now, ""Yeah, you stupid, you need to be careful on Craigslist"" however, it all seemed very legitimate at first.

There were two pictures present; each of kitten. The ad explained:

""We have purebred, healthy male and female Russian blue kittens for adoption yet beautiful girls and a gorgeous young boy still available. Our kittens are raised in a loving and clean environment, are well socialized, always alert and curious. Also dealing with children and dogs will contribute to an informed socialization. The little ones are dewormed with their duties, vaccinated and housebroken. Her parents live in our home and have an excellent pedigree.The Mother comes from a world champion family and the father of a European Champion family. For more information, do not hesitate to contact me directly at sgna.steph (at) gmail (dot) com for an immediate response. Thank you.""

I e-mailed ""Stephaniee"" and within a couple of days received this response:

""Hello Eden, I sincerely apologize for the late response and thanks for your inquiry about acquiring my Russian Blue kittens that I am offering for sale. My kittens are champion sired and their Parents were imported from Ukraine. I just took over the cattery because my aunt has been breeding Russian blue cats for the past 6 years until she passed away. This is the last litter as I will be closing down the already reduced-to-home cattery. I had to shut down her (my aunt's) website because I recently got diagnosed with Cancer of the Larynx (Cancer of the throat). I was advised by an Oncologist to do a Laryngectomy (which is the removal of the human voice box through surgical intervention) which is why I could not respond to your query or text message early enough.

I actually have just 2 Purebred Russian Blue kittens left from a litter of 5; a female named DAISY & a male named MASH-MALLOW who have both been tested for FLV feline leukemia and have been spayed. Actually my kittens are 12 weeks old respectively.They are ready to go to a home that is willing to spoil them rotten. I will provide vivid description of their personalities as well as many photos once I get a response back from you. I am willing to take 400 dollars for each. Once again I sincerely apologize for the late response. Most respectfully.""

Now, hindsight is 20-20, and I can clearly see some strange things about this e-mail at once. First of all, there is a lot of trauma going on in this persons life... Opening up the sympathy box. Also, why are the kitten names in bold? What is clear to me now is that this person, or group of persons, whoever they are, have saved documents on their computers with these e-mails already typed out... They just copy and paste.

Soon after, I get a VERY LONG e-mail saying:

""I quite appreciate your interest on you proposing to purchase my adorable Russian blue kitten. I want to seize this opportunity to thank you enormously for sympathizing with me in regards to my health problems?. My gorgeous Russian blue kitten is a female named DAISY who is currently 12 weeks old. But, the question right now is that will she be able to find a lovely home with you? Do you have enough time to spend with her and care for her? If so I will be very glad and happy to give her out to you. Below you will find vivid description of her personality;

DAISY is a share beauty, cutest little thing in the house, very affectionate, and her greatest pal is her toys and the cursor on the computer (laptop) screen . She is a perfect little darling, who weighs 2.2 lbs now, and should weigh about 7.5-8 lbs when fully grown into an adult. DAISY loves attention and will draw it where ever she goes. She is very demanding for human attention and will do anything for a laugh lol!!. ""Look at me"" is her catchphrase. That makes her easy to handle by veterinarians or anyone else and it's not unusual for her to be a therapy kitty since she is so fond of meeting people. When DAISY is not receiving attention of her adorable entourage, she explores other surroundings, climbing her Toy trees or otherwise seeking high places, chasing a bug. She is extremely fond of her teaser toys that challenges her athleticism and brain.

She is a highly social kitty and if you are gone during the day, she will enjoy having a friend in the form of another Russian blue, another cat breed or even a dog. She likes the company and, equally important, she likes having someone to snuggle with so that she stays warm. DAISYloves to be held, and you can expect her to sleep with you, most likely under the covers. Think of it like having a hot water bottle lol!!. DAISYis already vaccinated against Urticaria Pigmentosa ( a skin disease that causes crusty sores on the body) and Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy ( a form of Heart Disease that is inherited in some cat breeds).

DAISY will be a perfect choice for a family with kids and cat-friendly dogs. DAISYis able to learn tricks easily and loves the attention she receives from children who treat her politely and with respect. She lives peacefully with dogs and other cats. I will advise that you always introduce other variety pets slowly to her and in controlled circumstances to ensure that they learn to get along together. She has such an adorable personality--so loving, and steals the heart of anybody who meets her. Her big heart make her ideal for a home with many kids. She loves cuddles, hugs, kisses and is very playful. She is a very intelligent kitty.....

DAISY is TICA Registered,

She has already received first set of shots,

She is tested PKD DNA Negative,

She will come along with a 2 year hand written and signed health/genetic guarantee to testify for her health.

I will be very glad to have you as a good caring parent only if you can take good care of her as your own biological child. Actually money is not what matters, but to find a good caring and loving person is really what matters to me. If you are interested in giving this adorable kitten a wonderful home then kindly provide answers to the following questions…

Have you ever owned a cat before?

Do you have kids?

Have you ever owned this breed of kitten before?

How soon do you need the kitten over?

How old are you?

Do your kids love the coming of this kitten?

Sorry for all the questions, but I just want to be sure that DAISY will be going to the right home and will be having all the love and attention she needs. Do find attached additional photos of DAISY and I hope that you will love and appreciate them. Please get back to me with the answers.

I made up my mind to give DAISY out for an affordable price of only 400 dollars because I recently got diagnosed with cancer of the larynx (cancer of the throat). An Oncologist (Doctor) advised me to quickly do a laryngectomy (which is the removal of my Larynx or the human voice box located in the throat through surgical intervention). This Oncologist highly recommended a Health Center (hospital) specialized in Head and Neck surgery based in the city of SAN ANTONIO in TX which is well known for carrying out such surgeries. As I am talking to you right now, I already scheduled an appointment for surgical intervention and radiotherapy sessions at this Health Center as the Oncologist advised I should do.

I also happened to be renting an apartment at a residence where the owner does not accepts pets, I was told by the owner of my apartment to get rid of DAISY because pets are not allowed at his residence. Due to my health problems and the fact that I was told by the owner of my new apartment here in SAN ANTONIO in TX to get rid of DAISY , I finally made up my mind to sellher for an affordable price and anyone interested and is not within driving distance will have her shipped safely to your nearest airport for an additional cost because the price is not shipping inclusive. If you are interested and willing to take DAISY then, I will appreciate if provided me with the name of your closest airport so that I can provide you with the flight cost as well as the entire shipping procedures. I await your prompt response. Regards.""

AGAIN, with all the bold. Another copied and pasted e-mail. At this point I got a suspicious. However, there were six photos attatched, all of what appeared to be the same kitten inside the same house. So, I continued to give ""her"" the benefit of the doubt. I answered the questions...

The response:

""Hello Eden, I appreciate the fact that you took your precious time to provide suitable answers to all my questions. Your family seems to be what I have been looking for. I will love for my kitten to get a home that will sacrifice all the time in the world to take very good care of her. After reading through your answers carefully, I am now fully convinced that your family will make an excellent fit for my lovely kitten.

In my previous email I made mention of the fact that I recently got diagnosed with cancer of the throat.

Due to this issue I was advised to schedule an appointment for surgical intervention and radiotherapy sessions at a Health Center based in the city of San Antonio in Texas where I am actually renting an apartment not too far from this Health Center. Please I am an honest lady who is merely looking for an appropriate home that will devote their time to spoil these sweet kittens rotten. I am actually suffering from cancer of the larynx ( cancer of the throat) and all I want is a home that will spoil my kitten rotten.

I want you to know that if shipping my kittens over to you was going to be a problem then I won't have proposed that to you in my previous email because I do care a lot about her well being. I dare not ship her over to you via Cargo which is well known to be very stressful to pets. The Courier that I am going to use do have a professional crew of pet carriers at their disposal who are ready to travel with you adorable kitten to make sure that she is safe during the trip. Be rest assured that all major precautions will be maintained to make sure that your kitten travels safely accompanied with an expert. If you are interested, kindly provide me with the name of your nearest airport so I can make inquiries and keep you posted soon. Most respectfully.""

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to find out that this is all a little fishy, manipulative, and fake.

So, I play along until payment time comes. Listen to THIS!:

""Hi Eden, I did make as many inquiries as possible and this is what will be required to safely ship DAISY from this end .i.e. (SAN) San Antonio International Airport in San Antonio, TX to (MHT) Manchester-Boston Regional Airport in Manchester, NH. Below are the requirements to safely ship DAISY to (MHT) Manchester-Boston Regional Airport in Manchester, NH; Firstly, they require some details from both of us as follows:

1. Our complete names .i.e. mine as the sender of the kitten and yours as the receiver of the kitten.

2. Our home and mobile phone numbers as additional contacts.

Secondly, they require a Standard Pet travel Airline kernel carrier for the kitten and an updated health certificate. DAISY already has a kernel carrier and I confirmed the parameters with them. The kernel carrier issue has been resolved. It will cost 135 dollars to safely ship a kitten to(MHT) Manchester-Boston Regional Airport in Manchester, NH. I was further told by the agents at the Courier that two kitttens could still be shipped in the same kernel carrier for the same cost of transportation. This implies that if you were to take my two Russian blue kittens named MASH-MALLOW & DAISY then it will still cost you 135 dollars. I did attach additional photos of MASH-MALLOW the male Russian Blue kitten and I am willing to take 600 dollars for him and DAISY if in case you considered taking both kittens. Kindly find attached recent photos of my male Russian Blue kitten named MASH-MALLOW. As for DAISY's health certificate, they want a health certificate that is less than 10 days old. In this case, I will have to visit a Licensed Veterinarian for final checks on DAISY so as to get her certificate updated.

Thirdly, I will also have to prepare a transfer of ownership Certificate/Paper-work forDAISY. This is a document that will show that DAISY has legally changed ownership making you her new legal owner. To get this done, I will need your complete name as the new legal owner of the kitten and your home address as the final destination of the kitten.DAISY will be coming along with the following items and documents:

- Transfer of Ownership Certificate/Paper-work

- Kitten care sheets designed especially for DAISY

- A sample bag of Cat food

- Full bag of treats

- Kitten toys

- Feeding manual

- Crate (Kernel Carrier)

- Litter-Box with cover

- Complete vet/medical history

- Copies of her parents' DNA certificate

- Health Certificate

- Registration papers

You will have to pay a total cost of 400 + 135 USD which is money for DAISY's flight cost, paper-works processing fee and her actual selling price making a grand total of 535USD you are to pay. But if you were to take both kitten then you will have to pay a total cost of 600 + 135 USD which is money for DAISY & MASH-MALLOW's flight cost, paper-works processing fee and money for their actual selling price making a grand total of 735dollars you are will have to pay for both kittens. Upon receiving the above required details and the appropriate funds for DAISY, I will proceed with obtaining the necessary paper-works after which, I will make the flight reservation and send to you the details accordingly (this flight details includes a tracking code or number which you will use to track DAISY's flight from (SAN) San Antonio International Airport in San Antonio, TX to(MHT) Manchester-Boston Regional Airport in Manchester, NH. on the Courier's official website.

In this way, you will know the exact time of her arrival and also details on where to go and collect her including all documents and accessories at (MHT) Manchester-Boston Regional Airport in Manchester, NH. I am expecting you to provide me with your full information which will be vital to further process the necessary paper-works after you must have confirmed the payment. I wish to remind you that if the payment is done today then I can ship DAISY to you on Tuesday late in the morning because I'll need 24 hrs in a business working day to further process and obtain the necessary paper-works needed to take her along with all her accessories to the Courier to make a reservation for her and provide you with the full flight details.

I want you to know that I don't send duplicates of my kitten's paper-work over the internet because it is strictly against the rules abiding pets. If you have purchased a pet or kitten before from a reputable breeder then you are free to ask him/her about this or you can ask your veterinarian who will confirm what I am telling you. I only send out original copies of my kittens' paper-works which will be handed over to you in person by the professional Pet carriers in charge upon her arrival at (MHT) Manchester-Boston Regional Airport in Manchester, NH. Warm Regards.""

Again, I get six pictures of a different kitten, all on the same couch.

THEN, the last straw:

""Dear Mrs Eden, after exchanging some emails with PayPal a few minutes ago, I was simply told that my PayPal account has temporary been suspended because an investigation is actually going on. I tried to obtain precise information as to when my PayPal will be available but I was told that they will contact me and I really don't when this is gonna happen. Since this situation with my PayPal account isn't happening and I was not told not to create another account for now, I'll suggest that we opt for an alternative method of payment. After making enormous research over the internet I finally came across a Money transfer service that is reliable, fast-going and trust worthy. It is called WALMART and it got numerous sub-stores called MONEYGRAM. While browsing through their website I did realize that they do have sub-branches all over the world and if the money is sent via their service then i can get it here after 10 minutes which is quite faster and will save time. What you will have to do is this, you will look for any writing material and write my address below;

Stephaniee Goana

9714 Cameron Crk

San Antonio, TX 78251-3731

You will copy my address on a piece of paper or writing material and go to anyWALMART MONEYGRAM store close to you with the money cash to make a wire transfer of 535 US dollars via my address. I wish to remind you that MONEYGRAMcharges an extra small fee to make the wire transfer known as (transfer charges), this is to avoid any further complains at your end. Once the transfer is done and complete, you will keep a copy of the payment receipt as prove of payments and you got my full address to get at me anytime. If you have no idea how to make the wire transfer, you can ask any available MONEYGRAM agent on site to assist you with the transaction.

Once the transaction is complete, you are free to either use your cell smartphone and take a clean & clear photo of the payment receipt and send it to me via email or do get back to me with an 8 digit reference number, your full name as written on the payment form, your phone number and please ""don't add a Test question and an answer"" so as to make it easy for me to cash the money and immediately commence with scheduling an appointment for the paper-works necessary for DAISY. If you have no idea where to find any available MONEYGRAM store close to you then do let me know so that I can track a store that is close to you provided that your address is accurate. Let me know whether you are making the payments now. Thanks and waiting.""

SCAM SCAM SCAM SCAM SCAM.

When I told ""her"" I was uncomfortable wiring the money... (I still chuckle because it says 'It's called Wal-Mart' as if I may have never heard of such a place...) She gets ANGRY sending:

""I am a God fearing lady for crying out Loud!! I am very worth to be trusted believe me because I will everything possible to make sure that you get your kitten right on time as we both agreed on. I want you to know that there are still some honest people out there and I am one of them. I am actually preparing to go in for a surgical intervention, do you think I will be that devilish to want to steal from someone? hell no!. The bible strictly forbids us from stealing and I want to assure you that everything will work out perfectly according to plan. Trust me.""

She adds this phone number which no one answers: (210) 853-0125.

BEWARE of this scam. I have read other reports of similar ones, and thought I would share my strange experience too.

Luckily, I hadn't given them anymore info than they could have found on their own.

I sent them a message saying I knew they were a scam and they have not contacted me since.

Eden, VT.

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