UK's leading online marketplaces will share data to crack down on pet fraud

Some of the UK's most popular online marketplaces are set to join forces to clamp down on scam pet sellers.

DogsandPuppies.co.uk, Pets 4 Homes, Preloved, Puppies.co.uk, PuppyChoices.co.uk, the PAAG (Pet Advertising Advisory Group), APS (Animal Protection Services), Friday-Ad and JusticeforReggie are all set to be involved in the scheme that'll see them anonymously share data to prevent scammers making multiple accounts.

The 'Website Alliance' aims to bring down the high numbers of people falling victim to pet scams since the start of the pandemic.

'Pet scams up 20% since pandemic'

Over £2,600,000 was lost by consumers to pet fraud in 2020 according to Action Fraud.

It's after a surge in people becoming victims to fake ads during the pandemic as many families looked to buy new furry family friends.

There was a 20% increase in pet scams in 2020 compared to the same period the year before.

It's no surprise as figures from the Pet Food Manufacturers' Association show over three million UK households have purchased a pet at some point during the pandemic

The move to work together is all off the back of a Wigan dad's campaign for tougher measures against those who put profits over animal welfare.

The Justice for Reggie campaign was set up by Richard Ackers from Ashton in Makerfield last year after a pet he bought for his family died just days after he took it home.

Last December Richard purchased Reggie for £1,800 but within three hours of arriving back home, he fell ill with diarrhoea.

By the following morning, he had deteriorated and was suffering from both diarrhoea and vomiting which became progressively worse until he was rushed to the vets.

Ever since Richard has been meeting with various organisations to discuss how they can better protect animals being sold through their websites.

Now ten organisations in total, including seven selling websites, have agreed to team up to share data.

It'll help prevent scam sellers from setting up new accounts on different websites when they are blocked from another site. It's also expected to help to prosecute scammers by collating data and evidence around their activity.

'We take down 300 ads per week'

Tinka Carrick is from Friday Ad she said:

"I know that our team currently stops roughly about 300 suspicious ads every week and during lockdown that was more like 500. We've also got a huge database of blocked global users, which we now feel we can do something much more proactive with.

"It will make it a lot harder for these people. That joined-up approach means that going forward, every suspicious ad and every user will be reviewed and possibly investigated and animal protection services will benefit from being able to build a much more comprehensive case against these people.

"Also, very importantly, we will also be able to spot patterns and trends. They could warn us, for example, if there's particularly suspicious activity in Wigan or any other area and give us a heads up on that."

Richard, who often undertakes the work of reporting scam sellers himself, told us...

"When we report an ad it's often not just on that platform, it's on every platform. That's what we wanted to stop because we were reporting it to every single platform and it was really time-consuming.

"Me being a cynic, I thought it won't work out because these people are competitors.

"Then, in our first meeting, we had four different websites and about 18 people and it was all the CEOs of the company and I thought 'well, we've done something really special.'

"After that first meeting, everyone said we want to do it, we want to share information, we want to get these bad people off our websites. What they're doing behind the scenes is quite remarkable.

"I think what we're doing will make a big difference. I've found people at times selling 50 different dogs, advertising multiple times across different websites.

"This system will make sure they're gone."

But he hopes the ten organisations who have currently signed up will just be the start.

"We call it the website Alliance and four of them are the biggest in the UK.

"I have contacted a lot of the others who aren't in a position to commit and that's a shame because the more information we get, the more adverts we can get down.

"That's where the petition comes in.

"We want everyone to follow a set of rules and everyone to be on the same playing field. Rather than some doing excellent work such as Friday Media Group and the others not doing so and us getting multiple complaints a week about them."

Richard hopes by changing the law all websites will have to abide by the same rules so illegal selling is stopped for good.

His petition has until December to get to 100,000 signatures to be considered for a debate in the House of Commons, it currently has just over 60,000.

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