Anyone else experience fishy messages that seem like scams?

I have received scammy messages. This usually happens after sharing my Rover profile on Craigslist. Usually it's someone's sister, assistant, etc trying to set up dog sitting for an extended period of time...so call this other person at this number.......

Once I followed along, insisting on communication through Rover, asking relevant questions (dog breed, exact dates, location, etc) ..... it came down to that they would purchase a house in my area so that it would be close. My response was a quick synopsis of the current Sellers' Market in my general area (not many houses on the market).

Another time I looked up the phone number and it was a mobile phone in Alabama. I responded that I don't offer my services in Alabama, but that if they are in my area I would be happy to arrange a Meet & Greet through Rover.

A couple of months ago, I was contacted by someone for a very long stay for their dog, something like 48 days. The message included their phone number and email address for contact purposes. Even though their Rover registration date was a couple of years ago, there were no sitter pics of the dog. I referred the request to Rover Customer Support and received a somewhat snotty response, saying that this person was a bona fide customer. You would think a regular Rover customer would know to use Rover's system for communications.

Anyway, I turned down the job because I didn't want to make a commitment for that long a period of time with a dog I didn't know.

It's good that you want to keep all of your business conversations through Rover - that's what we sitters are supposed to do! If it's a returning client, they will have your assigned 800 number to contact you with, so they could always call you. Scammers just want to scam, no matter who you are. Also, some people just want to bypass the Rover system and offer cash or other incentives...it's best to steer clear of those people too! I would just keep on doing what you've been doing....it's not only safe, it's the right thing to do!

I had one once that was a dog sitter that pushed and pushed for my phone number, and then found me on Facebook (I have an easily findable name, and we are from a small town - friends in common), and then sent me repeated messages to buy her products. I don't think she even had a dog. Sigh.