Rennae Hannaford was in the market for a new dog after she had to put down her cattle dog last week.

Knowing there were legitimate breeders online, she searched for the dog she wanted - a spitz.

Over a long email conversation with a seller, Ms Hannaford became suspicious when they said she would have the dog delivered free of charge from Perth if Ms Hannaford paid the $400 for the purebred dog, usually worth thousands.

The seller said she would send the dog through a company called Pet Movers International.

A wary Ms Hannaford attempted to contact the company, finding that it was Victorian and did not exist in Perth.

Ms Hannaford said the man she spoke to in Victoria told her a young girl had been caught up in the scam losing $400 to the seller.

Throughout the email conversation, the scammer continually asked for Ms Hannaford’s address, phone number and details.

The scammer refused to give any details to Ms Hannaford.

“There are legitimate people who sell dogs on the internet and I don’t want any families to be scammed by this person,” Ms Hannaford said.

The scammer even sent photographs of a Spitz and a young boy to Ms Hannaford.

A shoddy registration certificate, first sent in the size of a thumbnail, was then sent to Ms Hannaford in A4 size.

The certificate was unreadable and looked sketchy to Ms Hannaford.

After telling the seller she would not be able to purchase the dog, Lindy, because of the distance between Perth and Dubbo, the seller said she understood.

However, she wrote: “But if you really think Lindy is that beautiful and you love her then distance shouldn’t be a problem.

“I can go and register her to be delivered at your doorstep. All you need to do is send me your details: names, address, phone number, fax ...”