I am getting requests to watch dogs but they seem suspicious. The first one was later followed up with an email from http://rover.com saying that accounts were getting these false requests. Now I am suspicious of requests I am getting. How do I know?
I can share experience from my own profile and another local sitter that I converse with regularly. So far, all of the scammers have immediately requested to exchange email address or phone numbers to take the discussion off of the source of the leads (Rover or competitor .com). Involving Customer support immediately is the best bet because they can see all the activity sent to all sitters and better determine if the account is a scammer. Also, most of these did not fill out any information about the dogs and have no photo. However, I've communicated with real pet-parents that initially did not complete their dog's info., so the lack of that alone does not indicate that they're fake.
If you feel that a request is suspicious, refer it to Rover. Anytime anyone asks for inappropriate information (personal details) or wants to continue the discussion about the job off-Rover, then you should refer the contact info to Rover Customer Support. I did so once and Rover staff responded that it had been a scammer. Another time, I received the disregard message from Rover before I had even seen the original message, so I believe they are being quite proactive in trying to weed out the scammers. Go with your gut about any request that seems "off" to you. Never give out any personal information and keep any discussions on Rover's system.
I had no clue there were scammers on Rover.com/ What could they possibly get out of requesting a stay for their dogs? I am confused on what they could gain?