Reptile and tortoise sale and permit scams
What happened
A documented scam pattern. Snakes, geckos, chameleons and tortoises are sold online with the same deposit-then-permit-fee routine. In South Africa indigenous tortoises are protected and cannot be sold or kept without the correct provincial permits, so anyone offering a wild tortoise cheaply is either scamming you or breaking the law, and you could be prosecuted for buying it. Only buy captive-bred reptiles from sellers who can show valid permits in person, and walk away from any "pay a deposit, permit sorted later" pitch.
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