Online Scammers Target Dog Lovers

[Swiss Girl]

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/newshome/9465948/online-scammers-target-dog-lovers/

Dog lovers are the latest victims of online scammers, with at least $9000 being lost to cyber criminals in western Africa.

Nine people have lost between $350 and $1800 after attempting to buy a a puppy online, the Department of Consumer Protection said.

The buyers had all sent money in response to advertisements on classified websites in the past two months.

Almost $9000 has been traced to cyber criminals in Cameroon.

Consumer Protection commissioner Anne Driscoll said people buying puppies were especially vulnerable because they had an emotional investment in the pet.

"The financial loss suffered by puppy scam victims can be substantial, but many are also upset and disappointed when the pet they fell in love with on the internet doesn't arrive," she said.

"After the initial purchase price for the puppy is sent, usually by wire transfer, the scammers then demand extra payments for transport and delivery or insurance, giving a variety of excuses for the extra charges.

"The purchaser is virtually being held to ransom and the heartless scammers are preying on the buyer's emotional attachment to the puppy and their excitement about its imminent arrival."

Ms Driscoll advised consumers to be cautious when buying puppies unseen from strangers, especially if the seller requested money sent by wire.

"If you have any suspicions, don't go ahead with the deal and don't reveal any personal information," she said.

The Canine Association of WA website www.dogswest.com has a list of registered breeders.

[Maddy]

You'd think people would know better by now.

I used to get those emails all the time, asking me to adopt a yorkie puppy (or some other small, fluffy breed). It got very tempting to write back and say I'd take one as my high prey drive greyhound gets bored with just chicken, lamb and roo- just to see what sort of response I'd get (or if it'd even deviate from their standard reply when I'd indicated said puppy was going to be mulched up and fed to other dogs).

While I feel a little sorry for people who fall for this one.. I just can't feel that sorry for them. If you buy a puppy, unseen, without doing any research on where the puppy is coming from.. you're setting yourself up for all sorts of trouble, even if it's just a BYB puppy, rather than a scam.

[Lillynix]

I'm just so surprised that people don't think twice about buying a puppy from an online source? So, people are willing to hand over hundreds of dollars, for a puppy they never see in the flesh with little (or no) communication with the person selling?

It all just screams madness to me!

[Maddy]

I'm just so surprised that people don't think twice about buying a puppy from an online source? So, people are willing to hand over hundreds of dollars, for a puppy they never see in the flesh with little (or no) communication with the person selling?

It all just screams madness to me!

Even the wording of the emails should be a complete giveaway.

I'd have to dig through my inbox to find one but a lot of them show very clearly no knowledge of dogs.

Things like "with papers" (with registeries totally inappropriate to the breed of dog- like a chorkie or some silly sh*t that's registered on the working kelpies register) or how a puppy located in Australia has been vaccinated for rabies and a bunch of other things (usually American things- I suppose it's American pages they get most of their info from) that dogs here aren't not vacc'd for unless they're leaving the country.

That and they tend to refer to the puppy more as a product- they're more interested in giving you shipping information than telling you anything about the dog's temperament, pedigree or known health issues in the breed- presumably because fake shipping info is easier to write than details about the dog/breed that could be more easily checked.