Free Puppies? It's Another Scam
David Colker writes in The Los Angeles Times:
And now for the latest scam from Nigeria — puppies.More here.
The Council of Better Business Bureaus Inc. and the American Kennel Club today plan to issue a warning about fraudulent websites, MySpace postings and print ads asking people to help save puppies who are in desperate straits.
The sites and ads usually show adorable puppies that somehow have become stuck in Nigeria or other countries, and are offered free to new owners. A variation is to offer the puppies, such as purebred English bulldogs — a particularly expensive breed — at vastly discounted prices.
But free or not, people who had responded to the ads eventually were asked to send hundreds of dollars to cover such costs as shipping, customs, taxes and inoculations on an ever-escalating scale.
Some reported paying fees totaling more than $1,500.
"It's like the Nigerian advance-fee scams we've been seeing for years, except with the face of a puppy," said Steve Cox, a council vice president.
posted by Fergie @ 5/29/2007 05:15:00 PM
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If you or someone you know have been the victim or potential victim of an internet puppy scam, and are willing to share your story, please contact the American Kennel Club at communications@akc.org.
This latest internet fraud scheme involves answering a classified ad (internet or print) for a purebred puppy. These ads are usually accompanied by a stolen picture of a cute puppy, along with a false and manipulative tale of how the dogs need to re-homed, or are available for a reduced price. Victims usually end up wiring money to the scam artists to pay for "expenses" such as customs clearance, shipping or travel vaccines. The reality is that the puppy doesn't exist, and consumers who are expecting to receive a puppy end up losing money they may have already wired to the scam artists under these false pretenses.
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