Nigerian Puppy Scam

By now most of us are familiar with Nigerian letter scams that sneak into our in-boxes with statements like, “We respectfully invite your kind attention to the transfer of U.S. $25 million into your personal/company offshore account.” It’s pretty easy to recognize the too-good-to-be-true element there. But how about a Nigerian puppy scam?

The puppy scam is subtle; a cute (really cute, adorably cute) puppy needs a home–it is much more believable than $25 million dollars waiting in your account. In the puppy scam, classified ads are placed in newspapers and online. They promise a free puppy, as long as the victim agrees to pay for shipping–the story usually involves someone who has moved or is moving or resides in another country. In the latest crop of puppy scams, the dog owner is said to reside in Africa. In some cases he says he is an American, serving in the Peace Corps. He promises to send the dog once the victim sends anywhere from $200 to $500 to pay for shipping. Usually there is another request for more money, explaining there were some complications clearing customs. Lots of cute pictures of the said puppy are sent, and once the money wire has been picked up, the puppy-giver disappears.

In order to avoid these types of scams, Phonebusters offers this advice:

• Know whom you are dealing with–independently confirm your seller’s name, street, address, and telephone number.

• Resist pressure to “act now.” If an offer sounds to good to be true it usually is.

• If the buyer wants to use a service you have not heard of, be sure to check it out to be sure it is reliable–check its Web site, call its customer service hotline, and read its terms of agreement and privacy policy. If you do not feel comfortable with the service, do not use it.

According to ConsumerAffairs.com, even better advice is to never buy a puppy from anyone other than a local breeder. Shipping a puppy is cruel and inhumane in itself. Buying an animal via the Internet virtually ensures that you are supporting puppy mills. The best place to get a pet is the local pound or shelter!

To read stories by people who have been victims of a puppy scam, visit the pet scam stories page at the ASPCA.

Read more: Pets, Pets, puppies, scam

By Melissa Breyer, Senior Editor, Healthy & Green Living

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Sue M.

5:57PM PST on Jan 20, 2012

thanks

send a green star

Will R.

2:10AM PST on Dec 28, 2011

It's not only Nigerians that are doing this scam, the Spanish do it with Donkeys, Indians do it with elephants and tigers, the Chinese do it with Pandas, the English do it with cats dogs and rabbits and Australians do it with sharks, any animal is fair game and anything cute and furry is a target, it's so easy to do when you have simpering animal lovers' reffering to animals as babies! Thinking that something that licks its own ass is cute! (who the cap fits? Wear it) good to see the Nigerians are catching up! Because there are a lot of fools out there and ' A fool and their money is soon parted'. I'm not saying that respondents to these animal scams are horrible or bad people, just that they are stupid fools blinded by cutesyness. And if an adult gets sucked into any crap like that, then they need to search themselves and find out why, for example a campaign in national newspapers can cost hundreds of thousands of pounds or dollars/euros. And when they collect the money a very large percentage goes to expenses and wages and accommodation, like what happened in Haiti when barely 50,000 bucks out of every million bucks actually reaches the ground where it's needed. Charity is big business and a big private earner.

Elize L.

11:29AM PST on Dec 27, 2011

Ridiculous!!

Carolanne P.

9:35AM PST on Dec 27, 2011

Sickening!!!

Jose Ramon F.

8:55AM PST on Dec 27, 2011

If anyone you know has been targeted by a scam, please visit www.scamwarners.com and encourage them to do so as well. By the way, Marie, not all scammers are Nigerian, they are all over the place and from anywhere you can think of.

aj E.

7:36AM PST on Dec 27, 2011

noted.

Marie W.

7:38PM PST on Dec 26, 2011

Does Nigeria have the world's corner on scams?

Maria D.

5:59PM PST on Nov 26, 2011

ADOPT FROM YOUR LOCAL SHELTERS ANYWAY!!!!

Cathy N.

5:23PM PST on Nov 26, 2011

~What a SCAM!!~