Puppy Scam ensnares a lady in Scotland
Photo by: Leonardo Bighetti
A resident of Perth and Kinross, Scotland, responding to an online advertisement for an Akita puppy was scammed of nearly £1,000 before realization dawned in. The lady, requesting to remain unnamed, believes the seller was from Glasgow.
She was attracted to the advertisement that promised to offer a puppy of the exotic breed for as little as £250. After only a few exchanges via email, she decided to go for the deal and wired the money to the seller.
The puppy was not delivered. Instead, the lady was treated to a barrage of payment requests on one pretext or the other. Feeding costs, veterinary bills, inoculation fees, transportation charges, port charges- seeing that the lady was in a mood to comply, the requests for money kept pouring in.
However, after spending £968, when she was called to foot an £800 “refundable” carriage insurance bill for the puppy, she got frustrated and informed local authorities. They told her to forget about the puppy and showed her how the whole thing was a scam.
An official from Perth and Kinross Council’s Trading Standards service, Derek Hutchison had the following sage advice to offer:
“In order to avoid these types of scams remember some simple advice. Know who you are dealing with and try to independently confirm the seller’s name, address and phone numbers. If you have any suspicions at all do not send any money – contact the Trading Standards Department instead and speak to one of our officers.”
Source: PressandJournal.co.uk
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