Aug. 6, 2024

Unmasking Puppy Scams: Protect Yourself Online

Show Notes
Transcript

This episode of “Let’s Talk About Scams,” host Joyce Petrowski, founder of R.O.S.E. Resources / Outreach to Safeguard the Elderly, explores the troubling world of puppy scams with insights from cybersecurity expert Jim Stickley. Joyce shares a heartbreaking story about a family who fell victim to a fraudulent puppy sale on Facebook. The scam involved multiple payments for a non-existent puppy, leaving the family financially and emotionally devastated. Joyce emphasizes the importance of due diligence when purchasing pets online, offering practical advice on how to avoid falling prey to such scams. Listeners are encouraged to verify the legitimacy of sellers and seek recommendations from trusted sources. Key Episode Takeaways:

Puppy scams are prevalent on online platforms like Facebook.
Scammers often pose as legitimate breeders, requiring multiple payments.
Victims may lose substantial amounts of money and suffer emotional distress.
Always verify the legitimacy of the seller through research and trusted recommendations.
Use secure payment methods and be cautious with instant cash apps.

Remember, knowledge is power—subscribe to "Let's Talk About Scams" podcast to stay updated on ways to safeguard your well-being against scams. Share what you've learned with your loved ones and stay vigilant. Stay safe and informed! Visit https://www.roseadvocacy.org/ for additional resources and newsletters to safeguard against scams. Disclaimer: The information contained in this podcast is intended for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for individual professional / legal advice. The podcast information was carefully compiled from vetted sources and references; however, R.O.S.E. Resources / Outreach to Safeguard the Elderly cannot guarantee that you will not fall victim to a scam.

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Hi, everyone, welcome back to Let's Talk About Scams. I'm

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your host, Joyce Petrowski, founder of Rose Resources Outreach to

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Safeguard the elderly, and today I want to talk about

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a new scam that was brought to my attention by

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Jim Stickley, and it's on puppy scams. If you are

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looking for more resources, want to sign up for our

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email or our mailed newsletters, or find our social media links.

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You can visit our website at Roseadvocacy dot org. And

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don't forget you're going to want to click subscribe so

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you don't miss an episode of Let's Talk about Scams. Okay,

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so let's get into it. Puppy scams. So thank you.

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First of all, thank you Jim Stickley for bringing this

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to our attention. And so this actually happened to a

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friend of his. They were in the market for a

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puppy and so they found a Facebook group and the

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group had like a thousand or more people that belonged

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to the group. So they thought, okay, you know, this

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is a valid group, and so they signed up for it.

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And the person that was moderating the group though, was

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actually a scammer, and it took a little while before

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they figured it out, but let's go through kind of

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what happened. So, you know, they they talked to the

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person about the puppy, and they get pictures of the

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puppy and it's exactly you know, what they were looking for.

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And they get a lot of information and they stay

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in contact with the person and you know, get find

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out what the puppy likes to eat, all that stuff,

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and they put a deposit down. I think it was

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like four hundred dollars. They put a deposit down on

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the puppy. And you know, you have to wait until

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the puppies a certain age before and have you know,

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certain shots and things like that before they get adopted out.

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And so it's getting close to when it's time for

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them to get the puppy, and the owner comes back

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and says, well, there's you know, an additional fee for

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whatever reason, and you know it's another two hundred dollars.

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So they send that money and you know, they send

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the money usually over Venmo or Zell, you know those

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instant cash apps. Then they get notified that you know,

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the puppy's ready and it's going to go to the

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shipper and so they said, you'll be getting contacted from

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the shipping company. And sure enough, they get contacted from

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the shipping company, and you know, they say, everything's great,

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we're getting ready to ship the puppy. But it's our

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requirement is the puppy has to be in a crate. Now,

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you can either buy a crate or you can rent

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one from us, but there is going to be, you know,

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a rental fee associated with it because we have to

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ensure that we're going to get our crate back. And

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so they talk about it and they're like, you know,

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you you can go buy your own crate usually runs

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about twenty five hundred dollars, but you want to rent

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one from us, it'll be about fifteen hundred. And so

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they're like, all right, you know, we'll rent one. And again,

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you know, they send the money through Venmo or Zell,

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one of those instant cash apps, and so now they're

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in for what it's over two thousand dollars and then

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they're getting ready to ship the puppy and then they

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come back and say there's an additional fee for something.

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And then that's when the people realize that, hey, something's

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fishy here. I think we might be getting scammed, and

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so they ask their friend to send an email to

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the people and say, hey, is this puppy available? And

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sure enough, the moderator of that Facebook group, which was

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the scammer, was like, yes, that puppy's available, and here's

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a bunch of pictures. Got all the same pictures, all

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the same information that these guys got, and so then

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they realized that they had been scammed. They had sent

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everything through Venmo or zell and those apps. When you

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go to send the money, they give you that warning

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sign of you know, are you sure you want to

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send this you can't get your money back, or you

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sure you know who you're sending this money to and

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all of that, and they've clicked yes. So they're out

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over two thousand dollars. They're not getting that money back,

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and they're not getting the puppy. They were probably buying

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the puppy for their kids, or maybe they were getting

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the puppy for themselves they lived alone or something like that.

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So that's devastating. So there's you know, yes, you have

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that financial impact from that, but now you also have

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that emotional impact whether you're buying it for your kids yourself,

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you know, whatever the reason is, you now have that

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emotional impact that you're not getting the puppy. So please

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be careful. If you are out there looking for a

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puppy and you're looking online, talk to people that you know,

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like and trust and see if they know of any

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reputable places that are selling puppies. There's a lot of good,

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reputable places out there that are selling puppies. You know,

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there's a lot of great reputable breeders out there that

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are doing good things. But just make sure that you're

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getting some references from people, and then, you know, just

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just be careful if you're doing this online and you've

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not used this place before, you know, if you're willing

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to let go of the deposit, you know, if you

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were to lose it, you know, maybe early on after

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you make the deposit, have your friend reach out and

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do the same thing that this couple did and see

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if the puppies for sale even after you put a

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deposit on it, and then, you know, before you get

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too far down the road, be careful with it when

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you're dealing, you know, with buying puppies. Puppies are great.

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We all love puppies, right, It's easy to get caught

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up right in the moment, or you know, you're you're

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at work and you only have fifteen minutes, and so

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you're getting on and doing what you need to do

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and not really thinking about you know, is this a scam?

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And you know it's not something we really want to

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think about every time we do something, is this a scam?

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But unfortunately, in today's world, that's kind of where we're

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at because the scammers are all over the place. You know,

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another thing you could do is put in the name

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of the breeder or the company that's selling the puppies

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and put fraud or scam after the name online and

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search because maybe you'll be able to find that there's

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other people that have been scammed from the same place

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and there's information online about it. So that's another way

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to check. So in closing, please be very careful. Just

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know that there are scammers out there selling puppies that

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they don't have. They're just trying to get the money.

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And have that trusted person that you can talk to

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and do your due diligence in your research online, and

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you know, before you get too far into it with

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some money, you know, have somebody check it out for you.

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Do the same thing that these people did in the

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story and see if the puppies for sale, even after

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you've already put a deposit on it. Thank you for

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joining me today. I really appreciate you being here. And

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if you want more resources, you can go to our

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website at Rosadvocacy dot org. You can sign up for

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our newsletters. We have a mailed one and an emailed one.

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You'll find our social media links and don't forget you're

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gonna want to click subscribe so you don't miss an

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episode of Let's Talk About Scams. Thank you,

Unmasking Puppy Scams: Protect Yourself Online

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