Yorkie Puppies Scam

[mandystettner]

Hello

Just wanted to let people know about a scam I just had to deal with. From the email address of ellenbowen33@yahoo.com who apparently is a bible transalator in Cameroon.

I quickly realized it was a scam when she sent me the "contact information" for the company that would be accompaning the puppy from Africa for only $140.00

"The name of the shipping company is the Skyline Animals Movers Inc,the will be handling the shipping their email address is skylineanimalsmovers@live.com"

Once googled it was all clear. Anyone able to report these people to the police please let me know how I can help.

Amanda

[Dotti]

I'm glad you caught on before you lost any money.

The problem with reporting is that in reality you don't have any true information about the criminals. If you are in the US, you can make a report with IC3, but it probably won't go very far. It doesn't hurt to report, though.

ellenbowen33@yahoo.com who apparently is a bible transalator in Cameroon

I'm assuming that's what the scammer told you. The only real truth in that statement is that the scammer is in Cameroon. The scammer is not a bible translator, and is not named Ellen--in fact, "she" is most likely a "he." He did not just arrive in Cameroon--it is his home country. He does not, and never had, any yorkies. The "shipper" email address is a free email address, which would have been established using totally fake information. Any photos he sent were simply stolen off the internet.

[mandystettner]

Thank you,

I fear I have another one as well. Here I have katevickins@yahoo.com who is in Atlanta GA. In her email to me after I question the legitimacy of the deal she mentioned this which clued me in:

" we shall be transporting the puppy to your home tomorrow. so send to us"

When I asked for the information for the shipping company this was the response:

"This is the website of shipping company we will be using www.petmovers.com . They have a branch her in Atlanta you can check on their website. We will register Jeremy at this agency they are very legit, you will be sending the money to us so that we can arrange for the transportation over here."

If it was really legitimate and only $200 why wouldn't I just pay the shipping company?

I am still up in the air about this one

[Gus]

I'm afraid your "Atlanta" person is a scam as well. When I looked up the emal address katevickins@yahoo.com on google, I found various postings with this email but listing several different "home" locations and different types of animals as well.

"San Jose CA": http://bayareadogs.net/ads/yorkshire-terrier-puppies/
"Ohio": http://www.gumtreeads.com/?view=showad& ... 37&lang=en
"Texas": http://texas.estia.com/dogs/150956.html

Can you post the headers of the email you received from katevickins@yahoo.com

Putting substantial time pressure on you ("transporting the puppy tomorrow") is an important way that scammers manipulate their victims into paying quickly without investigating fully.

[mandystettner]

Hello,

I will see if I can find the posting for both the scams I have found.

Can the police do anything about this at all or are we completely at the mercy of being completely skeptical of everyone?

Thank you for your quick response

[Gus]

Unfortunately the police can do nothing about this - scammers of this type are typically not located in the US and therefore completely outside of the jurisdiction of US law enforcement. Unfortunately that means a high degree of skepticism is needed, especially when trying to find a pet because there are so many scammers trying to take advantage of animal lovers.

[Kayleegirl]

These people also scammed me out of about $2,000, the latest news on that is that they want to press charges on me now saying that the French Government is going to seek legal actions against me on animal negligence. I am not sending another dime to these people now that I know it is all a scam. They prey of women that are single and starting a family. So don't give them any money at all. If anyone has any advise on how we can get these guys I would love to hear it. I don't have the money to spare and now I'm out of money and have no idea how to get any of this money back... please can anyone help me out?

[Arnold]

I'm sorry to hear you've been scammed. And sorry to have to tell you there is no chance of the scammer being caught, or of you getting your money back.
The scammer's real name is unknown and Cameroonian law enforcement is inefficient. And if a post here from a scammer is true, some police are also scamming. Once a scammer has collected money sent by Western Union, it's gone forever.