John Fairheart
17 April 2008, 11:20
Woman Trying To Buy Next Pet Online Ends Up Chasing Tail
By Lu Ann Cahn
April 16th, 2008
A lot of dog lovers are now shopping for their next pet on the Internet.
But scam artists are shopping there, too, for their next victim.
Lu Ann Cahn and the NBC 10 Investigators show you what happens when puppy love leaves you broke and chasing your tail
The woman Cahn met admits she did everything wrong. She lost a lot of money because she fell in love with some puppies and she got bit.
Those sweet eyes, that puppy nose -- it's easy to fall in love with one of these little guys at a shelter.
Now, some people are finding it's just as easy to fall for their next pet online. Web sites like PetFinder.com let you see pictures of adoptable shelter dogs in your area and across the country.
"I glance on PetFinder all the time," said Kim Gerlach, of Catasaqua.
The Lehigh County woman was willing to pay for something little and purebred. She thought she found it on the site's free classifieds section.
"I came across two Yorkies," Gerlach said.
It was love at first sight, she said, "because they are so little and so cute."
She e-mailed the seller, who responded: "Hi. Thanks for your interest in my babies. I'm giving them out for $175 a piece or $320 for both."
"I sent her … a Western Union for $230. She said I could pay the rest when I got the puppies, which was fine," Gerlach said.
How did she check out the dog dealer, who gave the name Erin Williams?
"She sent me a copy of her driver's license, and it says 'Black River Falls, Wis.,' with her picture and everything," Gerlach said.
"She told me she was a God-fearing woman, and she was a Christian woman and she would never do anything to hurt anybody," Gerlach added.
But within days, Williams e-mailed that these puppies would cost more, claiming "shipping is available for an extra $80 for one or $140 for both."
"Every email after that was, 'I need a $500 deposit for the crates. I need another $750 for customs. They're stuck in an airport in another state,'" Gerlach said.
When Gerlach questioned what was going on, Williams wrote back, "I think I know what to do. I'll just get your money back to you and look for someone else to have the babies."
Gerlach didn't get her money back
"I actually called Wisconsin police," she said.
And she called the NBC 10 Investigators, who wanted to talk to Williams. But the trail led to a sample driver's license on the Wisconsin Department of Motor Vehicle Web site that looked just like the one sent to prove that she was for real -- except she changed the name.
So, everything on the license was fake. Who knows who Gerlach sent her money to, but someone got away with almost $700, Cahn reported.
"I should have known it was all my fault," Gerlach said.
"The scam artists are clever. It's happening all over the Internet," said Sara Lippincott, a representative of PetFinder.com.
The Web site said lots of animal lovers are being ripped off by scams like this. Their staffers try to weed out suspicious ads from their classifieds, but it's tough.
"If they're trying to get you to send a money order all the way across the country, it's just a definite no-no," Lippincott said.
And she said it's a bad sign if your conversation about the animal is only by e-mail.
"Meet them in person. That's got to be the absolute killer to all scams. No scam artist wants to take the time out to meet you in person," Lippincott said.
In the end, Gerlach believes the pictures of the puppies she fell for on the Internet never existed, and she paid a lot more to someone else for two other little dogs.
They're cute, but animal advocates said it's just as easy to fall in love with a shelter dog. They'll steal your heart but not your money, Cahn reported.
Story Here (http://www.nbc10.com/news/15904709/detail.html)
By Lu Ann Cahn
April 16th, 2008
A lot of dog lovers are now shopping for their next pet on the Internet.
But scam artists are shopping there, too, for their next victim.
Lu Ann Cahn and the NBC 10 Investigators show you what happens when puppy love leaves you broke and chasing your tail
The woman Cahn met admits she did everything wrong. She lost a lot of money because she fell in love with some puppies and she got bit.
Those sweet eyes, that puppy nose -- it's easy to fall in love with one of these little guys at a shelter.
Now, some people are finding it's just as easy to fall for their next pet online. Web sites like PetFinder.com let you see pictures of adoptable shelter dogs in your area and across the country.
"I glance on PetFinder all the time," said Kim Gerlach, of Catasaqua.
The Lehigh County woman was willing to pay for something little and purebred. She thought she found it on the site's free classifieds section.
"I came across two Yorkies," Gerlach said.
It was love at first sight, she said, "because they are so little and so cute."
She e-mailed the seller, who responded: "Hi. Thanks for your interest in my babies. I'm giving them out for $175 a piece or $320 for both."
"I sent her … a Western Union for $230. She said I could pay the rest when I got the puppies, which was fine," Gerlach said.
How did she check out the dog dealer, who gave the name Erin Williams?
"She sent me a copy of her driver's license, and it says 'Black River Falls, Wis.,' with her picture and everything," Gerlach said.
"She told me she was a God-fearing woman, and she was a Christian woman and she would never do anything to hurt anybody," Gerlach added.
But within days, Williams e-mailed that these puppies would cost more, claiming "shipping is available for an extra $80 for one or $140 for both."
"Every email after that was, 'I need a $500 deposit for the crates. I need another $750 for customs. They're stuck in an airport in another state,'" Gerlach said.
When Gerlach questioned what was going on, Williams wrote back, "I think I know what to do. I'll just get your money back to you and look for someone else to have the babies."
Gerlach didn't get her money back
"I actually called Wisconsin police," she said.
And she called the NBC 10 Investigators, who wanted to talk to Williams. But the trail led to a sample driver's license on the Wisconsin Department of Motor Vehicle Web site that looked just like the one sent to prove that she was for real -- except she changed the name.
So, everything on the license was fake. Who knows who Gerlach sent her money to, but someone got away with almost $700, Cahn reported.
"I should have known it was all my fault," Gerlach said.
"The scam artists are clever. It's happening all over the Internet," said Sara Lippincott, a representative of PetFinder.com.
The Web site said lots of animal lovers are being ripped off by scams like this. Their staffers try to weed out suspicious ads from their classifieds, but it's tough.
"If they're trying to get you to send a money order all the way across the country, it's just a definite no-no," Lippincott said.
And she said it's a bad sign if your conversation about the animal is only by e-mail.
"Meet them in person. That's got to be the absolute killer to all scams. No scam artist wants to take the time out to meet you in person," Lippincott said.
In the end, Gerlach believes the pictures of the puppies she fell for on the Internet never existed, and she paid a lot more to someone else for two other little dogs.
They're cute, but animal advocates said it's just as easy to fall in love with a shelter dog. They'll steal your heart but not your money, Cahn reported.
Story Here (http://www.nbc10.com/news/15904709/detail.html)