The "Free Puppy" Scam

Lately there have been ads popping up here and there on the internet, advertising "free puppies" in various purebred breeds. The ones I've seen so far include malteses, yorkies, and bichon frises.

The scammers use free email addresses that aren't easily traced, such as yahoo or hotmail. But they all say the same thing when you write to them inquiring about their offer:

Hello ,
thanks for contacting us for our lovely yorkie puppies for Christmas. i have 3 females and 3 males. They are completely housebroken and very obedient and are willing to do just what you ask them to do.

"OK, Rover, go make me an omelette." Wow, these puppies are unusual! Does this mean they're already trained to lie down, roll over, play dead? Well, let's read on...

They are Potty and Paper trained already. they are updated with their shots. and have been dewormed. they are just 12 weeks old and are presently weighing 1.3 pounds and are expected to weigh 4.9pounds at full growth. they are 1.4inches grown now and will grow to a maximum of .5inches. thier parents weighed 5.1 pounds.

So far, so good. Incidentally, English was obviously not this person's first language, but that can also be said for many kids in our highschools today. And what the heck, we want a puppy, right? So who cares?

we personally raised my puppies and trained them. we raised them alongside little children and other household pets like monkeys and cats. so they are very playful and friendly with kids and other household pets. they do not bark a lot. they are very calm and give good company .

Well, then this is what I've been looking for! It's really damned hard to find puppies that have been raised with monkeys, so I'd have to say this just put him at the top of my list.

They will obviously be a great addition to your family for Christmas i am located in CAMEROON. so we will be shipping from CAMEROON coz we have been doing so successfully. I ship using a direct flight from Cameroon to the u.s which takes just 5hrs maximum.

Ah, there's the kicker. These unusual, well-behaved, pre-trained, monkey-raised puppies are from Cameroon. I should've known there was a catch. Obviously we couldn't raise such quality animals in the U.S.A. Now, here's where it gets really interesting:

I use a plane to fly the puppies and perfect PET-CARE services are given to pets during flight. your puppies will come along with all health records,registered papers,playing toys, and a booklet written by the CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY which teaches you how to bring up your puppies.

Oh thank goodness! We wouldn't want godless puppies, and I've always worried about that. I've often said "What if I buy a new puppy and it turns out that it's Muslim? How will we fit the Muslim faith into our household? I already am swamped with the standard Christian holidays and traditions!" But now I can rest easy, knowing that it's a Christian puppy and I'll even get Christian instructions that come with him!

it also includes their food menu.

Now this has me really intrigued. I can imagine all sorts of things that this Uber Puppy requires: Lobster? Caviar? Dinner at eight?

we are willing to grant to any one who gets our puppy a lifetime guarantee.this will ensure your puppy"s health for atleast 10yrs. all these will be in the crate in which your puppy will be shipped in. this is a special ex-mas offer for thoe who are chritians and can take good care of our puppies.

Note that it's an ex-mas offer. Is that like "anti-Christmas"? And only "chritians" can qualify for these puppies (just in case you hadn't figured out that they're trying for a strong Christian slant in the last couple of paragraphs.) They're really pile-driving their point home. Apparently they're under the mistaken impression that we're truly a Christian nation, when we're an amalgam of many different faiths (or lack thereof).

your puppies will arrive you safely and in good shape. i will like to know also the sex you are interested in. what you will need to get one of our lovely yorkie babies, is to promise me that you will take good care of them as well as love them coz I will never like them to suffer. Then you will have to provide for the shipping fee for your puppy. i will also like to get your detailed contact address as well as closest airport to your location. The shipping and carrier fee costs $175 if you comply with the above then get back to me.

Regards
GOD BLESS YOU

Here we have finally arrived at the heart of the matter. The "free" puppies are really $175, because they're being mailed from Cameroon. And obviously nothing will arrive. If you're lucky, they'll send a stuffed toy.

What worries me is that there are always new scams cropping up. In other countries, there are entire offices devoted to sending out scam emails and figuring out new ways to fleece the American public. They often see it as a patriotic duty: "We're conning the stupid Americans!" It's not only despicable, it's also lucrative because there are always enough people that bite.

This particular scam is new enough that it may initially generate a lot of funds for these scammers before word gets out. I wonder what is next? I'd like to see a scam that advertises a hit-man service for mother-in-laws. It would be very entertaining, and might enrich some fantasy lives.

P.S. If you want to read about a similar scam (most of them seem to come out of Nigeria) then read this funny and interesting story about the Scammer Who Got Scammed.