ORLANDO, Fla. – When Jo and Jerry Hatley‘s tiny 13-year-old dog Abbey passed away back on March 11, they were devastated.
“She’ll by no means be forgotten, she is going to all the time be in our reminiscence,” Jerry advised News 6. “The first two weeks were the worst. It’s something — you can’t describe the feeling.”
The couple wished to fill that void with a brand new puppy and as luck would have it, Jo and Jerry discovered two puppies provided on Facebook by a lady who recognized herself as Abigail Rosen.
The girl despatched a video clip of what gave the impression to be two small white Maltese puppies. There was barking within the background of that video, however Abigail Rosen was by no means seen.
After a collection of textual content messages, they settled on a value of $600 {dollars} for the 2 small white puppies.
Rosen requested for the funds to be wired to her Apple Pay account. That’s when issues appeared off.
Rosen claimed her account by no means acquired the funds, however Jerry Hatley referred to as her bluff.
“Apple Pay went so far as to check it and said the money is in her Apple Pay account,” he advised News 6.
Rosen mentioned, “OK,” and gave them a Miami-area handle to satisfy and choose up the puppies.
When they arrived, a person who answered the door advised them there have been no puppies and that he had by no means heard of Abigail Rosen.
“It’s just heartbreaking to lose your dog and think you found another one only to find out you’ve been scammed,” Jo Hatley advised News 6,.”I don’t suppose that is the one case like this and I don’t need different individuals to be scammed like we had been.”
News 6 ran a facial recognition comparability of the Abigail Rosen photograph, there was no match.
According to the Better Business Bureau, shoppers misplaced $1 million in numerous “puppies for sale” scams in 2023 alone.
The American Kennel Club urges shoppers to concentrate on the next pink flags when searching for a pet on-line:
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No telephone calls: Fraudulent sellers are oftentimes outdoors of the U.S. and could also be hiding their telephone quantity by solely speaking by e-mail.
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Stock pictures: Search for the textual content within the itemizing to see if the vendor copied and pasted it from one other website.
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Sketchy fee: The vendor asks for wiring of money or fee by present playing cards.
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The value is just too good to be true: Research the costs for the breed you might be contemplating forward of time.
According to BBB analysis, almost 10,000 rip-off experiences and complaints have are available in over the past three years about “businesses” promoting puppies and dogs. The FTC estimates that solely about 10% of victims report these crimes, so this quantity might be a lot increased.
If you suppose you might be being focused by a faux canine breeder or individual vendor, e-mail [email protected] or textual content the phrases “make ends meet” alongside along with your contact info to 407-676-7428.
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