“I and my Husband have now decided to give her out on Adoptioto someone that can give her a good home and take very good care of her. She’s a very loving puppy, she will be a good companion. If you know you can take very good care of her do send me a reply back through my email address below or you can give me a call so we can discuss on phone.”
Besides from the typical spelling errors (reason enough for anyone to become suspicious), the email also lists contact phone numbers in Nigeria, a good indication that we’re most likely dealing with a fraudster.
The twist in the story is that, this time, the scammers aren’t only after the victim’s money (how much could a dog cost, anyway?). Instead, the victim is most-likely to provide scammers with information and would fall victim to identity theft.
"Most of us are probably all too familiar with the scam emails which claim you have inherited millions of dollars, or won the lottery, but this time the scammers are deliberately pulling on the heartstrings of animal lovers," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos. "The criminals are offering the pet puppy in an attempt to gather information from kind-hearted people who jump in to help. If you respond the scammers will try and steal confidential information about you, or sting you for cash. If you fall for a trick like this you’ll be the one ending up in the doghouse."