There is a post in a group on Facebook in which an 11-week-old Australian Shepherd puppy is being given away.

Screenshot Facebook post
Screenshot Facebook post

“Urgent give away
His name is Smoky, an adorable 11 week old Australian Shepherd puppy who can be given away for good care.
It belonged to my mother, who passed away a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, the situation I'm in right now doesn't allow me to take care of him. Reason why I'm looking for a new family who will take care of the little baby. I really need your help because thanks to your sharing Smoky will be happy. Thank you for sharing as much as possible so I can find him a new family
Thank you very much”

Post in plain text (sic!)

However, there is no emergency situation behind this call, but rather:

Beware, advance payment fraud!

Such posts are spread by fake profiles. The profiles themselves have usually only existed for a short time and there is hardly any information about the alleged person to be found in them. The stories are similar every time: someone has died or is in the hospital, so the puppies have to be given away urgently - without exception, puppies, which are usually quite expensive!

The puppies that are supposedly for sale, whose pictures have mostly been stolen from other sites, are always abroad so that no one comes up with the idea of ​​simply picking up the puppy themselves. You can only get in touch via Messenger or WhatsApp. The messages say that an advance payment has to be paid.

We already warned about this type of fraud last year: HERE

We asked around

We wanted to confirm that this “offer” was also a well-known advance payment scam and sent a message to the author of the post expressing our interest in the little Smoky. When he told us that he was in Corsica, we already knew what was next.

Screenshot Facebook Messenger
Screenshot Facebook Messenger

The fact that we had written several times about picking up the puppy ourselves was confirmed on the one hand, but “forgotten” again in the following messages, pointed out a transfer via animal transport, which “would only cost 200 euros” or questioned whether the trip possibly “will be difficult”.

Screenshot Facebook Messenger
Screenshot Facebook Messenger

What was also exciting was that we received more photos and a video, all of which seemed to show the same little Australian Shepherd puppy.
The fraudsters had provided themselves with images in advance in order to be able to feign a certain degree of authenticity. In the video, the puppy was seen playing with water from the garden hose in a garden on a lush green meadow. Short information: Corsica currently has temperatures below 0° Celsius.

We also asked if we could receive a photo of the vaccination certificate in advance: “Okay, I’ll send it to you now” – unfortunately it never came.

March 2022 in France

“Signal Arnaques” website warns of a scam involving alleged puppy sales. A screenshot is also shown here where we recognize “Smoky”:

Screenshot Facebook from March 2022
Screenshot Facebook from March 2022

Here, little Smoky is a girl:

“I am giving away my little Australian Shepherd dog, which belonged to my wife, who died in a car accident a month ago, in exchange for good care. Because of my work and my daughter, who is in the hospital because she suffered a traumatic brain injury in the accident, I am unable to care for her and give her the love she deserves. Please help me find a new family for her by sharing as much as you can, even if you are not interested.”

There is also a warning here that this is a scam. The text was copied from other scams that had previously been circulating and posted by a fake profile on Facebook. Vouchers are required to pay for the alleged transfer of the puppy.

How do you recognize advance payment fraud?

  • Relatively new Facebook profiles with little information and/or posts
  • Puppies are offered very cheaply or for free, well below the normal price
  • The puppies are always abroad, for example Corsica or Montenegro
  • Advance payment is usually made via Western Union accounts or voucher cards. Other payment options, for example via PayPal, are not possible
  • Video calls in which the puppy is shown to you are never possible; the question of a call is ignored.

Conclusion

If you transfer the money here or get voucher cards in the required amount, you are free of this. You never see the puppy, the money is gone.

Rule of thumb for the Internet, which also applies to trading puppies: If something is free or much cheaper than usual, then stay away from it! It is best to report such profiles both to Facebook directly and to the group admins.


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Notes:
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