Victim Location 52302
Total money lost $750
Type of a scam Online Purchase
We searched online looking to adopt a female pug as a pet since the breed is somewhat difficult to find and can be very expensive. This website indicated that they had some available. We called the number with no response and later texted asking if the puppy was available. They responded yes and and after some further text messaging, prompted we could pay with zelle and they would ship the puppy the next day by air using a "nanny" service which would hand carry the dog on airline flights. We made the payment, but it required a 3 day wait period for funds to post but they said that they would ship in good faith anyway. We provided our email and they sent the contract which we signed and returned. Upon shipping, we were contacted by the shipping company contacted us by phone and with an email indicating that they needed a deposit for insurance, documents, etc which would be refunded upon successful shipment of the puppy. This second payment was also made with zelle. Many of the details did have us questioning if this was legitimate, but we were hopeful of getting the new puppy. At the time that the puppy was supposed to be making the connecting flight, we received a second email and phone call indicating the dog was quarantined and that we needed to make another payment to allow the dog to get on the next flight. We then realized this was clearly a scam and called them out on it and communication stopped. We have filed a second report for the fake shipping company as well.