The Nigerian Puppy Scam

Suspected 'Puppy Scam' ads pulled from newspaper
Bulldogs ad from Daily Press

Circled is the ad for free bulldogs that appeared in Jan. 4, 2008 Daily Press classified ads. (January 4, 2008)

BY MIKE HOLTZCLAW | 757-928-6479
1:03 PM EST, January 4, 2008

"The Nigerian Puppy Scam," one of the latest email hoaxes aimed at unsuspecting consumers, has hit Hampton Roads.

Several readers contacted the Daily Press and said when they responded to a classified ad offering free bulldog puppies, they received an email response asking for personal information and saying that the dog would have to be sent from West Africa, hinting that the reader would have to pay for the international shipping.

Newspapers, TV reports and online sites have given extensive coverage to the "Nigerian Puppy Scam," a new variation on a common online swindle in which a consumer is convinced to send money overseas for goods or rewards that never arrive.

Web sites such as ripoffreport.com and crime-research.org, which serve as watchdogs for online scams, have written extensively about the "Nigerian Puppy Scam," which can use several different breeds of dog and the names of various African nations. In the most common version of the scam, the person offering the dogs writes with great kindness and gratitude to the prospective customer and asks for the person to pay the shipping charge, usually $200 or more.

The classified ad ran in the Daily Press for four days but was pulled from the paper after readers called to identify it as a likely scam.

Copyright © 2008, Newport News, Va., Daily Press