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Metro Detroit woman shares how she was victim in Dachshund puppy scheme
All Deb Reding and her family wanted, was to add a cute and furry friend to their family.
FOX 2 (WJBK) - All Deb Reding and her family wanted, was to add a cute and furry friend to their family.
"I was looking for a Dachshund and I went online and I see this adorable beige-colored Dachshund that looked like one of mine that I had to put down in January," she said. "So I started talking with this woman. Her name was Carol and that she was in Illinois."
Deb reached out to a Facebook group named 'Dachshund Puppies for Rehoming and Adoption' and that’s where the scam began.
"She wanted $200 and I said no, I just got scammed out of $400 from another breeder, and this isn’t happening again," Deb said.
Eventually, Deb said that she and Carol started chatting about the dog via text.
Take a look at one of Carol’s responses to Deb’s uncertainty - she says in part, "You haven’t put me or my family in any harm so why would I want to fraud you of your money."
To which Deb says at some point, "Please forgive me for not trusting you before, I feel awful about that."
The exchange went on:
"'No, no, I’m your friend, I would never do anything to hurt you,'" Deb said, reading 'Carol's' response. "'But I just need $100 and we’ll do the transfer, and I will bring your beautiful puppy right to your door tomorrow.'"
That’s when the bartering began. Carol also known as the scammer, texted to Deb, in part, "I will allow you to pay $300 for the beautiful puppy and you will pay $100 now. Let me get your documents ready."
"I have a $100 Apple gift card and did the same thing," Deb said. "The numbers and scanned it and everything else, and a half-hour later she calls me and says there’s no money on it. And I said 'Oh no, this is not happening again. There was money on it, I’ve got proof.'"
Deb stayed hopeful even after all this, saying she was even willing to meet up in person.
"I will come to you and get the puppy and give you cash," she said.
That never happened. After already losing $100, the scammers tried to get another gift card - Deb never scanned another.
"This was on Sunday, on Monday I had gotten the name of a reputable breeder up in Midland," she said. "No money upfront, money exchanged, dog exchanged."
"We got Roxy and we are very happy."
To spot a puppy scam, there are red flags to be aware of:
- There are no phone calls
- Stock photos are used
- Payment is asked in the form of cards or sketchy means
- The price is too good to be true
According to the American Kennell Club, up to 80 percent of websites offering dogs for sale are nothing more than scams.