Chatting with a Puppy Scammer

The following is a chat I had with a Puppy Scammer. I came across corgipuppiesbreeders.com when I was asked to investigate it for PetScams.com. Before you read further I should say that when we research scammers website we take every precaution not to be found. This includes hiding our IP behind a proxy so that they do not know which country we are from. Scammers websites can also contain viruses

The website was an obvious scam but while I was creating the report I heard the *ding* of a chat message. It was from the chat window on the scammers window.
I thought that I would try for a little more information. I have cut out a little bit of the chat because I used a tactic to find the scammers IP so that I could find out which country he was actually from. “April” is from Cameroon.

Full Browser ID:Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; Android 8.0.0; SAMSUNG SM-G950F Build/R16NW) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) SamsungBrowser/7.0 Chrome/59.0.3071.125 Mobile Safari/537.36
Location:Cameroon Cameroon

It appears that “April” is using an $800 phone (SAMSUNG SM-G950F)

Armed with an invented story I decided to fish for more information and find out how he would manipulate me. I always stick to the role of being an “almost victim”:

 

 

Chat transcript
My Name: “Clive”
Scammers Name: April Owen
April Owen
Hello, would you like to talk about our products?
Clive
Hi
April Owen
Hello
Clive
I am interested in buying a puppy
where are you based?
April Owen
We are based in the US*, but we ship to a select few countries
 *They will wait until you have first told them where you live so that they can pretend to be from the opposite end of the country
Clive08:31:33 pm
I am in Holland. How much would it cost to ship a puppy from the US?
April Owen08:32:01 pm
Shipping toHolland costs an extra $300 to the price tag of the puppy
Clive08:32:17 pm
ok
April Owen08:32:29 pm
Have you had any previous experience with corgis?*
 *Scammer starts to create an emotional attachment. Who doesn’t want to talk about their pets?
Clive08:33:36 pm
ok… so that is about €243.19
 *very cheap (too good to be true)
April Owen08:33:47 pm
Yes that is right.
Do you have any previous experience with the breed?*08:34:00 pm
*Scammer tries to get me back on script
Clive08:34:57 pm
Yes, I have always had a corgi. My mum used to breed them before she died
 *My mum did not have a corgi, is very much alive with a great sense of humour.
April Owen08:35:30 pm
I am sorry about her passing and it is great that tou have had previous experience with the breed
Also can you let me know where you found our site?
Clive08:35:59 pm
my mum died about 4 years ago.
We took her corgi Rascal in when she died but he passed away over the weekend.08:37:09 pm
April Owen08:37:21 pm
Really sorry about that. Losing a loved one is never easy
Clive08:37:24 pm
My wife wants to buy another one
April Owen08:37:46 pm
Ok. We will be glad to help fill the void his passing has left*
 *Translated into “We will be glad to steal your money”
Clive08:38:06 pm
I assume you wait for 10 weeks so that Duncan is weaned?
April Owen08:38:24 pm
We have other puppies, fully weaned available
But if you chose to wait for Duncan then that will be fine
Yes we do have photos08:39:05 pm
Clive08:39:12 pm
Do yuo have photos? I would like a male
April Owen08:39:27 pm
Can you provide an email I can send to?
Clive08:39:54 pm
I would be happy to wait for Duncan. You havent mentioned on your site how much he costs?
April Owen08:40:10 pm
We sell a pup at $600
Including delivery, it amounts to $90008:41:08 pm
Clive08:41:20 pm
$600?
900 dollars is €729.57
April Owen08:42:24 pm
Yes that is right
Clive08:42:28 pm
Who do you fly with?
April Owen08:42:48 pm
We ship out our puppies with ********************
  *This is a reputable company. Later in the scam they will introduce a different Scam Delivery Company
Clive08:43:08 pm
Can you show me their website?
April Owen08:43:28 pm
********************
They are one of the most reputable in the business08:44:11 pm
Clive08:44:14 pm
and what is your name?
April Owen08:44:23 pm
I am April
Clive08:44:38 pm
April Owen?
April Owen08:44:51 pm
April Owen. My husband and I own rhe kennel
Clive08:46:03 pm
I need to check … this sounds too good to be true… what is your husbands name? do you have a breeders licence?
April Owen08:46:45 pm
Yes ofcourse we do
We won’t have been allowed to set up without one08:47:00 pm
Can I ask a question?
 *changes the subject to deflect my question
Clive08:47:23 pm
I am a bit confused here..
Please do
Sorry, please ask
April Owen08:48:05 pm
Where did you find our site?
 *Ooops, I have been caught. The scammer may not have finished advertising this site yet!
Clive08:48:25 pm
I searched
I have just searched again and I see that you are a scam
wow
https://petscams.com/pet-scam/corgipuppiesbreeders-com/08:49:41 pm
You are literally on a website about pet scams08:50:08 pm
You are sickening
April Owen08:51:00 pm
This is crazy
Have you read the conplaint?
We regularly post photos of our pups online
Clive08:51:32 pm
I am reading it
April Owen08:51:46 pm
Read the reason why before throwing accusations
Pet Scams is a joke
No substantiated reason and they ruin our name08:52:16 pm
 *We are VERY careful to investigate properly. If they were genuine, PetScams.com would be sued and shut down quickly.
Clive08:52:25 pm
your company is a WEEK old
April Owen08:52:45 pm
Our WEBSITE is a week old not company
This is crazy and revolting
 *quick excuse
Clive08:53:33 pm
have you read what is written there?
April Owen08:53:40 pm
I am just reading it now
I had no idea about this
We set up our website litterally a week ago08:54:04 pm
We have been operating through recommendations only and have been encouraging buyers to post our pictures so as to create awareness
 *Another quick excuse
Clive08:55:32 pm
I am stunned
April Owen08:55:37 pm
And when we now use those same photos, they accuse us of being a scam? This is a lawsuit in the making
Clive08:55:52 pm
I am sorry but I am not interested in buying from you
April Owen08:56:03 pm
I understand
Clive08:56:22 pm
I did not realise that you are a cameroon scam
How can you do this to people?
Duration: 28m 6s

Categorized in: