Linden police are encouraging online shoppers to be vigilant after a victim was scammed of her money after attempting to purchase a pet online.
Linden police spokesperson Constable Takalani Matumba said the victim was at her home when she received an email from a person who was advertising puppies for sale. She wanted to buy one of the puppies and they established an agreement to purchase.
“A sum of money from her bank account was transferred to the dog seller and arrangements with a courier for delivery was made,” said Matumba.
On 22 August, the complainant was asked to transfer a further large sum of money by the seller who claimed it was for courier fees to deliver an animal via a flight.
“The complainant even phoned ahead and spoke to a person who said they have received the animal and explained the shipment procedure to her.”
On 24 August, the seller contacted the victim to tell her an additional R13 000 was needed to be paid for paperwork.
“It was then that the victim became suspicious. She checked the website where the dogs were advertised, and it was nowhere to be found and the number for the courier was unavailable. She then realised that she had been scammed.”
While it was not illegal to sell or purchase pets online, Matumba encouraged vigilance when purchasing any goods online, especially from websites with very little credibility.
She further encouraged those in the community who wished to get a pet, to consider adopting one from the many animal shelters in the city.
