Emelda Pembroke Welsh Corgi

Victim Location 91722

Total money lost $350

Type of a scam Online Purchase

I was searching the internet in hopes of adopting a corgi puppy when I came across this site. I sent in a message to the website requesting more information about the process as well as the price. They got back to me almost immediately via email. The email they used was [email protected] In the email they asked for a few answers to questions about myself and my history with dogs which I thought was pretty standard. They then proceeded to contact me via SMS for information about when I would be sending in my payment. We agreed that I would send half one day ($***) and half the following week. I sent my payment via a Zelle account that was registered to a different email: [email protected] It seemed a little strange but nothing that seemed to bother me too much. After I sent my payment they asked for a screenshot of the transaction that I made via Zelle. I sent it through SMS and they did not receive it. When I said I would send it to the email that was first used to contact me they said no. It was, again, a little odd but I really wanted this puppy so I sent the screenshot again through SMS and they received it. We set a date for my puppy to arrive and then they asked for my shipping information and which airport was closest to me. I was told they were going to send the puppy to me directly. After I sent my first payment I decided to do a little research on the website, something I should have done BEFORE paying. On my research hunt, I came across an article about scam that had the name of the breeder that I was purchasing from. I read the article and all seemed to be similar to my situation with the exception of pricing. For one consumer, it was a $*** fee and for another it was a $*** fee. I decided that I would request a photo of the puppy that I was purchasing along with my name written on a piece of paper next to him. I wanted this photo sent to me along with more information on the puppy’s parents via email and SMS. I also messaged the breeder to make sure that my total payment would not be changing at the time of delivery( i.e crate expenses at airport, flight insurance, etc.). They seemed compliant when I asked for the photo, but annoyed when I asked to make sure the payment total was set. I asked for a photo of the puppy that I was to purchase with my name written on a paper next to him and they never responded to me. I have since come to believe that it was a scam all along since they quickly responded to payment inquiries but not to inquiries regarding the puppy itself.