When a Georgia Tech student lost her father suddenly to a heart attack, she thought getting new puppies for her and her mother might help them get through the grieving process.
“My dad, he died suddenly, like, outside of our home. He was a runner and he had a heart attack,” she said.
The student told WSB-TV she searched online for days and finally found a website selling toy poodles.
The student, who asked not to be identified, said she spoke to the seller multiple times before finally agreeing to a price.
The seller lives in El Paso, Texas. The student agreed to wire him $1,000. An online receipt she gave WSB-TV shows proof of her purchase.
She paid the money, but the puppies never arrived.
"I have student loans and all these things like the rest of the world, so what makes you think you have a right to my money just because I want to take care of an animal? It’s really sickening to me," she said about the seller.
On the following day, the shipping company sent her a suspicious email that read, in part, "Between Texas And ga there’s an electrical storm."
“They were telling me it was going to be an extra $922 to ship the dogs," the student said.
She immediately contacted Pet for Pet Airways, but when she didn't get answers, she went back to the seller, who told her in a text that he couldn't talk because he was driving.
We also tried tracking down the seller, but when we went to the website, we were greeted by a message stating the website is no longer working.
The police report identifies the seller as Casey Paul of El Paso, Texas.
To protect yourself from becoming a victim of scams, read the Better Business Bureau's page on puppy scams here.
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