My parents are both in their early 50s, recently lost their beloved English Bulldog, and have been trying to purchase another dog. I've warned them about potential scams on the internet, and how to avoid being scammed, but they just don't get it.
First scam was a few hundred miles from here. Scammer sent them several pictures of the puppy they wanted. My parents informed me about it. I told them if they haven't physically seen and touched the puppy, it's a scam. They sulked and said they'd keep looking.
They paid for the dog the next day with Venmo and never heard from the scammer again.
The second time this happened, they didn't tell me. I just found out.
2 days ago they informed me they had found another bulldog 7 hours away, and the "seller" came recommended from other people in the group. They agreed to meet where the dog was on a certain day. That day came, suddenly the seller said they had a family emergency, they needed the money right away and they'd ship the dog the next day. I immediately told them that this is a HUGE red flag, it's 100% a scam, and DO NOT send the seller money under any circumstances. They then informed me they already paid for the puppy.
I asked them how they paid, if it was PayPal goods and services, or something else. They informed me that this time it was Cashapp. I told them that they 100% just got scammed, they were never going to see their puppy or their money again, and to stop buying stuff online. They got mad at me and left.
Fast forward to today and they told me that it was a scam, they've filed a police report, and contacted their credit union for help.
What can I do to stop them from doing this again? Each time this has happened it's been in the $3,000 USD range, and they just don't seem to learn.
Submitted March 29, 2021 at 04:45PM by sHoRtBuSseR https://ift.tt/3u613Rr
