Man tricked people into buying ‘adorable’ puppies that didn’t exist, Google says in suit
Google is suing a man accused of running an online puppy scam that pretended to sell pets that didn’t exist.
The tech giant filed a lawsuit against Nche Noel Ntse, of Cameroon, on April 11 for orchestrating a “puppy fraud scheme” to defraud people during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a copy of the complaint obtained by Gizmodo.
Ntse is accused of creating fraudulent websites that listed basset hound puppies for sale with photos of the alleged animals, including testimonials from fake buyers, according to a news release from Google.
The scam often targeted older adults, the release states.
In the scheme, Ntse used Google’s services like Gmail and Google Voice to communicate with prospective customers and request money from them — all of which was in violation of the terms of service, the complaint states.
An attorney for Ntse was not listed in the complaint. McClatchy News reached out to Ntse for a comment, but he did not immediately respond. Google also did not respond to a request for comment.
In one instance of the scam, a man from South Carolina tried to buy a puppy from a website connected to Ntse, according to the complaint listed by iTech Post.
The buyer was asked to send $700 in gift cards to an email associated with the basset hound website — then he was asked to send another $1,500 to have the pet delivered, the complaint shows
AARP learned of the scam through its Fraud Watch Network and notified Google, which helped Google discover a connection between Ntse and multiple bogus websites that offered “adorable” puppies, the complaint states.
A total amount of money lost in the scheme was not listed in court documents.
Pet scams aren’t uncommon, and they have been on the rise during the pandemic as more people have sought to adopt animals, according to the Better Business Bureau.
In fact, an estimated 35% of online shopping scams are pet schemes, Google said in the release.
How to spot and avoid a pet scam
Google provided some tips to avoid falling for online pet scams.
First, Google encouraged meeting with the owner in person or by video call to see the animal before buying it.
The company also said to avoid using unverifiable payments, including gift cards, prepaid debit cards or wiring money. Researching the typical cost of the animal is also important, Google said.
Google also recommended reverse searching an image of an animal to see if the photo is being used somewhere else.
When using Google Chrome, you can “place the cursor over the photo and right click, then choose the option ‘Search Google for image.’”
Lastly, Google advised pet buyers to research the seller online and ask for their company name, number and street address to search for a match online.
This story was originally published April 13, 2022 at 4:22 PM with the headline "Man tricked people into buying ‘adorable’ puppies that didn’t exist, Google says in suit."
