An Omaha dog owner is warning families to watch out for red flags when buying pets online this holiday season. The owner of Midwest Puppy told KETV that a dozen people have recently been affected by a scam involving his legitimate business address. It all starts with a phone call. “During two high school basketball games, we had four contacts and one of them knocked on the front door. We had a lot of people show up at the house,” said Midwest Puppy owner Kristin Townsend. Townsend and her husband, Brian, run a graffiti breeding business in Omaha’s North End. On that day, however, the callers were asking about German Shepherds, a breed they had never offered. One of the callers was Kentucky resident Sharisse Goodman. When she contacted Townsends, she already suspected a scam was going on, but wanted to clear this up and be sure with Midwest Puppy. “[Brian Townsend]said, ‘Yeah, this is definitely a scam. They have my address on their page.’ And I said, ‘Thank you very much, thank you, you just saved us $600,'” Goodman said . As it turns out, someone posing as a licensed dog breeder used the fake website of Midwest Puppy’s real business address in an apparent scheme. When a potential buyer sees the real breeder’s business listed in that location, the scammer will say they are affiliated with it. Goodman said she even spoke on the phone with the apparent scammer, who grew impatient after Goodman’s bank bounced back the initial payment she wanted to send. “As I continued to ask more questions, he became more agitated and started saying, ‘Okay, is your bank stuff set up, are you ready to send money now?'” Goodman said. Townsend said it was the second time someone had used their address for something like this. There are tons of legitimate breeders and rescues to choose from, you just have to do your research, do your due diligence and be smart and cautious. “If it’s too good to be true, if the price is too low, if you see they’re $1,500 and suddenly this site is $400…and they don’t have a following, the site was created six months ago —these are all red flags,” Townsend said. Townsends said they have contacted law enforcement about the scam. That fake website has been taken down from the internet.
An Omaha dog owner is warning families to watch out for red flags when buying pets online this holiday season.
The owner of Midwest Puppy told KETV that a dozen people have recently been affected by a scam involving his legitimate business address. It all starts with a phone call.
“During two high school basketball games, we had four contacts and one of them knocked on the front door. We had a lot of people show up at the house,” said Midwest Puppy owner Kristin Townsend.
Townsend and her husband, Brian, run a graffiti breeding business in Omaha’s North End. On that day, however, the callers were asking about German Shepherds, a breed they had never offered.
One of the callers was Kentucky resident Sharisse Goodman. When she contacted Townsends, she already suspected a scam was going on, but wanted to clear this up and be sure with Midwest Puppy.
“[Brian Townsend]said, ‘Yeah, this is definitely a scam. They have my address on their page.’ And I said, ‘Thank you very much, thank you, you just saved us $600,'” Goodman said .
It turned out there was an apparent conspiracy by someone posing as a licensed dog breeder, using Midwest Puppy’s real business address on a fake website. When a potential buyer sees the real breeder’s business listed in that location, the scammer will say they are affiliated with it.
Goodman said she even spoke on the phone with the apparent scammer, who grew impatient after Goodman’s bank bounced back the initial payment she wanted to send.
“As I continued to ask more questions, he became more agitated and started saying, ‘Okay, is your bank stuff set up, are you ready to send money now?'” Goodman said.
Townsend said it was the second time someone had used their address for something like this. There are tons of legitimate breeders and rescues to choose from, you just have to do your research, do your due diligence and be smart and cautious.
“If it’s too good to be true, if the price is too low, if you see they’re $1,500 and suddenly this site is $400…and they don’t have a following, the site was created six months ago —these are all red flags,” Townsend said.
Townsends said they have contacted law enforcement about the scam. That fake website has been taken down from the internet.
.