In December, I’ve decided to purchase an English Bulldog puppy. I searched various internet pet sites that had puppies for sale. I visited Puppy Finder, and found an ad that read, English Bulldog puppy, $300. I was rather hesitant but e-mailed the seller for more information. He responded quickly, stating he was in West Africa, working with the motherless children and could not keep the 8-week old puppy. He stated that he only wanted someone to provide a good home and pay for shipping, which would be 300 dollars. He asked for a number to reach me so that he could discuss the puppy that he loved very much and give me more details. I gave him a phone number.
He called and we talked about 30 minutes, discussing the dog, my home, as he was very worried about where the puppy would live. He wanted a loving family and home. He said he would find out about shipping and contact me through e-mail. Two days later, I received an e-mail, stating he had a friend at his church that would handle the transporting. He asked I send $300 by western union and gave me all the information his friend had given him. He stated as soon as he heard from me that this was okay, he would take the puppy to his friend. I e-mailed back this was fine and to send me the details about shipping.
He sent all details and said the puppy was with his friend to be placed on Delta airlines, as soon as I wired the money. I wired $300 to the person, and then when I arrived home, my phone was ringing, it was him. He asked if the money was sent and stated he would e-mail me with flight information.
The next morning I received an e-mail, ASAP Puppy. The e-mail stated that he was at the airport and could not ship the puppy, until it was registered in my name and needed $600. He stated he would “help” me out and pay half!
I stated I would not pay anymore money to him. After nine or ten e-mails back and forth between us. Him stating, he was at the airport staying with the “poor puppy” so she would not be alone. He had not eaten or slept in days, he was a stranger in Africa and did not know their laws and on and on with sob stories. I e-mail him to return the money. I did not hear from him again.
Two weeks later, I inquire to another seller. She responds she has no puppies at this time, but a close friend of hers had two puppies. He was in Africa, working with motherless children and could not keep the dogs. She sent me his e-mail address, guess what same person! I replied this friend of hers was running a scam. Never heard from her again, either!
** Disclaimer: This post was written by a guest author. The information contained in this article should not be taken as a fact, but only as an indicator. The story represents the authors individual experience with the subject in question. As such it can be true or misrepresented and in some cases even purely fictional in an attempt to harm the company or individual in question. You are advised to use your own judgment to realize the truth behind the story.
February 5th, 2009 at 8:26 am
I was looking for a Valentine’s gift, a English Bulldog puppy. I went to http://www.puppyfind.com/ I saw a few I liked. I emailed them and all were sold. But one lady sent me this:
Briana Rocha (brianarocha67@yahoo.com)
The puppy advertised has been bought by one Mrs Dana and the pup is doing quite well with her and her family according to her recent update me about the pup welfare at her home. I want to refer you to one Dr. Zach Hayes He bought two puppies from me as well. He has been transfered to West Africa in continuations to his work as a Doctor. He went there with the two puppies he bought from me. Unfortunately, Africa is not the place for these type of dogs.He contacted me to find a caring parent that will adopt the dogs back to the USA.He had no time for them, also the african weather is so harsh for them according to him and this is really troubling him and his mission in West Africa. Contact Dr. Zach Hayes and tell him I refered you to him. He will be excited if he knows you are from me.
Write Dr. Zach Hayes on his email address Below:
dr.zachhayes@fastermail.com
Get me informed as soon as you adopt the pups from him.
Best Regards
Briana
So I contacted him he was happy to hear from me. He said he only wanted $3oo for them each. After a series of emails and phone calls(234-802-8521895, 270-000-00000, and private). This is what he sent:
Hello,
Thanks for the interest in my pups and i’m happy to hear that Briana directed you to me. I need an urgent home for the pups because i can’t take good care of them do to nature of my work.. I am a Doctor and can’t risk my job for the pups, and i have to send the pups to another home to care for them.I am looking for good and comfortbale home where they will be furnished with lots of love. The pups are ready for any good home and i have already packaged their kits. The pups are male and female Bulldog puppies 11 wks old. They are AKC Reg,vet-checked and currently on their shots and wormings. The asking price for both pups is $600 one $300 including shipping for pups.
The issue for me, i’m concern on the pups health, i want to make sure that i ship them to a good an d comfortable home where they will be happy all the days of their life and i hope you are going to promise me that home..
Thank you very much for the mail.
Yes, the puppies are brother and sister and the love playing with children. I called your number you did not pick my call. i will made arrangement to have the pups ship to your home address on a nextday delivery.
The pups will be ship immediate your payment is confirm. You will have to visit any Western Union Store around you and send the money through Western Union. Below is my information to send the money through Western Union.
Receiver’s Name: ZACH HAYES
Address: 12 Allen Avenue
City: Ikeja
State: Lagos
Country: Nigeria
Zip Code: 23401
Text Question: COMFORTABLE
Text Answer: HOME
Once you have gotten the Western Union done you will be sending me the Western Union money transfer control number which is 10 digit which is (MTCN) for confirmation. I will be awaiting your response with the mtcn and sender’s information Asap.
I will be awaiting your reply as soon as possible.
God bless you
Dr. Zach Haye
I was very uneasy about the situation! I needed some proof. I asked for the airline he was using and comformation! He gave it to me:
Thanks for your much reply…
The shipment has been pickup and it was on hold because the shipment fee not yet paid,so kindly send the money right now ,so that they will be no delay in delivery of the puuppies
Tracking Number : 5620183729*****
Website : http://www.cdsworldonline..com
I look forward to read from you soonest
Dr. Zach Hayes
I checked it out and it seemed to be true. So I sent $300 to him. Half to send half on delivery. Then he sends me this:
Good Morning,
Everything is set for the pups to leave but, a small problem occurred at the airport. The custom said the babies will have to go through the Custom to obtain the papers before they can release the pups for shippment.The babies still at the airport ready to leave but the custom will not allow that until the papers are obtained. I pleaded so hard for them to see reason with me. I decided to speak with the custom manager on how to finalize the issue so as to get the babies going Asap. and was told that the papers will cost $560 for the pups. I really could not believe my eyes because we never budgeted for that. I have tried all I could do to raise the money and was able to raise only $200.
I want you to please send the balance of $360 so that the babies can leave today because I don’t want any further delay in the shipment am getting worried that the babies are alone at the airport. I want you to see what you can do to send the balance of the money so I can head back to the airport to obtain the papers. I will not attend to hospital service just to make sure that the babies leaves today. I am still on my computer waiting for your immediate responce.
Thanks and God bless you.
Dr. Zach Hayes
I wanted to talk to the airline and pay them in person! This is the information he sent:
The total money is $360 but i don’t no if you have all the $360 for now but if you don’t that. You can send $300 then i will find the rest. Below is the custom information to send the money.
Receiver’s Name: LOIS GOSS
Address: 101 Airport Road
City: Ikeja
State: Lagos
Country: Nigeria
Zip Code: 23401
You can call them on this number +234 8028521895. i will want you to go ahead and send the money now and get back to me with the payment confirmation number so i can forward the details to them.
Looking forward to hear from you.
Dr. Zach Hayes
I would not send him any more money! Please learn from my mistakes! They will go for the long haul to get what they can out of you!
I also recieved this email from someone on puppyfind.com:
Thelma Bowen (revthelma@live.com)
Hello
I am Rev.Thelma . I was directed to you from the breeder of my puppies that you are interested in them. I really appreciate and God bless you for your interest. I got my puppies from the breeder while i was in the state. But i got transferred to west Africa on a missionary work of Almighty God. I have been praying to my living GOD to get a caring home for my wonderful puppies and i strongly believe you are my answered prayer. I also give thanks to the breeder that directed me to you. They are full breed. They are 2 months old and akc registered, Vet check, health certificate and health guarantee. All their shots are up to date. I got transfered to west Africa recently and could not take care of the babies anymore. I want a great home for them because they are my real babies. They are 100% healthy and i don’t want anything to happen to them. That is why i want to get them out soon. The weather here is not conducive for them. I will be very happy if you will be one to take them as your babies. I have male and his name is Andy while the female name is Kate, they are both very good with kids and other animals very well and love to play a lot this is one of their many character, I never wanted to sell them but the weather here in West Africa is not helping matter at all. If you are interested kindly get back to me asap so that the babies can be on their way to their new home as soon as their shipping arrangement is concluded! They will be giving to you free. You will only pay for their shipping fee which is $400 each so the two is $800. See their picture on attachment.
Get back to me soon and let me know if you are interested also with your phone number so that i can call you.
Thank you and GOD bless you.
February 10th, 2009 at 9:06 pm
REVEREND THELMA BOWEN IS A SCAM HERE ARE “HER” EMAILS:
revthelma@live.com
reverenthelma@gmail.com
I continued to reply to her e-mails as if I were interested and I went on to explain how we simply couldn’t pay for any shipping but we would take great care of them send them pictures etc… She hasn’t replied yet for a week.
February 16th, 2009 at 12:16 pm
Yes i to have had the experience of being scammed by a revpetre out of nigeria . i was also told to send 300.00 dollars for delivery . and then guess what a problem with shipping he needed another 350.00 dollars i told him no. he said he needed 200.00 for shipping so i wired it . and yes i have not heard a word since . my familys hearts were scorched by this scam.
thank you Dan
February 16th, 2009 at 12:32 pm
the emails i was dealing with was revpeter@fastmail.com the. address i sent money to was attn. henrey joe isalo lagos nigeria 234-01
February 23rd, 2009 at 9:08 am
i am going thru this scam right now for 2 english bull dogs. it sounded 2 good to be true $900 for 2 akc eng. bulldogs who r in nigeria,west africa, with pastor noble in lagos nigeria. thanks to internet and all of ur postings we have sent no money and suffered no loss but hurt pride. i want to thank all of u for taking ur time to list this on the internet. bottom line is if it sounds too good to be true it probably is. i iniated this scam by looking in dallas morning newspaper classfied for eng. bulldog. there was only email and no phone # for scammer. scammer is still calling our house. thanks again.
April 28th, 2009 at 11:31 pm
I just about let myself get caught up in this scam today by an ad that was placed in the Columbus Dispatch in Columbus, OH. Thankfully I stuck to my gut and did some research and came across this and many other sources. Below is a copy of the emails I received:
“Kathy Piper”
The puppy advertised has been bought by one Mrs Marry Allison and the pup is doing quite well with her and her family according to her recent update me about the pup welfare at her home. I want to refer you to one Rev Lois Goss who was a graduate of Denver Seminary and he works as the Bereavement Manager at Hospice of Metro Denver. He bought two puppies from me as well. He has been transfered to West Africa in continuations to his missionary work. He went there with the two puppies he bought from me.. Unfortunately, Africa is not the place for these type of dogs. He contacted me 2 days ago to find a caring parent that will adopt the dog back to the USA. He had no time for them, also the african weather is so harsh for them according to him and this is really troubling him and his mission in West Africa. Contact Rev Lois Goss and tell him I refered you to him. He will be excited if he knows you are from me.
Write Rev Lois Goss on his email address Below:
rev.loisgoss@yahoo.com
Get me informed as soon as you adopt the pups from him.
Best Regards
Kathy
Here are the ones from the supposed, Rev. Lois Goss
Hello,
I sent the breeder to find a caring parent for my babies. I use to live in the USA before I got a divine call to serve God and humainty here in west africa and this gave me little or no time for my babies. The weather here is also not lenient with my babies. They hardly come outside with me because of the weather. I want to get them adopted back to the USA where they will be sent back to the weather they were acquainted with before. My babies are 3months old, they are AKC registered, current on all shots. health certified. Loves to be cuddled and loves to play. They are home trained. I am asking $800 for my two babies including the shipping fee to the state, and only one for $400 including shipping fee.. You will promise me that you will be sending their pictures to me in every 2months as an update with regards to how they are doing with you. I love them so much but they will be missed. They are my real babies. Please treat them as though they were your babies. Their names are Adam and Eve
I am attaching their pictures for you to view them.
I can’t wait to hear from you
God bless you
Rev Lois Goss Genesis 12:2-3
Lois Goss” <rev.loisgoss@yahoo.com
Yes, The asking price for one puppy is $400 including shipping both is $800. I believe you are God sent to me and my babies because have been looking for a good home for them. Please take good care of them and don’t forget of sending their pictures every 2 months as an update with regards how they are doing with you. I will like to start the shipping arrangement.
I beleive the shipping agent who help me to get pups here will surely deliver the pups to your destination, I will need your name address and nearest airport to your home for the shipping arrangement.
Looking forward to hear from you.
God bless you…..
Rev Lois Goss Genesis 12:2-3
May 5th, 2009 at 8:52 pm
Yes this a scam and come to find out that they’re doing it with more than one breed of dog. So far with my research on the subject this scam has been reported as far back as 2006. I’m sure that it’s been happening for a longer period of time. To those who have been scammed by this remember that their is strength in numbers so find a way to not just post/blog about it but go to the authorities to get your justice. Also a good way to unveil something so sinister as this scam is to go to the media. So that your story can be told and also more people will be saved from going through what you’ve gone through. Email Dateline@NBCUNI.com and tell them your story. There is strength in numbers so the more people reporting this scam to the media would probably encourage the government to do a better job at protecting it’s citizens. I’m currently still engaging in conversations with the Rev. Lois Goss…waiting for the right time to tell him/them how sick they are but until then i’m going to keep playing email tag with him.
Here are some of the names that they’re using to pull off their scams.
Helen Rowe
pastor Collin Desmond
katherine_scholar@yahoo.com
petstravels@yahoo.com
Pastor.Deangelo
Rev. Adewunmi
brendarki@yahoo.com
whitneypetslover@yahoo.com
rev.austin@yahoo.com
pets_travels01@yahoo.com
jenifer moore [jenifer_moore003@yahoo.com]
Rev. Austin
doug richards
Pamela Hayes
Pastor Paul Jackson
Thelma Bowen
May 6th, 2009 at 12:51 pm
talk about staying in character…lol
Thank you for the reply,
I can understand how your husband feel about all what is happen online today but is only Almigthy God who can save us from this unGodly people but am not supprise about it because bible says.. When the world is coming to an end strange things will continue to occur and this is part of it.I want you to realize that you are dealing with man of God, How would i destroy my image just beacuse of amount of dollars it can’t be possible..
I talk to by church member can i receive money through personal check and i was told that i can’t. and i was told that the best way is through western union or money gram. Can you send the money through money gram? if so you can visit any Wal-Mart store around you and send the money via money gram and get back to me with the reference# for confirmation.
Thanks and God bless you.
Rev Lois Goss
Genesis 12:2-3
June 9th, 2009 at 11:44 am
Geeze!! So one night my room mate and I was looking online in searching to buy or adopt a puppy and guess who we ran into?? It’s the English Bulldog scammer. This is what he said:
Hello
The puppy I advertised on the webpage has been adopted by Dr. desmond ray residing at Florida and the puppy is doing quite well with him and his family according to his last comment about the puppy welfare at their resident. I want to refer you to one of my customers who was a graduate of Denver Seminary and he works as the Bereavement Manager at Hospice of Metro Denver. He bought two puppies from me as well. He has been transfered to West Africa in continuations to his missionary work. He went there with the two puppies he adopted from me. Unfortunately, Africa is not the place for these types of dogs.He contacted me few days ago to find a caring parent that will adopt the puppies back to the USA He had no time for them, the african weather is so harsh according to him and this is really troubling him and his mission in West Africa.Contact evangelist michael as soon as you can and tell him I refered you to him. He will be excited if he knows you are directed by me. Below is his email address. revmichael_g@yahoo.com
Unbelievable!!!
June 24th, 2009 at 11:21 am
I love it! This is insane. I received the same email today only my Breeder’s Name is Jack Bower and Pastor Andrew Philip. This add was not on pet finder but on Kijiji. I wanted it to be true! I called a friend whose husband really is a pastor who recently returned from Kenya. He found it quite amusing that someone would take puppies on a missionary trip. I did a little research and this is the 5th site I have found about this scam. That is an aweful lot of Pastors with Bulldogs in West Africa! Best of luck to all of you in finding a real Bulldog. We are still looking too
June 24th, 2009 at 11:28 am
Below is the last email I sent to the “Good Reverend” and the “Breeder” on Kijiji
To : andrewterryphilip@hotmail.com
Cc : jckbowpupps@live.com
Subject : RE: Bulldog Puppies
Date : Wed, Jun 24, 2009 02:25 PM
Dear Andrew;
I was going to play along with this, but now I am bored. I am very insulted that you think I would actually buy this. As I stated, I REALLY do have a friend who is a pastor who does missionary work in Kenya. No one would take a dog on a missionary trip. A bulldog would surely die under those conditions. Shame on you for using God as a tool in your scam. Shame on you for thinking the average American is not 1000 times smarter then you. You are an idiot. Please get a real job and quit trying to scam people.
Megan
July 15th, 2009 at 2:38 pm
Hello all, I am so sorry all of this is happening, it makes me sick! I am a lover of English Bulldogs and we have a few puppies right now and they are advertised in our local newspaper. I recieved an e-mail that is relative to the ones above, but it is a buyer trying to rip off a breeder. SAD! It makes me so mad. My bully babies will only go to good homes with people who have only had background checks because of this person! UGH!!! Anyway his/her name is Lett Kinns, e-mail is lett68@yahoo.com… here is the e-mail.
Hi,
Thanks very much for your email,you have to bear with me as I have hearing problems, will like to you know that the pup is going to be part of my family bcos where i was located before my neighbor’s has a pet so my daughter really loves to play with the pet so that was the reason why i promised to get one so that our family will own our own pet.I am sending you this email is to make final reconfirmation of one male pup as a birthday gift for my daughter,and also to let you know that payment will be,certified USPS (United States Postal Service)or check and also want to alert you on the fact that you will be receiving the (check/money order) this week or next. Regarding the shipping,I have a company that takes care of the pickup of my consignments for me and ship to my destination in anywhere in the U.S.A, you do not worry about shipping,the company will send down a representative to arrange
the sales documentation and the pick up from your end for onward transfer to my destination. you will be receiving an overdraft check, which will cover the money for the pickup ( pickup and shipping to the final destination) as well as the money to be paid to the company that will take care of the pickup and the documentation with you.. So please, as soon as you receive the payment,go and cash it immediately,deduct the money that accrues to you,and send the balance
to the Head Office of the company that handles the shipment via Western union..The check will be in your name to make it easier for you to receive payment, please reconfirm your details one more time.I will give you the details of the company that will be shipping
it as soon as we seal this deal.Once the money is received by the agent,the shipping agent ill contact you immediately to arrange the documentation as well as the pick up immediately….
So in view of the above, here are some of the details I will need
for final issuance of the check or money order to you.
N.B
I will pay you an extra $70 if you reserve this for me.
So in view of the above, here are some of the details I will need for final
issuance of the (check/money order) to you.1) Full Name
(2) Mailing address, no p.o..box please
(3) your direct telephone number
(4) acceptance of my offer
(5) Final price
After which i will give you the details of my
shipper.
once the above information is given you will be issue.
Hope to hear from you immediately
Regards
On Wed, Jul 15, 2009 at 6:29 AM, Lett Kinns wrote:
Hello how are you doing? My name is Lett Kinns. I will like to know if you still have puppies for sale? If so kindly get back to me with the full details final price and the pics..Hope to read from you soon..
Regards
Lett
July 25th, 2009 at 4:24 pm
I’ve yet to hear of dogs for sale from Africa that aren’t scams, much like those crazy emails you receive about a fortune to be split if you send a certain amount of money…It’s a shame that people do this kind of thing but, as a buyer, you have to beware.
August 11th, 2009 at 8:33 am
wow im so glad that I read this site, I have been on puppyfind.com for the past 2 days looking at bulldogs and have emailed about a half dozen adds and have gotten a lot of the same emails that other people that posted here have infact one email I got is exactly the same as some posted earlier, it did seem strange to me that all these people were taking their dogs with them to africa and they all had one male and one female, glad I looked into it further before sending anyone any money.
thanks
August 22nd, 2009 at 11:46 am
I received a call from this Lett Kinns person via a hearing impaired assistance center regarding the rottweiler puppies I have for sale. I gave some information to the person and was asked to email pictures of my puppies and additional info. I shortly received and email from this person and this is what it said…
Hi,
Thanks very much for your email,you have to bear with me as I have hearing problems,i will like to you know that the pup is going to be part of my family bcos where i was located before my neighbor’s has a pet so my daughter really loves to play with the pet so that was the reason why i promised
to get one so that our family will own our own pet.I am sending you this email is to make final reconfirmation of one female pup as a birthday gift for my daughter,and also to let you know that payment will be,certified USPS (United States Postal Service)or check and also want to alert you on the fact that you will be receiving the
(check/money order) this week or next.Regarding the shipping,I have a company that takes care of the pickup of my consignments for me and ship to my destination in anywhere in the U.S.A, you do not worry about shipping,the company will send down a representative to arrange the sales documentation and the pick up from your end for onward transfer to my destination. you will be receiving an overdraft check, which will cover the money for the pickup (pickup and shipping to the final destination) as well as the money to be paid to the company that will take care of the pickup and the documentation with you…. So please, as soon as you receive the payment,go and cash it immediately,deduct the money that accrues to you,and send the balance to the Head Office of the company that handles the shipment via Western union….The check will be in your name to make it easier for you to receive payment, please reconfirm your details one more time.I will give you the details of the company that will be shipping it as soon as we seal this deal.Once the money is received by the agent, the shipping agent will contact you immediately to arrange the documentation as well as the pick up immediately…. So in view of the above, here are some of the details I will need for final issuance of the check or money order to you.N.BI will pay you an extra $70 if you reserve this for me.So in view of the above, here are some of the details I will need for final issuance of the (check/money order) to you..
1) Full Name
(2) Mailing address, no p.o..box please
(3) your direct telephone number
(4) acceptance of my offer
(5) Final price After which i will give you the details of my shipper.once the above information is given you will be issue.Hope to hear from you
immediately Regards
PLEASE BE AWARE OF THIS PERSON. I EMAILED THEM BACK REGARDING QUESTIONS I HAVE AND ABOUT THEM BEING A SCAMMER, AND HAVE YET TO HEAR BACK FROM THEM.
November 8th, 2009 at 11:15 am
I just went though this as well. I emailed several different people about puppy’s a lady emailed me back say she just sold the last 2 and she gave me the pastors email address saying he went to West African.I emailed him back and forth and even talk to him on the phone. I was getting ready to western Union the money to him when another person responded to an email i sent them about a puppy and guess what is was the same email word for word just different names. The guy i had been emailing i sent him another email say i was gong to look around first. Never got another email again. He referred to the puppy’s as his babies. There was two of them. Two for 1000, and one for 500. I even ask about quarantine for the puppy’s sense they were coming from different country. He said sense they came from America they didn’t have to be. Wrong i checked into it. They do for 40days so his doesn’t even know what he is talking about.
November 8th, 2009 at 5:30 pm
I was on kijiji.com looking near the Lansing MI area for an english bulldog pup, I found one posted by Ashley Anderson and e-mailed her, she told me that she had sold the pup but she directed my to “Dr. Shawn Carter” because he had two pups that he couldn’t keep because he had been transferred to a teaching hospital in Nigeria. I got in contact with him and because I didn’t want to split up the dogs I offered to by both. He said it would be $700.00 for both dogs and shipping. What a deal right? NOT. He wanted the money that night Western Union, I told him I would only do a bank wire transfer because it can be traced and he said no. I also tried to get in touch with Ashley Anderson and she will not respond to me. I googled her name and all sorts of english bulldog puppy scams popped up. People recieving sick pups that die or not recieving a pup at all. I really am saddened by this. Just wanted to get the word out so this doesn’t happen to anyone.