Pet scam

Fur parents be warned: in this country with the highest dog ownership in Asia, con artists are running not only love scams, but also pet scams. I was stupid enough to fall for one.

There were in fact red flags in the confidence game, which I overlooked probably because I was mourning the loss of my 19-year-old dog, and was in a rush to find a replacement. After briefly trying but failing to find anyone I know with a puppy to give away, I decided to go online.

I went through social media photos of puppies for sale, found one that I liked, with a Metro Manila address, and texted the phone number that was provided, inquiring about the dog.

There was a swift reply by Viber (first red flag that I missed), mostly in English. The guy said he wasn’t actually interested in getting money for his puppy, but mainly wanted to make sure the dog would find a nice forever home.

He sent me detailed questions about my home environment, my human companions and how I cared for my other pets. The questions indicated a person knowledgeable about dogs. There were no questions about financial details or personal data that may be used for identity theft, or for a burglary attempt. 

He expressed satisfaction over my answers, and said he would prepare a transfer of ownership. I asked when I could pick up the puppy. He said he recently got a better job that required him to move to Baguio (second red flag). I could meet up with him over the weekend, he said, so I could see the puppy and he could be reassured that his beloved pet would have a good new owner.

When I said I couldn’t, he said he could send the puppy by courier, with him providing the crate for the flight, also for free since he no longer needed it. He put me in touch with the courier company while he prepared the transfer of ownership.

A guy speaking English with a South Asian accent then gave me a call, introducing himself as the pet courier operator and telling me he would be sending me the courier service document shortly.

*      *      *

I had an exchange of phone calls, email, text and Viber messages with this foreigner, who also showed knowledge about dog handling. He said the bill would include the shot needed to keep the puppy asleep during the flight, plus transport to my home.

A document was emailed to me, containing details about the puppy and its owner, my delivery address, the drug to be administered. The total came down to P9,000 (third red flag). The transfer of ownership was emailed to me, signed by the original scammer, which I was nagged to sign ASAP ostensibly so the courier service could be finalized. I signed.

I was told that I could pay by GCash, which I don’t have, so I asked a colleague if I could use his account. I thought if it’s GCash, the destination or account owner could be traced. Also, I trusted the SIM Registration Act. Silly me.

After the P9,000 had been paid, the foreigner told me the crate provided by the owner didn’t meet requirements for air transport of pets. Photos of a rundown crate were sent to me, along with images of the crates that met the required specs. The cheapest was priced at P16,000.

And that was when I realized I had been scammed. I asked for my money back, but of course they refused. The foreigner even called and said I could be charged with pet abandonment, being the new owner of the puppy, if I didn’t proceed with the courier service. I said they were scammers. He said they wouldn’t get rich on P9,000. But they ignored demands to return my money.

They emailed a document supposedly about flight requirements for pet transport. That was when I cut off our communication. They later emailed that I had been charged with pet abandonment.

*      *      *

Being aware of the circuitous process of pursuing a complaint, I thought it wouldn’t be worth the trouble. But just to warn others that there are pet con games, and also to test our laws, I decided to file a complaint for cyber scam.

It’s been another learning experience for me. There’s no anti-cybercrime unit in my part of town. I had to go to the Southern Police District headquarters one Saturday afternoon, where I didn’t see a single member of the Anti-Cybercrime Unit. There were about 20 other complainants ahead of me, nearly all of them women, who said they had been waiting in line for hours.

I emailed a summary of what happened to me to the cybercrime offices of the Department of Justice, the National Bureau of Investigation and Philippine National Police. No reply from the NBI. The DOJ informed me that it is not a law enforcement arm and advised me to go to the PNP. The PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group (ACG) at Camp Crame referred me to its unit in the Manila Police District. So I went to the MPD and filed my complaint. I was asked if I had tried contacting GCash. My younger companion tried, but at a certain point in the process kept running into a wall.

We emailed to the MPD-ACG, as per their instruction, the digital threads that I had with the scammers, plus the screen shots of the GCash transaction. I signed the police report and was told to wait for an update.

This was on Aug. 29. In September when we followed up on the status of the case, I was told to execute an affidavit. I forwarded a draft affidavit to Corporal Sildo of the MPD.

Our office has since moved to Parañaque and it’s now just days before Christmas, and there’s still no progress on my complaint. Reaching out to GCash hasn’t helped either.

A cyber expert who’s a fellow dog lover told me that he had in fact come across complaints on social media involving pets, using confidence schemes similar to what I encountered.

I told myself I would write my story when I gave up trying to catch the scammers. So here it is, in this season when more people might want to buy pets.

I’ve been told that with so many major digital scams to attend to, cybercops simply have no time for “retail” cases like mine.

I’m sure though that retail cases account for the majority of cyber scams. Put together, retail becomes wholesale, and hugely profitable. If the scammers can’t be stopped, it’s a guarantee of more of the same, and impunity.

It’s a scammers’ paradise.