PORTLAND, Ore. -- Crooks have been using puppies in the latest twist on Nigerian money wire scams, according to a warning from the Oregon Attorney General's Office.
Loretta Updegrave of Salem said it happened to her. It all started when she was browsing the classifieds and noticed that someone was selling Yorkshire terriers.
Updegrave traded e-mails with the dog seller and said he seemed legitimate. The person posing as the puppy owner even sent photos of the puppies for sale.
But then he asked her to send $400 to Nigeria.
Updegrave did. And guess what - her money disappeared and she never saw a puppy.
"You know, when you think you can trust somebody and you lose that a... there's people that are out there just waiting to take people's money for every little reason," she said.
State consumer advocates warned never to send money overseas to strangers.
