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Rob Dempster
Protea Gardens (PG) Howick (uMngeni) PG Blog Molly The Puppy Scam! AKA Welcome to the Internet! The World Wide WEB we are weaving! Best viewed using a PC/Laptop |
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After I had seen the photographs included in my previous blog paying tribute to Murray, I was left struck by the sense of bonding between Murray and Fergus that most of the photographs demonstrated. I wanted to experience more of that, and now that I was retired, I would have more time to do exactly that. So, I wanted another puppy, one to bond with Fergus.
Fergus had come from a farm in the Willowmore district of the Eastern Cape. It was all done via the WWW, the Cell Phone, and a flight from George to Durban. So when I thought I had now found a suitable puppy in Lamberts Bay, a small village on the West Coast of the Western Cape, I was not deterred. More of the same with a slightly longer flight.
Well that did not happen. We got scammed, despite several signs that we should be cautious, and Edith' previous experiences with similar efforts. So here is how it happened:
- I contacted the seller (a she) who got back to me expressing several concerns. The puppies had already spent eight weeks with them (husband and kids), had been house broken and were very much part of the family. She expressed at length her concerns about our home and the suitability of us, and our surroundings. Would these elements measure up?
- Edith was concerned and wanted to speak to the owner/breeder. The first call failed. Poor signal. She was going into town and would try from there. Next call and one other attempt failed. Poor signal again and inaudible speech. That should have been a SIGNAL.
- I used Google Maps and Google earth to try and find them using the supplied street address. Initially I struggled to get these applications to reveal the street. When I did succeed, the street did not show a home/residence with the number she had supplied. The two images either side of Molly, should have shouted, "Whoa!", but given the problems with the apps, I let it slide.
- An email followed extolling her God-fearing disposition and directly accusing us of doubting her integrity. It was a bit over the top and should have been another signal.
- Edith paid and cleared the payment. Another red flag. That was it. Since then we have dropped several pins and have heard all of them hit the ground.
Another lesson learned the hard way. When you are doing business, leave your emotions at the door. Think!, and make sure the questions you pose are answered satisfactorily before you proceed. IF they are not, step back.
Finally I have to say that this type of incident, and all the other under-handed stuff being transacted is killing the WWW as we know it. A new model that seamlessly authenticates entities and secures communication for ordinary users has to be found, developed, and deployed.
A short decription of the the larger pop-up image associated with a thumbnail, pops up when the mouse is over the thumbnail. To view a larger image, click on a thumb-nail. Click anywhere within the browser context in order to remove it.
Starred thumbnails have an accompanying comment that pops up and remains up, while the mouse pointer is over the thumb-nail.
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If you have any comments, corrections, suggestions or plain criticism, I would appreciate it if you would communicate the same to me.
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[email protected] | www.robdempster.com |
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