CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Online scammers post pictures of puppies for sale, but there aren't any puppies. It's just a trick to get money.
Action 9 investigator Jason Stoogenke followed a scam since last year, and he uncovered a new twist. These scammers, who may be anywhere in the world, are telling customers they live in Charlotte, which creates a whole new element of deceit.
Idlewild Road
In one case, a Las Vegas victim went on Craigslist, saw the puppy she wanted, and says she lost $650. She and the scammer exchanged several emails.
In one of those emails, he gave a long sob story about himself, a pregnant wife and children. He said they just moved to Charlotte, specifically to Idlewild Road area, and couldn't keep the dog. It was likely a detail to make his story more believable.
Stoogenke went to the Idlewild Road address and spoke with the people who lived there.
"We think there's a scammer out there who's been using your address to try to sell people puppies. Did you know that at all?" he asked.
"No. We didn't know about that. We don't have pets," the resident said.
Sardis Road
In the other case, a Fort Lauderdale victim said she lost $200 and that her scammer claimed to live on Sardis Road in southeast Charlotte. Stoogenke went to that address, but the house number the scammer used didn't exist.
Stoogenke confronts scammer
The Las Vegas victim gave Stoogenke the email address she used to communicate with the scammer. So Stoogenke struck up a conversation with him, as a potential buyer. And, just like with that victim, the con artist offered Stoogenke the same puppy and told Stoogenke about his new life on Idlewild Road.
Finally, hoping Stoogenke would wire money, the con artist agreed to give him his phone number. He actually gave two numbers. Both appeared to be North Carolina numbers but were probably "spoofed" to look that way.
"There's no dog, is there? I mean, you made this all up, right?" Stoogenke asked. "You're not in Charlotte, are you?"
The caller, who has a thick accent that made it hard to understand his responses at times, said, "I am in Charlotte."
"I'm a consumer investigator and went to the [Idlewild Road] address and that's not your address," Stoogenke said.
"That's not true," the scammer said.
When Stoogenke pressed him further, the scammer hung up.
It's not clear why the scammers pick Charlotte.
Watch the exchange in the video below:
How to spot the scammer
Stoogenke wants you to be able to spot the scammer he spoke with easily. The scammer seems to use a lot of the same wording no matter who he's dealing with.
Below are two examples of the con artist's full emails so you can recognize his style:
WSOC
