No puppy for Christmas: Online pet scams proliferate in the US

The scammers often pattern their sites after legitimate puppy companies, using the same fonts and sometimes even the same pictures and descriptions, but altering the pictures just slightly - by adding a holiday bow or Santa hat at this time of year, for example. — Photo by John Schnobrich on Unsplash

The puppy was supposed to be a Christmas present for her husband, Bryan.

But after Lauren Case, a registered nurse from Warren, Arkansas, plunked down US$850 (RM3,750) via a cash app for a cute teacup Yorkie named Rosy she saw online, she began to get suspicious.