Google sues alleged puppy scammer after tip from AARP

FILE PHOTO: A sign is pictured outside a Google office near the company's headquarters in Mountain View, California, U.S., May 8, 2019. REUTERS/Paresh Dave/File Photo

OAKLAND, Calif. (Reuters) - Alphabet Inc's Google on Monday sued an alleged puppy scammer who used its services to sell fake pets, the first of what the company said would be a growing number of lawsuits targeting apparent misuse by its users.

Elder advocacy group AARP tipped Google to the scam last September following a complaint from a South Carolina resident who had sent $700 in digital gift cards to an online seller for a basset hound puppy that never came, according to Google's lawsuit in U.S. district court in San Jose.