A puppy sale scam involving a Cameroonian named Nche Noel has been uncovered by Google. Google accuses Noel of running various non-delivery websites that fool buyers into purchasing puppies that will never reach them.
The websites in question use pictures of puppies to draw in prospective buyers looking to get one. This technique used by Noel scammer may have been inspired by the rise in the need for dogs in the US during the pandemic. However, Google has been able to track down the activities on Noel’s site and will take legal action.
Why is this tech giant, Google’s beeswax?
The actions taken by Noel make are a bother to Google because the tools he uses to scam victims are some services that Google provides. Google Voice, Google Chats, Google Ads and Gmail are some tools he uses to get in touch with victims and woo them into buying dogs that really are not in his possession. The defendant (Noel) is said to operate over three different websites with the same goal of selling fake puppies to people.
One of Noel’s victims was quick to report the case to the AARP, who in turn filed an in-depth report of the puppy scam activities. Google then took up the issue and filed a case against the defendant Nche Noel Ntse.
Part of the suit reads, “Defendant Nche Noel Ntse… runs multiple non-delivery websites that deceive and defraud internet users in the United States. Some of these fraudulent websites purport to sell adorable puppies, and victims are tricked into believing the websites are legitimate because of their alluring photos of purebred puppies… and compelling testimonials from supposedly satisfied customers.”
This action should be a wake-up call to Google to curtail activities that take place on the web. But the ball isn’t only in Google’s court, we too have a role to play. As online scamming activities are on the rise, we all need to protect ourselves against potential scammers and be “web smart.”