It seems like every single week we have to report another scam in the state of Maine. People just can't leave well enough alone and not try to take money from innocent, unsuspecting people.

Sometimes it involves people impersonating police officers, other times they're phone scams faking public utility calls and, if you're the worst kind of person, you try to scam people out of hard-earned money using precious little puppy dogs.

Taylor Sondgeroth, Unsplash
Taylor Sondgeroth, Unsplash
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According to WGME 13, one Maine police department is warning residents of one such scam.

The news station says that the Sanford Maine Police Department is warning residents of Sanford and beyond to beware of the puppy sale scam.

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Basically what's happening is exactly what it sounds like.

A fake Facebook account is placing photos of puppies online and claiming they're for sale. The unsuspecting victim then messages the seller and asks to hold one of the puppies via deposit.

The victim sends along the hefty deposit, then when it's time to pick up the pup, they drive to the address given only to find there are no pups there.

Andrew Lancaster, unsplash
Andrew Lancaster, unsplash
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These scammers are using real addresses of real people, too. So when the victims arrive to pick up their dog, the poor homeowners have absolutely no idea what in the heck they're talking about.

 

An all-around terrible scam for all involved.

Police in Maine say you shouldn't send money to a seller until you physically *see* the item(s) you wish to buy.

It's one of the only ways currently to prevent falling victim to a terrible scam like this.

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