Letters

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE, December 2008:

 

Letters

 

Scams

 

Concerning " Scams target adoptors &

humane societies, " in the October 2008 edition

of ANIMAL PEOPLE, the Soi Dog Foundation was

recently scammed out of over $1,400 through one

of the schemes you mentioned, " in which a

scammer pretends to be a veterinarian who is

going back to university, relocating, or

retiring, and offers to donate veterinary

equipment to a humane society that will cover the

transportation. "

We were introduced to the scammer by a

bona fide British charity, Wetnose Animal Aid,

who have donated to the Soi Dog Foundation in the

past, and were elaborately duped themselves.

Wetnose told me that they had been offered a

truck from a donor in Thailand who ran a clinic

there, but was returning to Britain. The

inference, I understood, was that the donor was

personally known to Wetnose.

If I would arrange the shipping, Wetnose

would give the vehicle to us. There was also an

ultrasound machine available.

When I told Wetnose that of course we

would be happy to have the vehicle, then they

wrote back to say that the van had now been given

away, but the ultrasound machine might still be

available, and the donor would contact me

directly. The donor claimed to have the

ultrasound and a portable autoclave in the

Philippines, providing all specifications for

the equipment, which could be sent to us if we

covered the shipping costs. We later found

exposés of this scheme online at

<www.jamesmaurer.com/veterinary-tools.asp> and

<www.project-honeypot.org/ip_58.64.60.38>.

Clearly from the honeypot report and

other links I have followed up on, this scammer

is targeting animal charities in different ways,

and under different names.

--John Dalley

Soi Dog Foundation,

c/o 57/61 Laguna Golf Villas

Moo 4, Srisoonthorn Road,

Choengthale,

Phuket 83110, Thailand

<dalleyj

<www.soidogfoundation.org>

 

 

Editor's note:

 

John Dalley has investigative background,

and probably would not have been clipped if the

scam offer had not been forwarded by a legitimate

animal charity that he trusted. Wetnose Animal

Aid director Andrea Gamby-Boulger furnished a

copy of the original e-mail that fooled her,

from a " Lucy Leigh, " just one of many names of

alleged veterinarians that have been used with

this scheme. " I looked at her web site and read

up about her and asked her why was she giving up

her van, " wrote Gamby-Boulger. " No way in a

million years did I think this was a scam! I do

get scams that come in and normally you can check

them out and deal with them. This is obviously a

very clever one. We first offered the van to a

couple in the U.K. who rescue dogs in Greece.

They only turned it down because the engine was

too big and would be to expensive to fuel, but

they didn't suspect a scam either. I still can't

believe it! "

 

 

 

--

Merritt Clifton

Editor, ANIMAL PEOPLE

P.O. Box 960

Clinton, WA 98236

 

Telephone: 360-579-2505

Fax: 360-579-2575

E-mail: anmlpepl

Web: www.animalpeoplenews.org

 

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