Be Careful Out There

You may be familiar with the various versions of the Nigerian Scam, where unscrupulous folks extort money from victims by requesting a small deposit of money to secure a larger payoff, claiming a lottery win, a will bequest, double invoice or other tactic. Within my high-tech circle of friends, it's always an interesting "badge of honor" to be able to say you've received one of these requests.

Now the scam has morphed. Instead of a Nigerian-linked story about money just waiting for you, the story is about finding a home for a puppy named Timi. Timi's owners don't want money themselves, they really just want to make sure he's in a good home, but they ask for support on vaccinations and other "incidentals" - requesting you deposit money to cover these charges before Timi goes to his new home.

As the article states, this scam preys on those who make themselves vulnerable in their love of pets. And because the email address is real, the message is bypassing the general spam filters and arriving in unsuspecting pet lovers email boxes.

There's a warning that this sort of scam will continue to expand into other areas that strike a chord in our generous souls. Do not let yourself fall prey - take the time to do the necessary research on anyone and any organization requesting your hard earned dollars... there are so many great things we can do for animal welfare via legitimate avenues, and they sorely need our support.

Today's picture is of Tex, who is available for adoption at the Peninsula Humane Society.

Happy Thursday...