Online fraud skyrocketed during the pandemic.
for allegedly running an online “puppy fraud scheme,” defrauding vulnerable people, including the elderly, out of thousands of dollars with false promises of purebred puppies.
The complaint, filed Monday, accuses Nche Noel of Cameroon of using a network of fake websites, Google Voice phone numbers, and Gmail accounts to pretend to sell purebred basset hound puppies to people online. In one instance, a victim paid Noel $700 in “electronic gift cards” to purchase a puppy. After sending the gift cards, Noel continued to string along the victim, telling them that the delivery company needed an additional $1,500. According to the complaint, the puppy never arrived.
Beyond using Google’s services to communicate with victims, Google accused Noel of running a Google Ads campaign to promote the fraudulent websites. In the complaint, Google says that the AARP, an elderly issues group, alerted the company about the scam last September. Later, in November, the AARP published a report detailing the puppy fraud scams, writing that criminalsOnline scams skyrocketed during the pandemic as people spent more time on social media. Last April,it had issued over 100 alerts and called for more than 350 companies to remove deceptive claims from the internet.
Google’s lawsuit claims that Noel violated the company’s terms of service in conducting the alleged scam. Google is seeking statutory relief for damages.Subscribe to get the best Verge-approved tech deals of the week.Please confirm your subscription to Verge Deals via the verification email we just sent you.
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