I never ever thought I would say this, but my dog’s identity has been stolen. It was brought to my attention yesterday that someone has been using photos of my dog, Corduroy, as well as photos of myself and family, to scam people out of money. They claim that the people in the photos are them when they are actually myself, my fiancé and my two dogs, Paddington and Corduroy. The scammers stole my photos of Corduroy from my flickr website.
I have heard about this scam before. They post an ad on somewhere like UsedOttawa, Kijiji or Ebay, presumably with a photo (in this case, of Corduroy). You answer the ad and request more info to which you get a response with more photos (of Corduroy and us this time) and a speech about how they are on a religious mission to another country and that they need your full address and information along with money so that they can “ship the pupppy” to you. This is all a complete lie so that they can steal YOUR identity and money.
This scam is well documented online and if you have received ANY version of this scam, contact PhoneBusters straight away. I called my local police station who referred me to them. PhoneBusters is a team made up of the OPP and the RCMP committed to investigating internet related fraud. I have opened a case against these people and hopefully at least something can be done to stop them. Who knows how long they have been using my photos…
It is so difficult nowadays with the internet being as it is. It is easy to take someone’s photos and use them as your own. But on the other hand, I don’t want the internet privacy laws to get stricter either because that would bring a WHOLE new set of problems to the table.
The solution for now is to be proactive – to recognize a scam when you see one and contact the proper channels. We must remain educated and by all means, look into adopting a dog from your local shelter!
Liz Bradley is a dog lover who lives in Ottawa, Ontario with her husband,