Scam lures hopeful puppy owners in Northville

NORTHVILLE, Mich. – Ashely Jolagh and her boyfriend were looking for a Doberman Pinscher.

"My boyfriend and I were looking for a dog. We are both in apartments right now. We are finally in a place where we bought house and we can buy a puppy," she said.

She found an ad for a Doberman in Jackson, Mich. on the classified ad website oodle.com.

"I contacted them. They contacted me back via email and text message. They claim to only be able to text. They claim to not be able to talk on the phone directly, probably should have clued me in," said Jolagh.

She says they requested a payment of $150 -- that was to cover the cost of shipping the dog. The dog was not in in Jackson, it was in Maryland.

"Right after I sent the payment was when I knew it wasn't real because they delayed response. It just didn't make sense," said Jolagh.

She was told by the shipping company that she would have to pay more money to get the dog. This time it was for the dog's life insurance. The cost: $850.

Jolagh didn't send the money and went to police.

Oodle encourages buyers to meet the seller and pet in person, not to wire money and only pay for shipping if you know the seller.

Jolagh never thought she would be a victim of the scam. Now she wants to stop you from becoming one, too.

"I know there were multiple ads throughout the area by this same person. I don't want other people to become victim of this scam as well," she said.