Longwood resident falls victim to puppy scam on Facebook | #datingscams | #lovescams | #facebookscams

A Longwood mother who was looking to purchase a puppy for her daughter for Christmas said she fell victim to an ongoing scam on Facebook.

This past November, Liz Roman said she was looking to add a dog to her home and fell in love with Yorkie puppies for sale on Facebook.

“When I saw it being advertised, I thought there was no better time and place. It’s Christmas. That will be great time for all of us,” she said.

The seller instructed Roman to send the $100 payment through Zelle. She also asked for a copy of Roman’s license, which Roman believed was being used for vet paperwork.

After waiting for confirmation that she said never came, she noticed that she was locked out of her Facebook account and someone was using her identity to run the same scam.

One day later, a man showed up at her door to pick up a Yorkie puppy.

Roman said that since November, about three to four people have come to her home asking to receive their puppies, and even more family and friends have been contacted by her stolen account.

She also received texts from strangers asking about their dogs.

Similar scams were reported recently in New Jersey and Long Island where random people would show up to the victim’s homes looking for dogs that were not there.

While Roman was successful in getting her money back, she says the experience has been terrible and cautioned people from making purchases through Facebook.

“Don’t buy anything off of Facebook, you know. It may cost you a little more money but you’ll have peace of mind knowing that you weren’t scammed. Nothing that cheap comes that easy. That’s how I see it,” Roman warned.