WINSTED — Scam artists advertising in newspapers across the country hit Winsted’s hometown paper last week when a classified ad for free yorkie terriers appeared in The Winsted Journal.
The ad was a scam, run by con artists from Africa. Two yorkie puppies are advertised for adoption, free to a good home. Upon sending an e-mail to the address provided in the ad, the respondent is asked for personal information and given a story that two puppies, Simy and Tiny, are in Africa with the Williamses, an American missionary family. The weather in Africa is not bearable for the puppies, who must come home. The respondent is asked to pay for half of the shipping cost, which amounts to more than $400.
“This ad should never have appeared in our newspapers, and we apologize to our readers for allowing this one to get by us,†said Janet Manko, publisher of The Winsted Journal and its sister papers, The Lakeville Journal and The Millerton News. “We hope our readers recognized the clear signals of a scam that eluded us.â€
For further information on scams such as this one or to find listings of companies that have been reported for fraud, go to ripoffreport.com, fraudwatchers.org or hotscams.com.
