The analysis revealed 17 additional websites also engaging in pet fraud activities for birds and cats, as well as one phone number match for a Facebook page car fraud scheme, and one number for an essential oils scam.
The actor(s) behind this campaign are not sophisticated, and aim to receive non-refundable deposits for fraudulent pet sales and services; payment methods include Bitcoin, PayPal, Zelle, etc.
The actor(s) have been active since at least November 2018.
Threat actor(s) engaging in fraudulent pet-selling activities appear to have increased their recent efforts as the Holiday Season continues. The actors are scamming victims into believing that birds, cats, and dogs are available for purchase.
The COVID-19 pandemic has increased pet purchases as stay-at-home policies and remote work makes people seek companionship from their animal friends, a condition that may amplify the bad actors’ ability to run a more successful scam. Furthermore, these scams focus on purebred dogs, which again are increasingly difficult to find.
The fraud scheme works as shown in Figure 1 below.
Figure 1 - Fraud Chain
In early December 2020, Anomali Threat Research discovered a suspicious website (darlinggermanshepherds[.]com) purporting to be selling German Shepherd puppies, shown in Figure 2 below. The website is designed with a modicum of skill where actors took images and text from open sources (Facebook, legitimate websites, Wikipedia) to make their site appear more authentic.
Figure 2 - darlinggermanshepherds[.]com Homepage
Anomali Threat Research analyzed the website and was able to find 17 additional websites engaging in pet fraud. The websites all share similar and som ..
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