Part of the e-mail, which give contact phone numbers in Nigeria, reads:
I and my Husband have now decided to give her out on Adoptioto someone that can give her a good home and take very good care of her. She's a very loving puppy, she will be a good companion. If you know you can take very good care of her do send me a reply back through my e-mail address below or you can give me a call so we can discuss on phone.
"Most of us are probably all too familiar with the scam e-mails which claim you have inherited millions of dollars, or won the lottery, but this time the scammers are deliberately pulling on the heartstrings of animal lovers," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos. "The criminals are offering the pet puppy in an attempt to gather information from kind-hearted people who jump in to help. If you respond the scammers will try and steal confidential information about you, or sting you for cash. If you fall for a trick like this you'll be the one ending up in the doghouse."
These e-mail con-tricks, known as a 419 scam, are named after the relevant section of the Nigerian penal code where many of the scams originated and are unsolicited e-mails where the author typically offers a large amount of money. Once a victim has been drawn in, requests are made from the fraudster for private information which may lead to requests for money, stolen identities, and financial theft.
Other examples of 419 e-mail scams include a message claiming to come from a persecuted widow of the late Nigerian head of state, an associate of the massacred Nepalese royal family, and even an African astronaut stranded on the Mir space station.
