(Part 1 of 4) Animal adoptions are way up, with many people stuck at home looking for the companionship of pets, and scammers have noticed.
And we take a look at an endangered species that may contain answers to defeating the pandemic.
There you go.an animal adoptions are way up, with many people stuck at home looking for the companionship of pets -- and ÁscammersÁ have noticed.
Á a new better business bureau report on pet scams shows complaints this year have more than ÁdoubledÁ from last year.
Consumer investigative correspondent anna werner is looking into this.
They're something everyone seems to want right now&.pets they can love&.in the case of jeanne dixon of spokane, washington, to help with the loss of her daughter, 19 year old charlene, who died after a knee surgery last year&.
Charlene was gonna change the world.
She was a magnificent, beautiful, loving, kind girl.
One thing her daughter always wanted, she says, was a newfoundland puppy&.and in her grief, dixon says, she decided to get one&..
I sought out a puppy to honor charlene's legacy and let her know how much i loved her so in june, dixon found the website "newfiehome-dot com", advertisin as a newfoundland breeder in tulsa.
She picked out a puppy named ben - who the 'breeder' assured her would be registered and vet-checked& we came to an agreement $950 dollars&.
But after she sent an initial payment she says&.
The breeder's like the money didn't come, the money didn't come.
You can put it in my bank.
She says he told her to take the money to an atm and put it in his account, which she did.
And i came home and waited for a puppy.
But then, the breeder told her via text, she'd have to pay an ÁadditionalÁ 15- hundred dollars for what they called, a "refundabl insurance fee"&.which sh also paid.
Jd- and i'm waiting, waiting, waiting for my puppy& it wasn't until she got another email from the breeder's so-called shipping company, telling her she'd now have to pay another twenty six hundred dollars for a "temperatur regulator crate" and "anti-pressur vaccine", that sh became suspicious&..
Aw- it was at that point you realized this is not right.
Jd-yes.
Right then i realized i'd been scammed.
Kh: scammers are very clever at tapping into the emotion of the person they're trying to scam katherine hutt is with the better business bureau&.
That's one of the things that really makes this so sad.
This is not just a scam where you lose money.
This is a scam where your heart gets broken.
Her group estimates more than three- quarters of the websites that advertise puppies for sale, aren't real& and this online security expert says&... the pandemic has been a windfall.
It's created a perfect storm for puppy scams. he goes by the name 'paul brady'..and runs a website called petscams-dot-com monitoring fake breeders, people he says who typically are operating out of foreign countries such as south africa, singapore and cameroon&.
These scams are running on an industrial scale, it is arranged like an actual gang.
It is easy money if you're in cameroon because the relative payback is very high.
Nearly 4,0000 people filed complaints with the bbb from january thru november&.victims saying they lost $900 dollars&.24- hundred&.47- hundred&even 62- hundred dollars&to pet scammers&.
They will keep going until you decide to stop paying money.
Jeanne dixon did stop - but only after losing over 24-hundred dollars and the puppy she thought would help with her grief over losing her daughter&& i blame myself because it was a stupid thing to do.
To believe that i could send money to some anonymous person and get some comfort out of that.
That was dumb.
Werner outcue: we tried to contact newfie- home dot-com and the shipping company, but no one responded.
The newfie-home site is now down.
Anna werner, cbs news, berkeley, california.
In the series "ey on earth," thi morning we're looking at a little- known african animal that's been around for millennia, and may hold answers about how we beat the corona- virus.
The pangolin is an endangered species, prized for its unique scales that are used in traditional chinese medicine.
They have been hunted to the verge of extinction.
Debora patta shows us the frontline fight in south africa to save this fascinating creature.
Cute pangolins it's millions of years old, solitary, usually nocturnal and completely harmless.
But here in africa, hundreds of thousands are poached every year ..
Almost to extinction : 'if you take rhino, elephant ivory, perlemoen, tiger bone, lion bone, combine it altogether ... multiplied by a hundred, pangolins still exceed that.'
Pangolins are coveted for their scales which are used in dozens of traditional chinese medecines, under the false belief they have healing powers they have no natural enemies in the wild - their only predator - humans .... : 'switch off your car, get out of the vehicle' conservationist ray jansen works with police as they move in on a gang of poachers ... : 'get on the ground now... on the ground now ' ... caught red handed.
: 'looks strong, looks like a large male...'
They thought jansen was a wildlife trafficker who wanted to buy their pangolin.
Instead the six men were booked into a nearby police station.
: 'you can pass&' they face up to ten years in jail for illegally possessing an endangered animal.
The pangolin - optimistically named 'fortunate' - was rushed to the wildlife hospital where veterinarian karin lourens and her team tend to his injuries.
But she's doubtful he can be saved ... : 'hey buddy ...'
Despite years of medical training - she feels helpless.
: 'the suffering that he went through just for some stupid scale... it's nothing.
There's no medicinal value.
The animals are sold for around ten thousand dollars on the black market.
Jansen's aim is to save as many as he can by going undercover as a buyer.
Once poachers have sent him proof of life - he lures them to meetings where the police are waiting, but very few pangolins survive the trauma of the ordeal ... for those that do make it - there is a special haven... ... 250 miles away at the phinda private game reserve - a handful of rescued pangolins have been released into the wild - they are constantly monitored with tracking devices.
Head ranger simon naylor quickly realized something was wrong with this pangolin rescued over eight months ago.
: 'we noticed straight away that he was dragging his tail' the minor injury will be treated by a vet the next day.
Pangolins were initially identified as one of the prime suspects in passing on the coronavirus to humans - but their unique immune system has evolved over millions of years and could also contain answers to defeating the pandemic.
Scientists in vienna have been studying why the pangolin is able to carry the virus without getting sick.
: 'i think it's important that we - you know, put a lot more resources to understanding these animals and obviously to our benefit, because they do, i think, hold answers to our own health.'
Debora patta, phinda game reserve, south africa.
Mental health check.
Touching base with your kids ahead on mid morning.
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