UMATILLA, Fla. \u2013 A Central Florida woman fighting cancer thought she had found the perfect companion to help her through treatment. <\/p>\n
Instead, she says she lost more than $4,000 to what appears to be an elaborate online puppy con – one tied to a fake delivery company, stock photos and an overseas website domain.<\/p>\n
Danielle Garcia-Culp knew immediately when she saw the picture of the Australian Shepherd puppy.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe just had those eyes that said I will love you forever,\u201d Garcia-Culp said.<\/p>\n
Garcia-Culp, who lives in Umatilla, found the puppy listed on a Facebook page and sent a message to someone identifying herself as a pet breeder named Sharon Richards.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been fighting cancer for four years,\u201d Garcia-Culp said. \u201cThis is the kind of dog I need.\u201d<\/p>\n
What happened next left her questioning everything.<\/p>\n
According to Garcia-Culp, Richards suggested the two meet at a police station or a well-lit Walmart. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe fact that she recommended it to me sealed the deal,\u201d Garcia-Culp told News 6, \u201cLike, there\u2019s no way this is fake.\u201d <\/p>\n
Garcia-Culp agreed to have the puppy delivered from Pensacola to her home. Shortly after, Garcia-Culp said a delivery agent texted her a photo of the dog in a crate, along with a tracking number. Then came the requests for money. <\/p>\n
\u201cA $700 refundable deposit for the crate rental,\u201d Culp said, \u201cThen he comes back and he says \u2018okay I do need another $1,500 deposit now for the pet insurance. Then he came back asking for yet another deposit.\u201d <\/p>\n
By the end, Garcia-Culp was out more than $4,000. <\/p>\n
\u201cAt that point, what did I do?\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
The delivery company was named Global Logistics Transport Solutions. Its website listed a founder named Bryan Williams – but through reverse image search, his photo appears to be a stock image used across multiple other websites. <\/p>\n
The domain itself was registered through Hostinger<\/a>, an European-based hosting provider. After News 6 alerted Hostinger about the website, the company suspended the website. <\/p>\n The Product Communications Manager for Hostinger sent News 6 a statement saying in part, \u201cAt the time of your outreach, we had not received any prior reports about this website through our official abuse reporting channels. Following your inquiry and our internal investigation, we determined that the website in question was involved in a fraudulent \u201cfake courier\u201d scheme – a type of logistics scam. As a result, we have now suspended the website for violating our Terms of Service.\u201d<\/p>\n Hostinger is an EU-based hosting provider and operates in full compliance with the EU Digital Services Act (DSA) and other applicable regulations. As an intermediary service provider, we do not proactively monitor all content hosted on our infrastructure. However, we act promptly on valid reports of illegal content and\/or activity and take appropriate measures when violations are identified.<\/p>\n At the time of your outreach, we had not received any prior reports about this website through our official abuse reporting channels. Following your inquiry and our internal investigation, we determined that the website in question was involved in a fraudulent \u201cfake courier\u201d scheme – a type of logistics scam. As a result, we have now suspended the website for violating our Terms of Service.<\/p>\n Like other hosting providers, we rely on a combination of internal systems, external signals, and reports from users, partners, and trusted flaggers to detect and address abuse, including fraudulent schemes. <\/p>\n Once we receive credible information about illegal content and\/or activity, our Abuse & Fraud Prevention Team prioritizes such cases and acts quickly in line with applicable laws and internal procedures. We also cooperate with law enforcement agencies and competent authorities and provide the required information upon their request.<\/p>\n We encourage anyone who encounters suspicious or potentially fraudulent content hosted on our platform to report it via our official Abuse Reporting Form or at abuse@hostinger.com to ensure immediate processing by our team.<\/p>\n Gediminas Gasiulis, Product Communications Manager<\/p>\n The Facebook page where Garcia-Culp said she found the puppy, however, remains active. When News 6 sent a message to the page an automated response arrived in minutes.<\/p>\n Then, we received a message saying \u201cWho?\u201d News 6 provided Garcia-Culp\u2019s name then received this response, \u201cShe abandoned her pup at the delivery agency.\u201d <\/p>\n News 6 responded but has not heard back.<\/p>\n News 6 contacted Meta, which owns Facebook, about the page. The company is looking into our request. <\/p>\n Garcia-Culp is urging others to be careful of how they send their money.<\/p>\n \u201cI can only imagine somebody going through a similar situation I am, you know, and that puppy being almost like a lifeline and then it\u2019s not real,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n According to the Better Business Bureau (BBB) Serving Central Florida, 176 puppy scams in Florida were reported to the BBB Scam Tracker<\/a> over the past two years, with $156,000 in reported losses. <\/p>\n If you are looking for a pet, here is what the BBB recommends<\/a>: <\/p>\n Do not buy a pet without seeing it in person. If that is not possible, request a live video call to view the animal, meet the breeder, and evaluate the facility. <\/p>\n Conduct a reverse image search of the pet you are considering to see if it appears on multiple websites. <\/p>\n Avoid wiring money, or using a cash app or gift card. <\/p>\n