Oct 5 2008 Additional Reporting By Jane Barrie

MUM Gillian Mchendry thought her luck was in when she spotted an advert offering a puppy free to a good home.

But the dealer scammed £1800 from her then failed to deliver the Cavalier King Charles spaniel, for her gutted children Caitlin, eight, and Ben, three.

Heclaimed to be in Dundee but turned out to be a conman from Cameroon.

Gillian, 26, of Kilmarnock, said: "I have been to the police and the Serious Organised Crime Agency.

This has crippled us. We are struggling to pay the mortgage."

The Mchendrys are the latest victims of a global puppy scam which is rife on the internet.

Fraudsters from Africa place the ads, claiming to live locally, then demand cash then cut off contact.

Gillian and husband Steven, 29, had spotted the advert offering a free spaniel on ukclassifieds.co.uk a fortnight ago.

She said: "I emailed the breeder, who gave his name as Moore Wilson. He offered to arrange delivery to Kilmarnock."

Gillian and Steven, an assistant manager in a sports shop, sent £200 via Moneygram at a Post Office to a Roger Juse in Cameroon..

Gillian said: "Wilson said it was an international firm. The lady in the Post Office was suspicious but we were excited about the pup."

Then Wilson wanted £380 for a delivery cart, which the Mchendrys sent by Moneygram to a Roland Neba in Cameroon.

Gillian said: "It was to be refunded when the dog arrived."

Wilson then demanded £400 for a pet permit, £175 for a vaccination card, £480 for insurance and £200 for food and vet bills.

Housewife Gillian said: "He said the dog would be with us at 9am on Saturday. We'd bought a bed, toys and food."

But when there was no sign of the puppy by 9.30am she phoned Wilson and the penny dropped.

Gillian said: "He wanted another £200 for microchipping.

"He said if I didn't pay the pup would be put into quarantine. Yet it was only coming from Dundee."

Gillian called in the police.

She said: "The kids are devastated. Now we can't afford a pup."

I got on toUK Classifieds, based in Perth, Australia, and owned and run by Spencer Culpin.

He said: "I am sorry to hear about this. I run UK Classifieds on my own and try to stop fraudsters by banning IP addresses from known scammers and countries like Cameroon and Nigeria.

"But they use free proxy servers to hide their location."

The Serious Organised Crime Agency said: "People involved in puppy scams target the less well off and the vulnerable. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is."

Don't let conmen sell you a pup chances are, it doesn't exist.

£1800 victims of African dog dealers - The Sunday Mail