The post has gone viral on Facebook for the past few days. In French or English, it has been published on dozens of local mutual aid sites. Accompanying his text with a photo of an injured dog with a sad look, a user states that he knocked down a dog involuntarily.

“I hit this puppy with my truck it used to read. He’s alive but he can’t hold on. I feel so miserable. I took him to the vet. He’s not chipped. I know someone is looking for him. Please bump this post to help me find this owner.”

But as suggested by our colleagues from the Telegram, it is a scam. A simple check on Google images also reveals that the photo was taken in 2018, in New York.

Soften up to ask you for money

The scammers’ goal: to soften internet users concerned about the puppy into contacting them.

As BFMTV explains, they then generally request financial assistance and demand, for example, payment of veterinary costs. Once the fraudster has managed to exploit the naivety of his interlocutor to obtain a bank transfer, no more news is given.

Our colleagues advise Internet users to pay attention to signs that may indicate that it is a scam: unavailable comments so that the scam is not condemned by other Internet users, spelling or syntax errors, but also the need for the request to be urgent are recurring signs on that should warn you.