When it comes to a scammer, the one thing you can bank on is they will always come up with new and creative ways to relieve people of their money.

A Sioux Falls woman learned that painfully hard lesson recently when she was scammed out of over 5 grand trying to buy a puppy via social media.

Dakota News Now reports that Sioux Falls Police are currently investigating a case that involves a 42-year-old Sioux Falls woman who was originally contacted by a scammer on Monday, November 29. The victim in the investigation was part of a group of people on Facebook that were interested in buying dogs or puppies.

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According to Dakota News Now, the scammer offered to sell the victim a puppy, and between the dates of November 29 and December 6 the victim ended up sending the suspect over $5,000 in mobile payments with the hope of being able to buy the animal.

Once the suspect kept requesting more and more cash, the victim realized she was being scammed and contacted authorities.

Should you ever feel like you're part of a potential scam, police remind residents to contact them immediately.

Scammers are at work throughout the year, but can really ramp up their efforts during the holiday season.

Be careful...

The danger of being scammed increases when purchasing through apps.

To avoid being a victim of a scam, experts recommend following these tips:

Practice safe internet use. Do not open up suspicious-looking communications.
Never give out your personal or financial information in response to a request that you didn't expect.
Resist the pressure to act immediately on a purchase.
Know how scammers tell you to pay. Be cautious when someone you don't know comes up with strange ways for you to pay for goods and services.
If you suspect something might be wrong, stop and talk to someone you trust.

Source: Dakota News Now

MORE FROM RESULTS TOWNSQUARE SIOUX FALLS:

Sioux Falls Online Shopping Fails

It's the gift-giving season! Cyber Monday was this week and ever since the pandemic, people are doing more online shopping than ever before.

Because of all this, there must be a few shopping fails. You don't always know what you're getting when you order online.

For example, I recently ordered a sparkly Santa mask for a holiday party. Apparently, I was too distracted by the sparkle because I didn't realize it was a do-it-yourself mask.

It was like a paint by number, except with tiny rhinestones I'm supposed to glue on myself. Nope. Ain't nobody got time for that. It was sent right back.

What online shopping fail have you had? We asked and you answered!

I think the lesson we've learned here is we should shop local more!