Google has filed a lawsuit against a scammer who allegedly took money for puppies that were never delivered.
The defendant, identified as Nche Noel Ntse, allegedly used several Google services as tools to communicate false promises of canine companions while operating out of Cameroon. The Big Tech company filed a suit against Ntse on Monday in the Northern District of California.
Ntse “does not actually sell puppies,” the lawsuit argues, “and instead is running multiple international non-delivery scams with the intent to exploit the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting high demand for puppies in the U.S.”
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Google claims that Ntse used products such as Gmail and Google Voice to create false accounts in an attempt to sell the dogs. Such fraudulent use of its products is a breach of Google’s Terms of Service, the lawsuit says.
Ntse’s “fraudulent and illegal activities cause financial harm to Google, including by interfering with Google’s relationships with its users (and potential users), harming Google’s reputation, and forcing Google to expend substantial resources in excess of $75,000 to investigate and remediate Defendant’s harmful activities,” the lawsuit concludes.
Google has requested damages as well as a permanent injunction restraining Ntse’s access to Google products.
While a lawsuit seeking only $75,000 in damages is minuscule considering the massive size of Google, it is actually the first suit of many.
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Google intends to file additional consumer-protection lawsuits. The lawsuit is one of many steps Google is taking to “protect victims, disrupt the scammer’s infrastructure, and raise public awareness,” the Big Tech company said in a blog post. Google also said it plans to build additional security into its products, learn to “filter new threats,” and have its CyberCrime Investigation Group investigate potential incidents of scams or fraud.
These suits are meant to bring “more enforcement and attention to other areas of online fraud and scams that especially impact commonly targeted groups like … seniors and veterans,” Google spokesman Jose Castaneda told Protocol.
