McMINNVILLE, Ore. -- At first glance, there was nothing out of the ordinary in the newspaper advertisements for Yorkshire Terriers, available to loving families.

But on closer examination, the ads in the McMinnville News-Register proved to be a scam.

The alleged seller of the puppies proposed to cover shipping, handling, insurance and every other necessary expense.

But there was a catch: Buyers had to send a $700 Western Union money transfer -- per dog.

And another clue: The buyer wanted to be contacted via a Nigerian email address.

Plenty of well-publicized scams have come out of that country in recent years.

Sure enough, when officials checked out the seller, it turned out that there were no dogs to be had.