Australia has become an online fraud movement, in which hoodlums target lonely people seeking to buy puppies amid the Covid-19 blockade.

The Australian Consumer Protection Agency (ACCC) today said the target of fraudsters who are lonely, is under a blockade to prevent the Covid-19 pandemic, want to own puppies, bulldog dogs

The number of people looking to buy pets in Australia soared, with the total amount spent on the service to A $ 300,000 ($ 196,000) in April alone, 5 times the monthly average.

"A lot of people are forced to stay at home and go online to buy pets to overcome loneliness amid the blockade," said ACCC Vice President Delia Rickard.

A Cavoodle dog is often used by online scammers as a "bait" for dog buyers.

Due to travel restrictions, buyers cannot watch live dogs.

The ACCC also said dogs like Cavoodle, a cross between Poodle and King Charles Spaniel, or French bulldog, are popular dogs used by bandits as a "bait" for puppy buyers.

Rickard warns people to "try to avoid being fooled by the adorable puppy pictures posted by the hoodlums".

The amount of money lost by dog scams in the first 4 months of 2020 is nearly the same amount that Australians lost in similar scams in 2019. Meanwhile, Australians were cheated about 700,000 Australian dollars (456,000)

More than 210 countries and territories have had Covid-19 since the outbreak in December 2019 in Wuhan, China, causing more than 4.9 million infections and more than 320,000 deaths.