Pictures of cute puppies online don’t just literally make your heart melt, but they can trigger your desire to buy one. Before fast-tracking your way to getting the cuddly dog you fell in love with, beware that online puppy scams have become a recurring and lucrative business.
Due to COVID-19 lockdowns, the demand for dogs, cats, kittens and puppies has significantly increased or even reached record highs in many parts of the world. It was only a matter of time until scammers would have turned this situation to their advantage.
In 2021, puppy scams seem to be one of the most reported fraudulent schemes. And they don’t just empty your pocket but leave you heartbroken too.
If you don’t want to be deceived, learn how these scams emerge so that you won’t be the next victim.
Here’s How People Got Fooled by Puppy Scams
When purchasing a pet, emotions play an essential role, so naturally, scammers exploit buyers’ soft spots. Also, people do most of their shopping online, including for pets, while COVID restrictions made it difficult to check animals in person.
Here’s how puppy scams usually unfold, as victims of these scams reported.
- Pet searchers would find credible websites where dog breeders post puppies for sale offers.
- They would then text dog breeders, telling them they’re interested.
- Interested buyers would receive a reply from the breeder telling them they don’t have any dogs left, but they know someone who does.
- Scammers send potential buyers to a fake address right after asking them to make a bank deposit.
The story can even get more complicated as dog breeders would mention they moved from the specified address and then offer to ship the pet to the interested buyer. Clearly, the shipping would require additional payment for handling fees, a dog crate and pet insurance.
Only dog buyers would find out the address for the shipping company is a fake one, and the pet insurance company hasn’t issued any insurance for the pet they wanted. And this would be the awkward moment when people figure out that they got scammed.
Puppy Scams Numbers and Costs
One can say puppy scams are a profitable business, judging by that, on average, victims lose around $4,000 – $5,000. In worse scenarios, this sum can reach $10,000; among the extra payments, scammers would sometimes come up with credible excuses that pets need air-conditioned crates for their shipping. This item costs around $4000 and is one of the clearest sign that you’re dealing with a puppy scam.
In many US states, reported puppy scams reach between $55,000 and $67,000 losses for six months. There have been over 2,500 reports of pet scams in Australia, with losses exceeding $3 million in 2021. By comparison, in 2019, Australians reported only around 500 complaints.
Yet, these people didn’t just lose a big amount of money, precious time and potentially, their trust in ever buying a puppy or a kitten from authentic pet breeders. During the negotiation process, victims have also handed out their personal information like name, phone number, address, and credit card information; and they have no idea to whom they gave them.
5 Tips So You Won’t be Puppy Scammed
Like with any online scam, doing your due diligence is sacred.
Here’s some useful advice, so you don’t fall prey to puppy scammers.
1. Closely inspect the photos
Because scammers usually post photos in their buying offers, take a close look, and thoroughly analyze the photos. If they’re too perfect, including how puppies look, setting and background (like stock photos, really), it’s almost a safe bet it’s a scam.
2. See the puppy live
Always ask to see the dog or kitten in person, not necessarily at the breeder’s property; you can ask to meet in a safe location that you choose. If that’s not possible, request that you see it before buying at least in a video call or virtual meeting.
3. Research the price
The price is too good, or the puppies are even free of charge? This should raise a big question mark, especially if it’s a popular dog or cat breed. That’s why it’s important that you research the typical price range for a specific breed.
4. Ask questions
Once you’ve set a first contact with the breeder, ask additional questions. Even if you’re not truly interested in some details, the breeder’s reply will help you determine if the offer is legit or not. For example, ask details about vaccination, microchipping, what health assurances or paperwork the animal comes with, etc.
5. Stick with your local community
Consider adopting from a local shelter or buying from a breeder close to your home to avoid any risk. This way, even if anything goes wrong, at least you would know where to go and report potential fraud.
Find out more tips on how to stay away from charity scams and how to avoid digital investment scams.
Did you ever find an online offer that seemed to be a fake puppy scam? Or were you ever close to becoming a victim of these frauds?
Let me know in the comments below.
Leave a comment
Cypha
Posted on 20/07/2022 at 19:03
I have extensive knowledge knowledge on pet scams and how they are carried out so let me give two important tips for your readers.
First; Video calls
Scammers are definitely able to do fake video calls. and they can do it on Facebook messenger. They’ll video call you and how you a puppy or kitten. But guess what – The video call will be real, but what they will show you won’t be real. Scammers have a way of showing you pre existing videos on a video call in a way that you might not even realise that the video you are seeing isn’t a live video. Many people fall for this. So how do you make sure the video isn’t fake? First, you have to make sure during the video call, the seller doesnt only show you video of the puppy or kitten or what ever it is they are selling to you, but also a video of themselves with the kitten or puppy. If they refuse to show you a video of themselves, then it’s a scam. Secondly, make sure the sound coming from the video is coherent with the action you are seeing in the video call. Also, if at all the seller shows you a video of themselves, make sure they talk to you. When they talk, watch their lips closely to make sure what they are saying is coherent with the movement of their lips in the video call. If possible, and if it’s not too much to do, ask the seller to do a particular action just to make sure the images you are are real. For example, you could tell them to hold up the puppy’s ears so that you can look how long they are. If the seller refuses to carry out the action and makes a big deal of you wanting to see the puppy’s ears, its probably a fake video call.
Second; sending money via PayPal goods and services.
Did you know there is a way to scam you via goods and services too? Even if you send them money through goods and services, there is a way they can get that money and PayPal wont be able to refund the money to you even if you prove that you were scammed. Scammers have decided a way to send PayPal a fake tracking number and convince PayPal that you have received the product when in fact, they didn’t even send the product. If this happens to you, you’ll hardly be able to do anything about it. So you just have to be sure who you are sending money to before going ahead to send the money.
As I said in the beginning, I have very very very extensive knowledge on how scams are carried out. Nobody has the knowledge I have because I live in a city where most 3 in every five guys my age are active scammers. I live and interact with them every single day. I know exactly how all their scam tricks are done. I know everything about them and how their scams are carried out. It is so common and in fact, is tolerated by the police and police also benefit a lot from scam money.
I tried advocating against scamming some years ago and started receiving life threats so I stopped instantly. I now advocate underground and posting on your comment section is just one of those ways. I recently started a pet blog a couple of days ago.
Ghostie
Posted on 25/07/2022 at 15:25
Thanks for your input, Cypha. It’s horrible to hear you received death threats for your advocacy, and we’d definitely recommend our in-depth guide to protect yourself online.
We’ll make sure to take your tips into account for future articles/when updating this article.
In the meantime we’d certainly recommend adopting from your local shelters. If there’s no financial incentive, there’s nothing in it for scammers.
Shari Allen
Posted on 19/05/2022 at 22:09
There are a lot of puppy breeders online that will have beautiful photos of like 15 very different looking and size of the same breed and some are all the same age and some are all the same price. Like $700 for the all different sizes and looks of the puppies they are supposed to be selling