Your hear it everywhere - Puppy Scams are running rampant all over the world. Innocent people are losing money on puppies that never existed in the first place. The percentage of puppy scams have increased exponentially since Covid. In speaking with an agent in the fraud department of Fifth Third Bank, I was told 80% of the calls they receive daily in the fraud department are from sad and crying people that have lost money in a puppy scam.

So how can you avoid becoming an ususpecting victim? The scammers leark around every corner and are involved in every aspect of the process - from the sale of the puppy to the transportation of your new friend to you. They are very coy, when you speak with them they are great at putting you at ease and making you believe that they are the real thing. They will send pictures, health testing results, sometimes even videos, but all are fake. Most are stolen from legitimate breeders sites. Some are photoshopped. Everything looks very real.

THERE ARE TELL TALE SIGNS TO WATCH FOR

There are usually tell tale signs - typical red flags that even the best of us sometimes miss. But there are warning signs to heed;

• You see a beautiful dog that is everything you are looking for - health tested, socialized, potty trained, used puppy culture or something similar in the program - and the price is very reasonable, downright cheap. THIS IS A HUGE RED FLAG. Usually the picture have been stolen from a legitimate breeders website. If you were to ask them to take a picture of the puppy outside or in the kitchen etc, they probably would not be able to do it as they have a limited amount of picures they can use. Remember - they are all STOLEN. Copy the pictures and download, then do a reverse google image search and see if they show up in other places. They don’t always appear, but many do. Then it is a dead give away.

• After you send the initial deposit, a cuple of weeks later they will return to ask for more. HUGE RED FLAG. They will always have a back story as to why they all of a sudden need more money. They need to buy more food for the dogs, the airline that is transporting your puppy is requesting a temperature controlled crate, the airline is requesting additional paperwork from your vet - anything just to gt you to send more money. Eventually they will try to convince you that if you do not pay they will report you to the authorities for Puppy Abandonment, which is a reall charge.

• They will not want you to use Paypal or Venmo service payment. They will always want you to use Friends and Family. NEVER EVER USE FRIENDS AND FAMILY TO MAKE A PAYMENT - IT IS NOT REVERSIBLE. Make sure you always pay as a service as Paypal and Venmo will have your back and reverse if needed. There is an small chage, usually about $8.00, but well worth the money. If they won’t accept that - WALK AWAY.

• Many times they will only want payment via ZELLE - NEVER PAY USING ZELLE. Zelle is NEVER reversible. The bank will tell you that you made the payment in good faith to the person you sent it to and they will not reverse the charges.

SCAMMERS ARE USING FAKE AIRLINES

• The scam does not stop after you have paid for the puppy - once you have placed your deposit scammers are copying real airlines websites, down to the last detail, to make you believe you are receiving a legitimate email from the airline. You will recieve what you thing to be a real email from the airline and they will be requesting additional money for missing forms, improper crate/kennels, they need a temperature controlled kennel /crate , they required pet insurance etc………………..see the pattern?

• This is a worldwide problem. the number of scams increase around Christmas as many people like to gift their children with a puppy for Chrismas, please be careful. There is nothing worse than seeing a child all excited to get a new puppy and then be told there is no puppy. It is a heartbreaking for an adult and much worse for a child.

WHAT YOU CAN DO TO PREVENT FALLING PREY TO A PUPPY SCAM

• Before any money ever passes through your hands do on online reverse image search to check for stolen pictures. Most of the time the pictures do not belong to the scammer, they have been stolen from a legitimate website.If they show up in a reverse search - stop any communication immediately. Do not continue with purchaseing the puppy. Scammers will only be able to show you what they have. They will not be able to put together a picture of puppy A with Puppy D and E. They will only be able to show what they have. So ask for two or three of the puppies you choose to be put in the same picture, then sent to you.

• Always talk in person on the phone as the next step.

• Meet in person. Sometimes this is not possible and you will have to rely on different means.

• Request some sort of video conference or social media call with Facetime, Whatsap, Messenger. Ask them to write something you have asked them to write on a paper with a date and show you during the call. A newspaper works well, but most people do not get the newspaper any longer. Real Breeders will oblige.

• Ask for references,not just one, many and perhaps do a vieo call with them as well and ask them to show you their puppy.

• Do not trust pedigree, AKC papers shown to you I have run across both health insurance and AKC papers that were photoshopped to show what the scammer wants you to see.

• Call the AKC - American Kennel Club and ask them if the owner os the dog listed is correct. If it is not correct they will not tell you the reall owners name but you will know it has been photoshopped.

• Go with your Gut - if it sounds to good to be true, it probably is.

• Try not to become to emotionally involved with the puppy you are looking at. Don’t let your actions be dictated by your emotions. Use your intellectual side and logic. Becoming emotionally involved will allow you to make decisions that will not be based on the facts and what is layed out in front of you.

I hope reading this informaiton gives you a better sense of what to be aware of and what to watch out for so it will not happen to you. To those of you that have lost money in a scam, I am so sorry, from the bottom of my heart. But you are not alone and don’t feel that you are to blame - these scammers are very good at what they do and even the best of us has had it happen. But do not lose faith. There are lots of legitimate breeders out there that are not out to scam you and are breeding solely to give you the puppy of your dreams. Be steadfast, suspect all until proven different, but remember the puppy you want can be found with a little detective work on your side and the compliance of a great breeder.