Avoiding Pet Scams:
A Guide to Buying a Puppy Online Safely
Puppy Scams - The Reality Of Online Fraud
Scams are everywhere these days and are increasingly becoming a problem in the pet industry. According to the Better Business Bureau and the FTC in 2025 18% of all online shopping fraud reports are specifically related to pet scams, and the average amount lost per victim is a staggering $850 (a 60% increase from 2017). These frauds range from basic and easy to see through to incredibly sophisticated, coordinated schemes involving several people. I have witnessed countless individuals be victimized. Smart, educated, and well traveled people who, in most other situations, would not be an ideal target for an online scam. They have each told me the same thing, they feel foolish and gullible. These victims were in no way at fault, they were targeted precisely because of their kind and loving nature towards animals.
The reality is that a person only buys a new pet a handful of times in their life, but for these scammers, this is a full time job. They spend months or even years perfecting these lies and have become an ever evolving problem for both customers and honest dog breeders. If you happen to find yourself a victim of a puppy scam, there is unfortunately very little recourse because most originate from outside of the country. I have compiled a list of information and helpful ways to keep your money safe before you find yourself in such a heartbreaking situation.
My goal is to educate buyers and reduce the incentives for scammers to continue these frauds. If these actions stop being financially rewarding, most will move on to something else. This is by no means a complete list of every scam that exists, but it does cover the most common. There are incredibly intricate frauds that involve cloned websites, fake animal registration, and purchasing a puppy to sell multiple times, and I have chosen not to cover those here because of their rarity . I find that most of these scammers are not able or willing to invest capital into that level of deception. It is very unlikely you will encounter those specific schemes, and this guide is aimed toward the puppy scams that are plaguing this industry.