Puppy Scams: How to Spot a Fake Pet Listing Before You Send a Deposit

You find the listing on a Saturday morning. The photos are adorable. The price seems fair. The 'breeder' responds within minutes and sounds warm, knowledgeable, even a little picky about who they'll sell to. So you send the deposit.

Then the surprise fees start. A travel crate. A health certificate. Special insurance for the flight. The puppy never arrives. The seller goes quiet. And you're out hundreds of dollars, with nothing but a broken heart.

This is how puppy scams work. The Better Business Bureau's 2025 Puppy Scam Study Update tracked 2,278 reports to its Scam Tracker in 2024 alone, with a median loss of $680 per victim. Because an FTC economist's study of consumer-fraud surveys found that only about 5% of mass-market fraud victims complain to a BBB or a government agency, the actual number of people losing money is likely far higher (BBB 2025 Puppy Scam Study Update).

The scam works precisely because it targets something real: the desire to welcome a new pet into your family. Here's what to look for before you send a single dollar.

How puppy scams are set up

Scammers don't operate from shadowy corners of the internet. They run polished websites, buy search ads, and post on Facebook and Instagram. BBB reports that over 50% of pet scams originate on a website found through a search engine or social media, according to its 2025 study. The same study notes that nearly one-third of the 1,000+ fake seller sites identified by Petscams.com used search-engine advertising. Some fraudulent sites copy legitimate breeders' pages, which can make them hard to tell apart until you look closely.

The setup follows a predictable script. First, a low deposit to "hold" the puppy. Then a string of added costs: a special crate for travel, a refundable insurance policy, a customs fee. Each charge sounds plausible in isolation. Taken together, they drain your account while the scammer keeps you emotionally invested.

PetRelocation, says scammers often claim to be working with legitimate pet shippers like itself, and describes a common tactic: the seller says the puppy is being held at an airport and won't be released until you pay an additional fee. The pet doesn't exist. The airport call never comes.

Red flags to watch for in any listing

These warning signs appear consistently across puppy scam reports. Even one of these is a reason to pause, and several together are a reason to walk away.

• Stock photos that appear elsewhere. Do a reverse image search on any photo the seller sends. If the same image appears on multiple websites or comes back as a stock photo, that's a strong sign there is no puppy. A clean result doesn't prove a listing is real, though, since scammers can use new or AI-generated photos.
• Only email or text, no phone or video. Scammers often avoid live interaction. A real breeder will usually talk to you on the phone and show you the puppy on a video call. If every request for a call gets deflected, that's a clear sign something's off.
• Too many breeds, always available. Responsible breeders typically have waiting lists, not constant inventory. If a seller lists golden retrievers, dachshunds, French bulldogs, and cavapoos all at once with constant availability, you're likely looking at a scam site or a puppy mill, not a responsible breeder, according to Stop Online Puppy Mills, a nonprofit.
• Won't allow any visit or live video tour. Many legitimate breeders welcome buyers who want to see where the puppies are raised and meet the mother dog. Some limit visits to protect young puppies from disease, so they should offer a live video tour and references instead. Refusing both is a clear warning sign.
• Suspicious payment methods. Requests to pay via Western Union, Zelle, Venmo, or gift cards are serious warning signs. These methods offer little fraud protection when you authorize the payment yourself. Zelle itself says that because you authorized the payment, you may not be able to get your money back.
• Prices that seem too low. A purebred puppy listed dramatically below typical market prices is rarely a deal. It's often bait, meant to get you hooked before the fees start piling up.
• Surprise fees after the deposit. This is the scammer's core move. The deposit feels manageable. What follows is a sequence of invented costs, each one plausible enough that you've already paid it before you realize what's happening.

What the scam actually looks like in practice

Here's how it typically plays out. You find a listing for a breed you love, say a French bulldog or a dachshund. BBB's 2025 research lists French bulldogs, dachshunds, and German shepherds among the breeds most likely to be used in online scams. The seller uses a fake screening process to seem selective, which actually adds to the feeling of legitimacy.

You're asked to pay via Zelle or Venmo. You do. Then the shipping costs appear. Then a crate fee. Then an insurance requirement. Each time you ask to pick the puppy up in person or see it on video, the seller has an excuse.

By the time most people realize what's happening, they've already paid several times over. The median victim in BBB's 2024 data lost $680 (BBB 2025 Puppy Scam Study Update). Some lost far more. BBB reports that Scam Tracker reports fell about 21% in 2024 and appeared on track for another slight decrease in 2025. And because the payment methods scammers prefer are very hard to reverse, that money is often never recovered.

How to verify a breeder before you pay anything

You don't have to be suspicious of every listing. You just need to ask the right questions before any money changes hands.

Request a live video call. Ask to see the puppy and the facility on video. A real breeder will typically say yes. A scammer will find a reason to delay or offer pre-recorded footage instead.

Ask to meet the mother dog. Stop Online Puppy Mills calls meeting the mother dog the most important thing a buyer can do. If the seller won't let you meet her in person or on camera, treat that as a serious warning sign.

Search for the breeder online. Google their name, the business name, the phone number, and the email address. Check the BBB's Scam Tracker at bbb.org. Look for reviews that predate your conversation, not a handful of five-star posts from the same week.

Call the shipping company directly. If the seller mentions a pet transport company, look up that company independently and call them to confirm the booking. Scammers routinely impersonate legitimate shippers, including well-known names like PetRelocation, to add credibility to fake shipping claims.

Pay by credit card if you must pay a deposit. Unlike wire transfers or payment apps, credit card charges can be disputed, and the FTC says a credit card offers the most protection. CFPB says to notify your card company within 60 days of the statement date. It's not a guarantee, but it gives you a path to recourse that cash-equivalent methods don't.

Visit in person if at all possible. Before signing anything or sending any money, go see the puppy, meet the breeder, and see where the dogs live. Many responsible breeders welcome a visit from a serious buyer, and those who limit visits for health reasons should offer a live video tour and references instead.

What to do if you've already been scammed

First, stop sending money. No matter how convincing the next explanation sounds, any additional fee request is part of the scam.

Then:

1. Report it to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov
2. File a report with the BBB Scam Tracker at bbb.org/scamtracker
3. Report the listing to the platform where you found it (Facebook, Craigslist, Google)
4. Contact your bank or card issuer immediately if you paid by card, or the payment app, wire company, or gift card issuer if you paid another way, and ask for a refund
5. File a report with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov. Type the address yourself, since scammers pose as FBI and IC3 staff offering to recover lost money

You can also report fraudulent pet websites to Petscams.com, an independent, community-run database of known pet-scam sites that also accepts reports.

If you paid by wire transfer or gift card, recovery is difficult, but contact the wire company or gift card issuer right away, because the FTC says some may help. Reporting is worthwhile either way, and it's a good reason to treat any future request for those payment methods as an instant red flag.

Conclusion

Puppy scams are emotional by design. They target a moment of excitement, when you're ready to bring something new and joyful into your home, and they use that against you. The listings look real. The sellers sound caring. The puppy in the photos is irresistible.

But the warning signs are consistent and learnable. Reverse image search every photo, knowing a clean result isn't proof. Insist on a live video call. Never pay with a wire transfer or gift card. And if a seller won't allow a visit or a live video tour, treat that as your answer.

The right puppy is out there. Protecting yourself long enough to find a legitimate one is worth every bit of extra caution.

Guardio's browsing protection on computers and phones blocks phishing sites before they open, but it can't tell you whether a breeder is real, so the checks above still matter.

Get a free security scan with Guardio today and stay protected.