All the things I wish I knew before I got my first ever puppy!
According to a study in the US, 80% of online pet adverts are fake and in fact run by scammers. I'm not sure what the exact figures are in the UK, but it definitely seems to be on the rise.
It was something that I was very aware of when I brought Cooper, especially with Covid restricting social contact, but I still somewhat thought a scam would be obvious. Then a few weeks later, a family friend of ours got scammed. When I heard what had happened I was pretty shocked at how legit it all seemed. Thankfully their bank got the deposit back- not that that cushioned the blow for the 12 year old who was very much looking forward to picking up her puppy!
The 10 tips below aren't a sure fire way of avoiding a scammer, but it gives you a pretty good chance of sussing one out! As horrible as it is to walk away from what looks like your dream puppy, if something doesn't feel right, the chances are it's not right. Better to be upset for a few days but still have your money, than to be upset and out of pocket!
1. LOW PRICES OR FREE
When you research the breed of dog that you want to get, you should get a rough idea of how much the average puppy costs. If you find an advert which is dramatically below the average asking price, it's probably a scam. Scammers put up low prices to pull people in. No reputable breeder will be doing puppies on 'sale'.
2. THE SELLER DOESN'T ASK QUESTIONS
When contacting a reputable breeder or adoption centre, you should fully expect to get fully interrogated on everything from your family to how big your house is. If you contact a seller and they simply agree to sell you the 'puppy' without checking you out, the chances are the puppy doesn't exist. Or if they do, they're not coming from a good place.
3. ADVERTS IN BROKEN ENGLISH
A lot of puppy scams aren't based in the UK, as the puppies don't actually exist there is no need for the scammers to be UK based. If you notice excessively poor grammar it's a definite red flag.
4. THE SELLER WANTS A DEPOSIT ASAP
Unfortunately a lot of reputable breeders now ask for a deposit, which in turn has enabled scammers to take advantage and get deposits for non existent puppies. If the breeder is requesting a deposit, do NOT give it over until you have physically seen the puppy in person. This is the easiest way for scammers to get your money.
5. THE SELLER IS TRYING TO PRESSURE YOU INTO A SALE
A reputable breeder will NEVER pressure you into a sale. If the seller is using excuses as to why they need you to take a puppy asap, walk away. Any decent breeder wants the best for their puppies, and if you are unsure, they would not be trying to pressure you into taking one. Genuine puppies are also heavily in demand, so why would someone be desperate to sell to a specific person?
6. PRICES INCREASE AFTER YOU PAY A DEPOSIT
Any decent breeder will set a price and stick to it. If you put down a deposit on a puppy and the seller then ups the price, get your deposit back and walk away. Even if the puppy does exist, the seller is likely just going to sell it to whoever is willing to pay the highest price, suggesting that they don't really care who the puppies are going to, just how much they can get for them.
7. REVERSE IMAGE SEARCH AND INTERNET SEARCH ON THE SELLERS DETAILS.
Anyone who's ever seen MTV's TV show Catfish will know about a reverse image search. It's basically a service online where you upload a photo and it will show you everywhere the image appears online. If a scammer is listing puppies that don't exist, they have to get the photos from somewhere. Often it comes out that the puppies are from an old advert, or stolen from another breeders advert.
That brings me on to point 2, search the sellers details in as many places as possible. As much as social media can be a pain, it's a great place to find out about scams. If you can't find anything about on them online and you're not sure, it may even be worth posting the advert information online to get other people's opinions...and if someone has had a bad experience with them, it gives them a chance to come forward.
8. ASK LOTS OF QUESTIONS, IF THEY'RE NOT WILLING TO ANSWER THEM, WALK AWAY.
As a buyer you are perfectly entitled to ask about everything from the puppy's family's history, to knowing the details of the vet who's done the initial vaccinations. If a seller refuses to give over information or avoids questions it's a massive red flag that either the puppies don't exist OR they are not as described. Some potential questions to ask are:
Can I see the health certificates of the parents?
Can I see the details of them been KC registered?
Can I have the details of the vet you've used so far?
Do you offer any guarantees health wise?
What are you currently feeding the puppies?
Are you a licensed breeder? And if so what is your license number?
The list could go on and on, but basically a legit breeder would have absolutely no problem supplying the information. If the seller gets annoyed at you for asking...WALK AWAY.
9. ASK FOR LOTS OF PHOTOS AND/OR VIDEO CALLS
Like number 8, you basically want to get as much information and detail off the seller as possible. Scammers don't want to have to work hard to maintain the lies, the chances are they'll probably just block your number or not answer your calls if they think you're too much effort. If you can't physically visit the breeder to see the puppies, which at the moment is particularly prevalent with lockdown, ask to see them by video call, or even ask for specific photos, i.e. a puppy next to a banana...or something really random that wouldn't be an easy picture to seek out otherwise. Like number 8, scammers don't want to work for the money, they'll probably just block you and move on to the next victim.
10. CHECK IF THE SELLER IS SELLING MULTIPLE BREEDS OF PUPPIES.
This is prevalent not only to scammers, but also to puppy farms. Most breeders only breed 1 litter at a time, and in general stick to one breed. If you see someone with multiple adverts for different breeds of puppy, the chances are it's either a scammer trying to get as many people as possible (especially around Christmas time etc), or it's a puppy farm.
