Nothing melts a heart faster than a photo of a puppy — and scammers know it. Online pet scams rank among the cruelest frauds because they exploit love: victims fall for an adorable animal, send money to a “breeder,” and discover the pet never existed. The Better Business Bureau’s 2025 study update found the median reported loss was $600, with thousands of Americans targeted every year.
The scam follows a heartbreaking script. You find a purebred puppy advertised online at an attractive price. The “breeder” says the puppy must be shipped to you. You pay — and then a “shipping company” demands extra fees for a special crate, insurance, or vaccinations. Each payment brings a new fee, sometimes accompanied by threats that the animal will suffer if you do not pay. In the end, no puppy ever arrives, because there never was one.
These scams surge around holidays, when families search for pets as gifts, and they thrive on high-demand breeds like French Bulldogs, Yorkies, and Dachshunds. The good news: pet scams are highly predictable once you know the pattern. This guide shows you exactly how they work, the red flags the BBB says to watch for, and how to find a real pet safely.
How Online Pet Scams Work, Step by Step
Step 1: The too-good listing. The scammer posts ads on classified sites, social media, or a professional-looking website, offering popular breeds at prices well below market rate. The photos are adorable — because they are stolen from legitimate breeders’ sites or social media accounts.
Step 2: No in-person contact allowed. When you inquire, the “breeder” claims to be located far away — another state or even another country — and says the pet must be shipped. They refuse in-person visits and dodge live video calls, offering only pre-recorded videos or more photos (which are also stolen).
Step 3: The first payment. You are asked to pay a deposit or the full price, usually by wire transfer, Zelle, Cash App, gift cards, or cryptocurrency — payment methods with no buyer protection. The scammer may offer a “contract” that looks official but is worthless.
Step 4: The fee avalanche. After you pay, a supposed “shipping company” or “pet transport service” contacts you demanding additional fees: a temperature-controlled crate, pet insurance, vaccinations, customs clearance, or special handling. Victims report being moved between multiple supposed “breeders” and “shippers,” each demanding more money. One Alabama woman documented in BBB reports sent around $7,000 in escalating fees before realizing the truth.
Step 5: Emotional blackmail. When victims hesitate, scammers turn cruel — claiming the animal will be harmed, abandoned, or “put down” if more money is not sent immediately. Because the victim is already emotionally invested in the pet from the photos, many keep paying.
Step 6: Disappearance. Eventually the victim stops paying or runs out of money. The seller vanishes — website deleted, phone disconnected, social media profile gone. There was never any puppy, and the money is unrecoverable because of how it was sent.
The Numbers Behind Pet Scams
The BBB’s research paints a clear picture of the problem’s scale:
- Median loss of $600 in 2025 — down from $750 in 2022, suggesting growing consumer awareness, but still a painful hit for most families.
- 2,899 pet scam reports to the BBB Scam Tracker in 2023 at the peak, declining to 2,278 in 2024 and 1,632 through September 2025.
- Holiday spikes: reports consistently surge in November and December, when demand for puppies as gifts peaks.
- Regional waves continue: in early 2026, BBB offices in Texas warned of more than 35 puppy scam reports in just three months, totaling over $31,000 in losses.
- Most scammers operate from outside the U.S. while targeting American buyers, which makes prosecution difficult and recovery rare.
Red Flags: The BBB’s Pet Scam Warning Signs
- Prices far below market for popular breeds. A purebred French Bulldog puppy advertised for a few hundred dollars is not a bargain — it is bait. Research what the breed actually costs from legitimate sources first.
- The seller refuses in-person meetings or live video calls. This is the single most reliable test. Scammers cannot produce a real animal on a live call. If they refuse, walk away.
- Extra fees keep appearing after the first payment. Charges for special crates, “pet insurance,” vaccinations, or climate-controlled shipping that were never mentioned upfront are the scam’s profit engine.
- Payment by wire, gift card, or crypto. The BBB and the American Kennel Club both warn: reputable breeders do not demand untraceable payment. Credit cards or PayPal Goods and Services offer dispute protections that scammers avoid.
- The word “teacup” in the ad. The BBB specifically flags this marketing term as a common lure in scam listings, used to imply rarity and urgency.
- High-pressure tactics and threats. Claims that the animal will be harmed, given away, or euthanized unless you pay immediately are emotional manipulation — a legitimate seller never does this.
- The entire deal happens by text or email. No working phone number, no physical address you can verify, no verifiable business identity.
- Stolen photos. The puppy pictures appear on multiple websites under different seller names — a quick reverse image search exposes this in seconds.
How to Safely Buy or Adopt a Pet: 8 Steps
- See the animal in person — or on a live video call. This is the BBB’s number one recommendation. Most scams cannot survive a live video call with the actual animal. Insist on it before paying anything.
- Run a reverse image search. Upload the listing photos to a reverse image search tool. If the same puppy appears on other sites, breeder pages, or stock photo collections, the listing is fraudulent.
- Research the breed’s real price. Check what reputable breeders charge for the breed you want. A price dramatically below market is a warning, not a deal.
- Verify the breeder’s identity. Look for a real physical address, a working phone number, and verifiable reviews. Check breed club directories — the American Kennel Club maintains breeder referral resources. Be wary of breeders with no digital footprint beyond their own website.
- Ask for veterinary references. Legitimate breeders work with veterinarians and will share references. Ask for the vet clinic’s name and call it independently.
- Never pay by wire, gift card, or crypto. Use a credit card or another payment method with fraud protection. Anyone who refuses traceable payment is telling you who they are.
- Visit a local shelter first. The BBB notes that many buyers have no strong breed preference — and a shelter visit lets you meet a real animal in person, eliminating scam risk entirely while saving a life.
- Take your time. A dog is a 10-to-15-year commitment. Any seller rushing you to decide today is manipulating you. A responsible breeder wants you to think carefully.
What to Do If You Were Targeted
- Stop sending money immediately — no matter what threats the “seller” makes about the animal. The threats are empty; there is no animal.
- Contact your bank or card issuer. If you paid by credit card, file a fraud dispute right away. Wire and crypto payments are generally irreversible, but report them anyway.
- Save all evidence: the listing, photos, messages, payment receipts, and the seller’s contact details.
- Warn others by reporting the listing to the platform where you found it, so it can be removed before someone else is victimized.
How to Report Pet Scams
- BBB Scam Tracker: Report at BBB.org/ScamTracker — the BBB also maintains pet-scam-specific resources at BBB.org/PetScams.
- FTC: Report at ReportFraud.ftc.gov, or call 1-877-FTC-HELP.
- FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center: File at ic3.gov for online pet fraud.
- Petscams.com: An independent site that tracks complaints, catalogs known puppy scammers, and works to get fraudulent pet sales websites taken down.
- The platform: Report the fraudulent listing to the classified site or social media platform where it appeared.
Why Pet Scams Work: The Psychology
Pet scams succeed because they hijack the normal decision-making process with emotion. Psychologists call this the affect heuristic — when feelings about something (a cute puppy photo) override rational evaluation (verifying the seller). Scammers deepen this effect deliberately: they send frequent photo updates, give the animal a name, and describe its personality, so the buyer bonds with a pet that does not exist before any money changes hands.
The escalating-fee structure exploits a second bias: the sunk cost fallacy. After paying $500, a demand for $200 more in “shipping fees” feels smaller than abandoning the $500 already spent — even though the rational move is to stop immediately. Each additional payment makes the next one psychologically easier, which is why the BBB’s victim stories so often describe five, six, or seven separate payments before the victim stops. Understanding these two mechanisms in advance is itself a defense: if you feel yourself bonding with photos or rationalizing “just one more fee,” recognize the pattern and step back.
Sources
- Better Business Bureau, “2025 Study Update: Puppy Scams” (2025) — https://www.bbb.org/all/scamstudies/puppy-scams/2025-study-update-puppy-scams
- TheStreet, “Online scammers targeting animal lovers this holiday season” (2025) — https://www.thestreet.com/retail/online-scammers-targeting-animal-lovers-this-holiday-season
- WisBusiness, “Wisconsin Better Business Bureau: Pet scams update” (2025) — https://www.wisbusiness.com/2025/wisconsin-better-business-bureau-pet-scams-update-popular-dog-breeds-mean-popular-targets-for-scammers/
- WVLT, “Safety Alert: Puppy scams on the rise during holiday season in Tennessee, Kentucky” (2025) — https://www.wvlt.tv/2025/12/04/safety-alert-puppy-scams-rise-during-holiday-season-tennessee-kentucky/
- Beeville Bee-Picayune, “Puppy scams cost families thousands across Texas” (2026) — https://www.southtexasnews.com/beeville_bee_picayune/puppy-scams-cost-families-thousands-across-texas/article_b398c78a-1cef-4555-acb8-05272b7558b0.html
Last reviewed: October 2026
This article is for education only and is not financial or legal advice.