Swank Pets Dog Blog

Internet scammers are now targeting puppy buyers over the internet. Indeed, more and more people are using the internet to purchase things. The internet has definitely made things a lot easier and convenient for many people. However, there are many people out there trying to con you out of your money if you are not careful. Recently, there have been a rash of people targeting those seeking a puppy. Often times, people cannot find a breeder in their area. The internet has given people access to hundreds of thousands of breeders across the United States making it easier to purchase a puppy. However, there are some scams that you need to be aware of before purchasing a puppy through the internet.

Many internet scam artists are from overseas. This makes it extremely difficult for U.S. authorities to track down and stop. The first scam actually targets people trying to sell puppies as opposed to buyers. A scammer will contact the breeder about a particular puppy for sale and will go ahead and send a cashiers check for more than the actual agreed amount. The scammer then tells the breeder that he/she accidentally sent to much money and asks the breeder to just wire over the excess money back to the scammer. After the breeder wires over the money, they decide to go cash the cashiers check only to find out that it was FAKE! Someone has actually attempted this scam on me before, however I was not selling puppies. The cashiers checks looked very authentic, and the bank teller could not even tell if they were counterfeit. So BEWARE!

The next scam involves people trying to buy puppies online. The buyer comes across a directory of breeders or even a full on website with pictures of the parents and the puppies. Most often, this scam is used in selling Yorkies or English Bulldogs. The scammer lists the price of these usually very expensive breeds for a very cheap price or sometimes even free! The scammer will come up with some story why the dogs are so cheap, such as the scammer being a missionary or just plain good sumaritan. The buyer contacts the breeder, and everything is set to go. However, the buyer is unaware that this dog breeder is actually a scam artist. Before the puppies are shipped, the scammer will request from the buyer that they need to pay for shipping costs, dog vaccinations, vet visits and any other fee they can think up. The buyers are willing to pay since they’re getting the dog for so cheap in the first place. Unfortunately, the buyers will end up with nothing in the end but a lighter wallet.

The last scam that is appearing also targets people trying to purchase a dog. Websites will advertise that they have beautiful purebred dogs that are of the highest quality. The scammers will even take random pictures off the internet and claim them to be the puppy for sale. Once the money is wired to the scammer, either no puppy is even sent, or a sick and unhealthy puppy is delivered. If there is a puppy sent, they are often from puppy mills and definitely not the same happy healthy puppy shown in the picture. Many people count on buyers not wanting to send the puppy back. However, there are also cases where the scammer will just ignore the buyer and they are then stuck with an unhealthy puppy.

Hopefully, this will bring people to become aware of these puppy scams popping up over the internet. In another post, I will go on to tell you how to choose a proper breeder.