Signs of a Puppy Scam

I’m hearing so much about puppy scams and people losing sometimes hundreds of dollars. Please do your due diligence in researching a breeder. There are so many red flags that people miss. Below is a list I wrote out. While not exhaustive it should give you a starting place with red flags to look for. Not all of these will be present at one time, but if you see several it’s a warning to steer clear. As scammers evolve and get better at what they do I will update this list of what to look for. If shared please give credit.

SIGNS OF A PUPPY SCAM

1. FB page is very new ,very few followers. Keep in mind there are new breeders creating Facebook pages all the time. This alone does not mean the breeder is a scam.

2. Puppies are in all different settings in pictures supposedly taken on the same day. IE. Some on a rug some outside supposedly same litter.

3. If they have a website the wording will be off such as wrong use of grammar

4. Cannot tell you anything about the parents and have no pictures

5. Will not speak by phone 

6. Will not send a video with the the correct date or word you ask them to write and set in front of the puppy or say your name and a word you ask them to say 

7. Price is well below the norm and will usually “include shipping”. 

8. Wants money immediately 

9. Cannot discuss with you things about the breed. Seems clueless.

10. Does not spell the breed name correctly. IE: Cavlier, cavilier, king Spaniel,etc.

11. Will not give vet information so you can look it up and make sure it’s legit. Always call the vet when in doubt to be sure the person is a client.

12. Is clueless about Heath testing or issues that could affect the breed.

13. Puppies said to be all one age but it’s clear they are varying ages.

14. Will always hijack another post trying to direct you to their page.

15. Many, but not all reputable breeders will have a waitlist. They have a waitlist because they have built a solid reputation for themselves. However some breeders choose not to keep a waitlist but will not have puppies readily available at all times. 

16. Won’t publicly share their location. When messaging/texting they will ask you first where you are located then say they are near in you in some cases.

17. Will not have references of past buyers and if they do produce people they too will write with incorrect grammar. I don’t mean typos! We all have those from time to time. They will not use grammar correctly.

18. Will speak, type, message with broken grammar, non English speaking in many cases, not all but many.

19. Will see the puppy(s) for sale multiple times on different groups and sometimes on the same page.

20. May call the puppy female but you can clearly see it’s a male. I actually saw this once...lol

21. Never pay in gift cards, EVER! For bank wire transfers be certain you are dealing with a legitimate breeder.