Online and Account Scams

Pet & Animal Scams

Fake pet, breeder, adoption, and shipping offers collect payment for animals that do not exist or are not owned by the seller.

Understand the pattern

How this scam operates

A seller advertises a pet they do not own or that does not exist, often using stolen photographs and a copied breeder website. After an initial payment, supposed shipping, insurance, special-crate, veterinary-certificate, vaccination, quarantine, permit, refundable-deposit, or delivery-problem fees may follow.

Details can vary, but the goal is usually to create enough trust, fear, or urgency that you act before verifying the story. Caller ID, profile names, logos, and polished websites can all be copied.

A useful ruleEnd the original contact. Then find the organization or person independently and ask whether the claim is genuine.

What the scammer wants

An initial purchase or adoption payment, followed by repeated transportation fees and personal or payment information.

Common tactics

Stolen pet photos, fake or newly created breeder sites, unusually low prices, relocation or military-deployment stories, and supposedly refundable shipping, crate, or insurance charges.

Evidence in context

Commonly documented operational hotspots

These are recurring locations in law-enforcement cases and established fraud research—not a ranking of countries or people.

Location does not identify a person Scam operations are transnational. A phone number, caller ID, profile or IP location, accent, or claimed location does not reliably reveal where an operation is based. Listing a location does not imply that ordinary people from that country or region are scammers.
Cameroon Primary

BBB’s analyzed sample of fraudulent puppy websites frequently appeared to be operated from Cameroon. The study sample is not a worldwide prevalence estimate.

Association
Primary documented location
Evidence source
2025 BBB Scam Study Update: Puppy Scams — Better Business Bureau
Last verified
South Africa Primary

BBB’s analyzed sample of fraudulent puppy websites frequently appeared to be operated from South Africa. The study sample is not a worldwide prevalence estimate.

Association
Primary documented location
Evidence source
2025 BBB Scam Study Update: Puppy Scams — Better Business Bureau
Last verified
India Emerging

BBB identified a smaller share of its analyzed puppy-scam sites with India links and reported substantial related domain-registration activity.

Association
Emerging documented location
Evidence source
2025 BBB Scam Study Update: Puppy Scams — Better Business Bureau
Last verified
Recognize the pressure

Warning signs to look for

High risk

No in-person or live-video viewing

The seller refuses a practical viewing or cannot show the specific animal live with verifiable records.

Caution

Copied photos or an unverifiable breeder

Reverse-image results, a newly created domain, missing records, or inconsistent details suggest a copied or fabricated listing.

High risk

Repeated supposedly refundable fees

After the first payment, an unexpected shipper demands insurance, a special crate, permits, quarantine, vaccinations, or other delivery charges.

Take back control

What to do next

Take protective action even if you are not yet certain this is a scam.

  1. verification

    Verify the animal and seller independently

    See the animal in person when practical. If distance is unavoidable, request live video, reverse-image-search the photos, verify records, and research the breeder, rescue, and domain independently.

  2. verification

    Find the real shipping company yourself

    Do not use only the seller's link or phone number. Locate the company independently and reject surprise insurance, crate, permit, quarantine, or other transportation fees.

  3. Immediate response

    Preserve evidence and secure access

    Save messages, receipts, account names, URLs, and transaction details. If credentials were exposed, change them from a trusted device and review active sessions.

How to protect yourself

See the animal in person when practical or insist on a live video viewing. Reverse-image-search photos; independently verify the breeder or rescue and domain history; and find a shipping company's real website and contact details yourself. Avoid gift cards, cryptocurrency, wires, and repeated surprise transportation charges.

If you were affected

Stop further payments and preserve the listing, website, messages, receipts, and shipping details. Contact the payment provider promptly, report the listing and website, and watch for follow-up recovery demands.

Open the recovery checklist
Verified destinations

Official help and reporting

Choose the service for your location. External links open the organization’s official website.