Buying a puppy online means sending money to someone you have never met for a living animal you have not seen. That is an attractive target for fraud, and puppy scam operations are common enough that every buyer should know the pattern before they start looking.
This guide lists the warning signs, the checks worth doing, and the payment methods you should simply refuse. Apply all of it to us as well — a breeder who objects to being verified is telling you something.
Why This Category Attracts Fraud
Three things make puppy sales unusually easy to exploit. The buyer is emotionally invested before any money changes hands. The transaction is normally remote. And there is a built-in reason the buyer cannot inspect the goods first.
Add in-demand types — long-haired, dapple, miniature — and the photographs practically sell themselves. Which is exactly why those listings attract the most fraudulent copies.
Twelve Warning Signs
1. The price is noticeably below everything comparable
The most reliable single signal. If every comparable puppy is $900 to $2,000 and one listing says $400, that is not a bargain.
2. They want payment by wire transfer, gift card, or an app with no protection
Wire transfers, Western Union, gift cards, cryptocurrency, and friends-and-family transfers on payment apps all have one thing in common: once sent, the money is unrecoverable. Legitimate breeders do not insist on these.
3. They will not do a live video call
This is the single most useful test available, and it is free. Ask for a live video call with the puppy — not a recorded clip. Ask them to do something specific and immediate: pick the puppy up, show you the room, hold up three fingers. A scammer using stolen photos cannot do this.
Any excuse here — broken camera, bad signal, the puppy is at the vet, we only use text — is a stop signal.
4. The photos appear elsewhere online
Reverse image search every photo. Google Images, TinEye, or a long-press on mobile. If the same puppy appears on five unrelated websites under different names, you have found a stolen photo set. This takes about ninety seconds.
5. Fees keep appearing after you pay
The classic escalation: you pay the deposit, then there is a special climate-controlled crate, then insurance, then a customs fee, then a vet certificate. Each one is urgent, each one is refundable later, and the puppy never arrives. Once this starts, the money already sent is gone — do not send more.
6. They only communicate by text or messaging app
Refusal to take a phone call is a bad sign. Voices are harder to fake than text, and real breeders talk to buyers.
7. Urgency and pressure
Another family is interested, the price goes up tomorrow, you need to pay today to hold the puppy. Real breeders want their puppies in good homes and can wait a day for you to think.
8. The website is brand new or has no history
Check how long the domain has existed — free domain-age lookup tools will tell you in seconds. A site created three weeks ago selling puppies at a discount deserves scrutiny.
9. The text reads oddly, or appears on other sites
Copy a paragraph from the site and search it in quotation marks. Scam sites frequently copy text wholesale from legitimate breeders, so the same paragraph appearing verbatim on several sites is a signal.
10. No physical address, no phone number, no named person
A contact form and a generic email address, with no human name attached anywhere, is thin. You should be able to identify who you are dealing with.
11. They will not answer specific questions about the parents
Ask what both parents weigh, what their coats and patterns are, and whether you can see them. Vagueness or deflection is meaningful — particularly on a dapple puppy, where whether both parents were dapple is a genuine health question.
12. They will ship anywhere, immediately, no questions asked
Responsible breeders usually ask you questions. A seller who shows zero interest in where the puppy is going is not thinking about the puppy.
The Five-Minute Check
Before sending anything, do all of this:
- Reverse image search every photo in the listing
- Search the exact phone number and email — scam contact details get reported publicly and often surface in searches
- Search the business name plus “scam” or “review”
- Check the domain age
- Insist on a live video call and ask for something specific and unrehearsed during it
Any one of these failing is reason to walk away. There are other puppies.
How to Pay
Use a payment method with recourse. A credit card is best — chargeback rights are real. Payment services offering buyer protection are acceptable, but only when used as a goods-and-services transaction, not friends-and-family.
Never use wire transfer, gift cards, or cryptocurrency for a puppy. Not to a stranger, not ever, no matter how the request is framed.
If You Have Already Paid
If you think you have been defrauded, contact your bank or card issuer immediately — speed matters for chargebacks. Report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov, and to the IC3 if the transaction crossed state lines. Keep every message, screenshot and receipt.
Do not send further payments in an attempt to recover the first one. That escalation is itself part of the scheme.
Apply This to Us
We would rather you verified us than trusted us.
- We will do a live video call before you pay anything. Ask us to show you something specific.
- We will tell you both parents’ details — weights, coats, patterns — for any puppy.
- We quote delivery separately and upfront, rather than adding fees after a deposit.
- Our terms are published. Read the health guarantee and the adoption contract before you commit, not after.
- Ask us anything and expect a straight answer. If we are vague, apply the rules above to us.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the single best way to avoid a puppy scam?
Insist on a live video call with the puppy and ask for something specific and unrehearsed. Stolen photos cannot pass that test.
Are deposits normal?
Yes, deposits are standard practice. What is not normal is a deposit paid by an irreversible method, or new fees appearing afterwards.
Is it safe to buy a puppy online at all?
Yes, with verification. Most online puppy sales are legitimate. The checks above filter out the ones that are not.
Should a breeder ask me questions too?
Yes. A breeder with no interest in where a puppy is going is a warning sign in itself.
About Us
We raise our Dachshund puppies at home rather than in kennels. Every puppy is examined by a licensed vet and is current on vaccinations and worming before it leaves.
See who is currently available on our available puppies page, read our health guarantee, see how delivery works, or get in touch to arrange a video call.
