Puppy and Pet Scams: How to Avoid Paying for a Pet That Doesn't Exist

Nov 3, 2026 · 4 minute read · By IsSiteLegit

If a seller asks you to pay for a pet you have not met, slow down. Ask for a live video call, check the seller's website and details, and never pay by gift card, wire transfer or cryptocurrency. If the seller refuses a video call or keeps adding fees, walk away.

How a pet scam usually works

The scammer posts adorable photos of a puppy or kitten. The price is often low, or the animal is a popular breed that is hard to find. The seller is friendly and quick to reply. There is often a sad story, such as a family emergency or a move abroad.

You pay a deposit. Then the problems start. The pet does not exist, and the photos were copied from somewhere else.

Warning signs to look for

• Stolen photos. Run the pictures through a reverse image search. If the same puppy appears on several sites under different names, it is a bad sign.
• No video call. A real seller can show you the animal live, with you asking them to do something simple, like have the puppy near today's newspaper or say your name.
• Payment only by hard-to-trace methods. Gift cards, wire transfers, cryptocurrency and payment apps used for "friends and family" are hard to get back.
• Pressure. "Other buyers are waiting" is a way to stop you thinking.
• Vague answers. Real breeders can talk about the parents, the health checks and the care routine in detail.
• Seller can't meet. They say you cannot visit, and the pet must be shipped.

The "extra fees" trick

The most common pattern is a second, third and fourth payment. After the deposit, you are told you must also pay for:

1. Shipping or a special travel crate
2. Vaccinations or a health certificate
3. Insurance for the journey
4. A fee to release the animal at the airport or customs

Each payment comes with a reason, and each one sounds small on its own. The pet never arrives, and there is always another fee. If a seller invents a new charge after you have paid, treat it as a strong sign of a scam. Stop paying.

Brand-new websites

Many fake sellers have a polished website with a cute name, a gallery and a contact form. Making a website is cheap and quick, so a good look proves nothing.

Some things you can check:

• How old is the domain? A site claiming "20 years of breeding" but registered a few weeks ago does not add up.
• Is the address odd? Be wary of long names stuffed with breed words or extra hyphens. A made-up example would be happy-puppies-shipping.example.
• Are the contact details real? Look for a physical address, a phone number that works and a business name you can look up.
• Do reviews look copied? Check that reviews appear on independent sites, not just on the seller's own page.

Free site builders are also used by scammers. In the phishing links listed by public security feeds on 2026-11-03, 55% were on shared hosting platforms, with pages.dev the most common. That feed covers phishing, not pet scams, but it shows that a free or cheap address can be used to look convincing. Where a site is hosted does not prove a scam on its own, so look at the whole picture.

How to check a breeder

1. Ask for a video call and see the puppy with its mother.
2. Ask for the breeder's registration with a recognised breed club or kennel club, then contact the club yourself using details from its official website.
3. Ask for a vet's name and phone number, and call the clinic to confirm.
4. Visit in person if you can. A good breeder expects it.
5. Search the seller's name, phone and email along with the word "scam".
6. Pay safely. Use a credit card where possible, as it usually offers more protection than other methods. Pay only after you have met the animal.
7. Consider a local shelter. Rescues let you meet the animal before you commit.

Our guide to spotting a fake online store has more checks that also apply to pet sellers.

What a check can and can't tell you

A website check looks at public signals such as domain age, security blacklists, look-alike names and what the page says. It can quickly show that a site is new or has been flagged. It cannot see the seller's intentions, and it can miss brand-new scam sites that nobody has reported yet.

In the last 7 days, we ran 124 checks. Of these, 111 came back likely legit, 10 came back with caution and 3 as high risk. A "likely legit" result is not a guarantee. Always add your own checks, especially a live video call.

If you already paid or clicked

1. Stop paying. Do not send more money, even if the seller threatens or begs.
2. Contact your bank or card provider right away and ask about reversing the payment.
3. Keep evidence: messages, photos, receipts and the website address.
4. Report it. In the US, use reportfraud.ftc.gov and ic3.gov. In the UK, use Action Fraud. In Australia, use Scamwatch.
5. Watch for follow-up scams. Some fraudsters pose as "refund agents" and ask for another fee.

Our guide on what to do if you paid a scam website lists more steps.

Before you send money, you can check a website with IsSiteLegit for free and see the evidence behind the result.

Written with AI from IsSiteLegit's data and published after an automatic fact check: every number in this post comes from that data. Figures from security feeds describe the links listed on the day of the post. Where we link to a website’s IsSiteLegit result, a "likely legit" rating describes what our automated checks found when they ran. It is not an endorsement of the company, its products or its offers. How we write.