Buying a puppy should be an exciting and joyful experience, but unfortunately, the internet has become a hotspot for puppy scams. Each year, thousands of Americans lose money, personal information, and hope after falling victim to fake puppy sellers. These scams are sophisticated, emotionally targeted, and often very convincing. They can be devastating for families who have set their hearts on a puppy joining their family, only to find that they instead become victims of criminal activity.
In this article, we take a look at potential puppy scams you may come across as you search for a puppy to join your home, and how you can avoid them. We break down the 10 most common scams and the red flags to look out for.
This is the most common type of puppy scam. Scammers steal photos of adorable puppies from real breeders, Instagram accounts, or even Google Images. They list the puppies at appealing prices to quickly grab attention. The scam is that the puppies don’t exist. Once you send a deposit, the scammer disappears or blocks you.
These scammers often copy text from breeder websites to make it appear legitimate.
Red flags to look out for include images that seem too professional or appear elsewhere online. You can do an image search on Google to check if the image has been used elsewhere. If the seller refuses video calls or new photos, this might come with convenient excuses like the “camera’s broken,” “poor reception,” or the “puppy is sleeping”.
This scam happens when a transport service claims it needs extra money for new shipping requirements. They may demand you pay for items such as a temperature-controlled crate, insurance for live animals, FDA-approved documents, or refundable deposits. None of these is real, and you will likely be paying a transport company that doesn’t exist. Many scammers create fake courier websites to appear professional.
Red flags include requests for Zelle, Cash App, or cryptocurrency for shipping, courier websites with grammar errors or generic stock photos, and high-pressure messages insisting fees must be paid “within an hour.”
Scammers often craft heartbreaking stories to create urgency and trust. Common narratives include a family member dying, military deployment, a sick child, or a sudden financial emergency, to name a few examples. The scammer often claims they must rehome the puppy immediately and will offer it for a very low price if you send a deposit today.
Red flags are overly dramatic personal stories, prices far below normal, pushing for instant payment, and failure to provide a purchase contract or health records.
These scammers impersonate reputable breeders by copying their entire website, using stolen photos of real puppies and parents, copying testimonials, logos, and even pedigrees. And they then list puppies at half the normal price to attract buyers.
The red flags to look out for in this scam include a website URL that looks similar but slightly off (extra numbers, missing words), the phone number or email doesn’t match the real breeder, and prices are often dramatically lower than typical breed standards. You should always cross-check the breeder’s official website and contact them directly to help prevent you from falling for this scam.
In this puppy scam, after you’ve paid for the puppy, the scammer contacts you, claiming the vet requires additional money for vaccines, microchipping, deworming, or health verification documents. They present this as urgent and may produce fake vet invoices. These added fees were never discussed because they’re fabricated.
Red flags for this scam include surprise bills after you’ve already paid, refusal to let you call the vet directly, and pressure to send money immediately.
Flight-nanny delivery has become popular, and scammers exploit it. After they claim the puppy is “in transit,” they contact you saying that the nanny is stuck at an airport, adverse weather delays require “insurance”, that customs is holding the puppy, or that they need emergency accommodation money.
Each new “fee” is more urgent than the last, and the requests don’t stop until you refuse to pay. Red flags for this puppy scam include not having proof of airline involvement, not giving flight details, fake tracking links, and repeated sudden emergencies.
Scammers know that buyers trust AKC-registered breeders. They claim puppies are AKC registered and provide fake paperwork, forged litter numbers, and links to unofficial registry websites. Some scammers even send altered photos of registration certificates.
Red flags for this scam include websites that look similar to AKC but with errors, no access to parents’ registration numbers, and a seller who refuses to provide direct verification. You should always verify AKC information independently.
In this puppy scam, the scammers take deposits and vanish. They usually take time to build trust first by texting often, sending stolen pictures, and describing the puppy’s personality.
The moment the deposit is sent, all communication stops.
You should be wary of a deposit required before any live video, payment requests through Zelle, Cash App, or prepaid cards, no written agreement, or social media accounts with few posts or brand-new profiles.
Scammers often lure buyers with puppies listed for far below the normal cost. This method is also frequently used by puppy mills. They may claim they’re selling cheaply because they’re moving, it was an “accidental litter”, they’re “not breeders,” or they need the puppy gone “today”.
Red flags include a price dramatically lower than that of other breeders, no health guarantee, refusal to let you meet the puppy or their parents, and sales pushed with urgency.
Some sellers buy cheap or sick puppies from puppy mills and resell them as 'family raised', 'hand-reared', 'home bred', or 'socialized since birth'. The puppies often arrive sick, underweight, or too young to safely leave their mother.
Potential puppy scams include the seller refusing to show the mother, no proof of vaccinations or vet care, the puppy appearing fearful, withdrawn, or ill, and the age seeming younger than stated. This isn’t just a scam, it’s an animal-welfare concern.
Understanding how puppy scams work is the first step in protecting yourself. The safest way to avoid scams is to purchase a puppy from an ethical and responsible breeder. You should insist on a live video call with the puppy and seller, or if possible, meet the puppy and parents in person. You should verify breeder information, including phone number, address, and website.
To avoid puppy scams, you should refuse to use payment apps that offer no buyer protection, use only reputable breeders with reviews, references, and a transparent history. You should also be cautious with urgency, emotional stories, or unusually low prices. A good idea is to also check photos through reverse-image search.
A legitimate breeder will never rush you, pressure you, or hide information. If anything feels off, walk away, and protect your wallet, your heart, and your family.
02 February, 2026