Adopting a Pet Online? Avoid These Pet Scams

When you are shopping online for a pet, be careful not to be lured into a pet scam! Imagine finding the perfect pet for your child or home in an advert online and showing it to them. Excited, you get in touch with the seller only to lose money and never get the pet.

The Better Business Bureau (BBB) in the US, estimates that 80% of sponsored searches for pet sales may be fraudulent. They advertise animals they DO NOT own. More online advertising was noted during holiday seasons and COVID-19 travel restrictions. 

The BBC reports that 70% of all online buyers fall victims to pet scams and lose their money. 2019-2020 saw a reported average loss of $650 per pet scam victim. 

Action Fraud in the UK reported 280,000 pounds were lost in two months through pet scams.

Why do Pet Scams have a high success rate?

They use clever tactics to get your attention. These are:

• Attractive photos: Cute, pretty fluffy-looking pets are the bait that gets your attention.
• Price: They offer prices that are way cheaper than the market range for known pet breeds.
• Your emotional attachment: People love pets. They are like personal companions. We easily get attached to them.
• Forming an attachment: Imagining already having the pet cements your desire to have it and that is what scammers exploit.

How do the scammers present themselves?

• As Pet breeders
• As Pet owners who need to sell them off because of some financial strain or personal issue like a lifestyle change. Whatever reason given will justify their cheap price.
• Emotional appeals in the pet ads like, “Lonely puppy looking for a loving home...” or a similar sob story.
• Pets for adoption at zero adoption costs. It costs to have legal pet adoption papers. Scammers don’t have those.

Here Is A Common Pet Scam Scenario

You are on the internet when you see a nice pet photo and click on it. You find the full image looks even better. It is exactly the pet you wanted. 

You look at the price and get even more excited. It’s a bargain! Even if you pay for shipping, that price is unbeatable! You want to save your money and still get that pet you always wanted. This is a two-for-one deal! It’s too good to pass. 

So, you contact the seller and verify that they have the one you want at the price listed. It’s all good! The seller is professional in answering your questions. They ask about your home and if you have experience with pets. 

They then direct you to their transporter of choice who is an experienced pet shipper. The transporter has a website that even allows you to track progress as the pet is shipped to you! This could not get any better, you think. Everything has been thought out and systems put in place!

Nothing seems shady so far, so you want to make the payment. They are so reasonable as to allow you to pay a percentage first, then clear the payment when your pet arrives. Sounds fair. You make the payment. It’s usually MoneyGram or Western Union. 

As soon as you pay, you start getting endless issues that cause delivery delays. This is when warning signs light up in your head. From pet food, to insurance, to veterinary care, and even suggestions of a special crate for the pet! And these delays need you to send more money to be sorted out. 

By now, you can feel something fishy is going on but they still sound like legitimate pet issues.  So you play it safe. You suggest that they take care of those small expenses, which you can reimburse at delivery. 

That’s when the threats roll in. The animal could die if you do not send money and that you, the buyer, could be charged with animal abandonment. Animal abandonment is a real crime but does not apply in this situation. Of course, they are counting on you not knowing that. 

Truth is, there never was any pet like you saw in the photo. The photo was lifted from another legit site. And that's why your pet will never arrive. You have been scammed!

The transport company you were referred to belongs to the scammer. Such sites are aptly named non-delivery fraud websites. It makes them appear professional, real, and knowledgeable of their business. But they are fraudsters and never deliver!

They insisted on payment systems that have zero to nil chances of reversing transactions and getting refunds!

The issues causing the delay of your delivery are the icing on the scammers' cake. They earn the scammers extra cash on top of your initial deposit.

How to Avoid Pet Scams

• Check the Website: Use petscams.com or Scamadviser.com to see website analyses. Check if a website that sells pets has been flagged for possible scams. They catalogue scams and have a huge database of reported pet scam sites.
  
  
• Note that genuine-looking websites with good pictures and organization can also be scam sites. Use Ipata to check pet transport service providers that you can trust.
  
  
• Reverse photo search: Do a reverse search on the pet pictures shown on any pet site. This will give you results of which site the photo was swiped from. It may also show other sites with the exact photo.
  
  
• Go Local: Visit and view the pet in person before purchase. It's easy for local pet shelters, breeders, or rescue organizations. Denial of an actual visit or a live video chat is a strong indicator of a possible scam. Pet scammers want to strictly communicate over email, text, and regular phone calls.
  
  
• Prefer credit card and bank payments: These can be tracked and money transfers proved in a legitimate case. 

If You Fall Victim to a Pet Scam

Contact your bank/ credit card issuer if you gave your credit card details. 

Report all pet fraud scams to:

• Canadian Anti-fraud Centre to report pet fraud in Canada.
• Petscams.com to report pet fraud complaints for tracking and cataloguing.
• Better Business Bureau to report the scam in the US