The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically increased demand for pets as people seek adding a pet to the family to ease the loneliness and tension of prolonged time at home. Many feel that they now have more time to train a puppy. With this rising demand has come a spike in pet scams whereby online searching ends with a would-be pet owner paying hundreds of dollars or more to purchase a pet that ultimately doesn’t exist. BBB serving Central Virginia advises extreme caution when shopping for a pet online.
Soon after cities and states began to impose tighter restrictions to curb the spread of COVID-19, BBB Scam Tracker saw a spike in pet fraud reports, with nearly 4,000 scam reports received in 2020 from the U.S. and Canada. COVID is continuing into the 2020 holiday season with consumers reporting 337 complaints to BBB about puppy scams in November; a dramatic increase from 77 for the same month in 2019.
The median loss reported to Scam Tracker in 2020 is $750. Those aged 35 to 55 account for half of all puppy scams being reported this year.
Law enforcement and consumer advocates now say a person searching online for a new pet is very likely to encounter a scam listing or website.
A woman from Hampton Roads, VA reported to BBB in November 2020 that she was looking online for a puppy for her mother’s Christmas gift. She decided to buy a dog for $550 from one of the sites she found online. She kept all the emails and transactions that were made. She was told her dog was being shipped and then learned the shipping company was just another part of the scam. She has yet to receive her puppy, but she’s out her money.
The pandemic has given pet scammers a new tool in their arsenal. Scam Tracker reports show that many fraudsters are telling would-be pet owners they cannot meet the animals before sending money. Petscams.com, which tracks and exposes these scams, recommends using another tool popularized by COVID-19 — video conferencing — to meet the animal and owner virtually before buying as a way of reducing scam vulnerability.
“COVID-19 has made 2020 a very uncertain year, and a ‘quarantine puppy’ or other pet has proven to be a comfort for many people. But it also has created fertile ground for fraudsters,” said Barry N. Moore, President and CEO of BBB serving Central Virginia. “People shopping for pets online are prime targets for fraudsters. Knowing the red flags of this scam can help save consumers a lot of heartache,” Moore added.
At the current pace, pet scams reported to BBB will be nearly five times as many as in 2017, when BBB published its first in-depth investigative study on pet scams. The projected dollar loss from these scams is expected to top $3 million, more than six times the total losses reported in 2017.
With the increase in scam activity has come an evolution in tactics. Scam Tracker data indicates that mobile payment apps like Zelle and CashApp are often used now, whereas Western Union or MoneyGram wire transfers were popular payment methods documented in the 2017 study. Both Zelle and CashApp have issued warnings about pet scams. In addition, pet scammers now commonly use online advertising tools such as sponsored links to boost their fraudulent listings in search results.
The 2017 BBB study noted that most scammers are unable to process credit cards. Although that remains the case, some pet scammers now use fraudulent online forms to collect credit card information. Since the scammers do not have legitimate arrangements to process credit cards, victims may receive an error message stating that the card was declined. Scammers then direct the buyer to send money a different way. But now the scammers have stolen the credit card number, and use these stolen cards to pay for domain names of websites and otherwise fund their scam activities.
Pet buyers using a credit card need to monitor their credit card statements carefully.
In addition to telling buyers they cannot meet a pet before paying because of the pandemic, fraudsters have made COVID-19-related money requests for items such as special climate-controlled crates, insurance and a (non-existent) COVID-19 vaccine, according to Scam Tracker reports. There also were instances where purchasers wanted to pick up the pet but were told that wasn’t possible due to COVID-19 restrictions.
While puppies remain the most common bait in a pet scam, 12% of pet scam complaints to BBB were about kittens or cats. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) data shows that scams involving kittens have more than doubled since 2017. The FTC also received 185 reports of parrots being ordered but not delivered during the first half of 2020. Fraudulent listings for Yorkshire terriers and French bulldogs are particularly pervasive, according to Scam Tracker reports.
BBB recommendations for buying pets online:
- See the pet in person before paying any money. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, consider a video call with the seller so you can see the seller and the actual pet for sale. Since scammers are not likely to comply with the request, this may help avoid a scam.
- Do a reverse image search of the photo of the pet and search for a distinctive phrase in the description.
- Research to get a sense of a fair price for the breed you are considering. If someone advertises a purebred dog for free or at a deeply discounted price, it could well be a fraud.
- Check out a local animal shelter online for pets you can meet before adopting.·
Who to contact if you are the victim of a pet scam:
- Petscams.com – petscams.com/report-pet-scam-websites tracks complaints, catalogues puppy scammers and endeavors to get fraudulent pet sales websites taken down.
- Federal Trade Commission (FTC) – reportfraud.ftc.gov to file a complaint online or call 877-FTC-Help.
- Better Business Bureau – BBB Scam Tracker to report a scam online.
- Your credit card issuer – if you provided your credit card number, even if the transaction was not completed.
About BBB: BBB serving Central Virginia serves Richmond, the Tri-Cities, Charlottesville, and Fredericksburg, as well as 42 surrounding counties from Fauquier to Mecklenburg and Northumberland to Amherst. The nonprofit organization was established in 1954 to advance responsible, honest, and ethical business practices and to promote customer confidence through self-regulation of business. Core services of BBB include business profiles, dispute resolution, truth-in advertising, scam warnings, consumer and business education, and charity review.
