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COVID 19 Twist On Pet Scams

As the Covid-19 crisis continues, extended stay-at-home orders have motivated many consumers to consider buying a pet as a companion. BBB cautions consumers to remain vigilant when looking for a fluffy friend online as scammers often use emotional tactics to prey on unsuspecting pet seekers.

Pet scammers typically post ads of adorable pets to lure potential pet owners into paying upfront fees (usually via wire transfer or another unconventional method of payment) before receiving their pet. Consumers have reported to BBB that disreputable sellers are also demanding additional delivery fees for extra precautions, which you need to take during the current crisis. Once the seller receives the money, you find neither the seller nor the pet.

“According to a recent BBB International Investigative Study, as many as 80% of online ads may be fraudulent,” said Mechele Agbayani Mills, President and CEO of BBB Serving Central East Texas. “That’s why it’s so important to purchase from a reputable company or breeder and to see the pet in person.”

BBB provides the following tips to avoid falling for a pet scam:

Choose Local. Resist purchasing/adopting unless you can visit the shelter, owner, or breeder before you pay, avoid buying or adopting a puppy other pet from out of state. When you have a pet shipped from another area, you don’t know really how healthy or young it is, or if the pet exists at all.

Verify information. Remember that paperwork from a dishonest seller may not be legitimate. Report a suspected pet hoax to BBB Scam Tracker and look for clues by searching similar scams. Do an internet search for the picture of the pet you are considering. If the same image appears on multiple websites, you may be dealing with a fraud. You also can search for text from ads or testimonials to see if the seller copied it from another site. Take your time, do your research, and consider taking home a rescue pet from a local shelter.

Ask for medical records and pedigree. Get a written account of all medical care your puppy has received, including vaccinations and antibiotics. Take the documents to your vet during the first examination, which should be within a few days of bringing your puppy home. Check with authority on dog breeds, like the American Kennel Club, who can provide breeder search tips, questions to ask, and other information.

Don’t be swayed by a fancy website. A flashy website is not an indication of ethics or integrity. Fraudulent websites appear and disappear like a game of cat and mouse. Use a Google reverse image search to see if the same pets show up on other web addresses.

Make sure the price makes sense. Check several sources to find the average cost of a given breed. If it sounds too good to be true, there’s a good chance that it is.

Watch for Scammer Grammar. Beware of emails with multiple misspellings and grammatical errors. Many pet scams come from overseas, and scammers often do not have a firm grasp on the English language.

To review BBB’s International Investigative Study on Puppy Scams, go to bbb.org. For more tips on how to avoid COVID-19 scams, go to bbb.org/coronavirusTo report fraudulent activity or unscrupulous business practices, please call BBB at 903-581-5704 or use BBB ScamTracker.