Rockford BBB: The “Puppy Scam” Is Taking Money, Breaking Hearts

You'll notice that I didn't say the Puppy Scam is back. It would be nice to think that this particularly nasty crime has been eradicated, but the truth is that the Puppy Scam works so well and is so profitable to scam artists that they've never considered stopping it.

Here we are in 2024, and the Puppy Scam is doing what it's always done: get you to fall in love with a puppy, take your money for the puppy, then leave you with no puppy and no money, just heartbreak and anger.

And, it's costing victims even more money than in past years, according to the Rockford Regional Office of the Better Business Bureau (BBB). The average loss is $850.

Rockford BBB Says That As Many As 80% Of Sponsored Online Pet Advertisements May Be Fake, And That Number May Continue To Grow Because The Puppy Scam Is So Profitable For Scammers

For those unfamiliar, let's define exactly what a puppy scam is. The AKC explains it this way:

Puppy scammers post fake litters online or pretend to be someone they’re not (usually an existing breeder) to take advantage of puppy sales (sans the puppies.) This means that if you aren’t careful, you could find the perfect puppy, send the ‘breeder’ your money, and never receive a puppy or any follow-up communication in return.

While many times these fake listings appear on websites like Craigslist, some scammers find ways to position themselves as reputable breeders by stealing personal info from them.

Scammers aren't trying this with every single breed of dog, but reports indicate that at least 40 breeds have been used to bait people in to a puppy scam. The most popular puppy breeds that scammers use to snare a victim are these:

French Bulldog

Yorkie

Dachshund

So, How Many People Get Taken By Puppy Scams, And What Kind Of Money Are We Talking About Here?

According to estimates by the Better Business Bureau (BBB), well over 10,000 scam reports and complaints have come in during the last three years about “businesses” selling puppies and dogs. The FTC estimates that only about 10 percent of victims report these crimes, so this number could really be much higher than that.

As to the money lost on average to a puppy scam, the Rockford BBB's Dennis Horton says:

Average monetary losses are climbing, with an average loss of $850 in 2022, up 60% since 2017. These scams remain consistently profitable for scammers because their multi-tiered setup allows them to convincingly go back to a consumer several times to ask for money.

This guy gives you a good look at how the puppy scam works, and what you can do to avoid it if you're in the market for a new puppy at your place.