How to spot a pet scam

Pet scams work because the buyer is emotionally committed before any money moves, and because the pressure is applied at exactly the moment they are most invested. They are not a failure of intelligence.

The pattern

An advert priced somewhat below the going rate. Warm, fast replies. A reason the animal cannot be viewed right now - illness, work, a house move, being "away with family". A request for a deposit to hold it against other interest. Payment by bank transfer, gift card or cryptocurrency. Then a delivery cost, a crate deposit, an insurance fee, a customs charge - each one small relative to what you have already paid, which is the whole mechanism.

The rules that defeat all of it

1. Never pay before you have seen the animal in person, in the place it lives.
2. Never pay by bank transfer, gift card or crypto. A card payment or a platform that holds the money gives you a route back. A transfer does not.
3. Never pay a second time. Once you are being asked for a fee you were not told about, the money already sent is gone. Sending more does not recover it.
4. Reverse image search the photos. Stolen photographs are the commonest tell, and it takes thirty seconds.
5. Be suspicious of a good price. Well-bred animals do not sell cheap, because raising them properly is expensive.

Scams that look different

The deposit that becomes a queue. You pay to reserve; the litter is "still a week away"; then another week. The animal never existed.

The false rescue. An "overseas rescue" needing transport fees. Legitimate overseas rescue exists, but it is done by registered charities with a UK presence you can verify.

The switch. A real seller with a real litter, who takes deposits from more people than there are puppies and refunds nobody.

If it has already happened

Report it to your bank immediately - same day matters, and card payments and some transfers can be recalled. Report to Action Fraud. Report the advert to the platform: if it is here, the report button is on every listing and we act within 12 working hours. Keep every message, because it is the evidence that makes anything else possible.