Beware of Heartbreaking Puppy Scam, Warns City Attorney

LOS ANGELES, CA — If you are thinking of adding a puppy to the family this holiday season, beware: a popular scam is exploding across the internet that steals the money and breaks the hearts of would-be pet owners, Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer warned Thursday.

Surrounded by city officials holding wide-eyed puppies, Feuer outlined a scam in which victims pay an upfront fee for puppies advertised online. Sophisticated criminals create professional websites complete with "live tracking" of puppy deliveries, but they dogs aren't real, and the eager pet owners are often scammed out of thousands of dollars. The scammers are often part of organized crime syndicates.

"These are not gentle people," Feuer said. "They're trying to get money from the public to fuel criminal operations."

"Most victims who are swindled never get a puppy at all, others get different dogs with health or genetic problems, and the majority of victims are too embarrassed to come forward," he added.

The problem is pervasive. According to the Better Business Bureau, 80% of sponsored ads links that appear in internet searches for pets may be fraudulent. French Bulldogs and Yorkshire Terriers are the most common dog breeds used in scams, the Better Business Bureau concluded.

Here's how the scam works. The cons bait their victims, get them to pay an initial fee, and once they starting tracking their puppy and becoming emotionally invested, the scammer will ask for delivery fees and additional money.

"They want the victim to get emotionally invested in the puppy," Feuer said, adding that people have reportedly given illegitimate puppy sellers thousands of dollars.

Many scams start through advertisements on Facebook or Craigslist, Feuer said.

About 4,500 complaints of puppy scams have been identified this year, 75 of which are in the city of Los Angeles, but Feuer said his office is still reviewing those complaints and that he wanted to inform people before they start shopping for puppies prior to the holiday season.

The scams are also common among cats, horses and birds, Feuer said.

"If you are ready to add more love to your life and are considering a new dog or cat, visit one of our six Los Angeles City Animal Care Centers," Los Angeles City Animal Services General Manager Brenda Barnette said. "The adoption fee for a dog is only $122 and includes vaccinations, a microchip, a city dog license and all pets are spayed or neutered."

Feuer's office said people should be suspicious of online advertisements that offer dog breeds that are well below market price, and they should be wary of sellers who won't let them see the puppy in person or a live video feed.

Sellers who require payments via money transfer should also be examined, Feuer said.

"Imagine how disappointed a child might be when they've gotten the expectation that their puppy is on the way only to have those hopes dashed when there's not a pet at all and their parents have been ripped off," Feuer said, adding that his consumer protection division will be working to assist victims of pet scams.

Barnette said sometimes the puppies delivered by scammers are sick and don't live much longer.

Feuer said people can visit www.laanimalservices.com to search for legitimate pets and to visit the website www.petscams.com to view more than 8,000 websites that have been identified as scams.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this repor