According to the Better Business Bureau, puppy scams are on the rise. Officials with the BBB say just this year alone, 138 cases of puppy scams have been investigated with the average person losing $850. This number is up 60% since 2017, when the BBB began tracking these scams.
The BBB says typically around the Holiday Season is when you see these types of fraud get popular, saying it’s a real opportunity for a scammer to make away with a considerable amount of money. Consumers have mentioned multiple breeds, but Yorkies, Dashchunds and French Bulldogs make up nearly 30% of all puppy scams.
Josh Planos, VP of Communications and PR at the BBB saying: “Popular breeds don’t cost one hundred dollars or less so getting a sense of what the average cost of these animals is will give you a sense of if the price you are seeing is legitimate or not.”
To report these scams, report to the BBB Scam Tracker website.
