You've gone online to search for a puppy and stumbled across a free Yorkie puppy named "Romeo." Or maybe it's an adorable English Bulldog puppy with droopy eyes or a free Pomeranian puppy named "Candy." It might even be a free Persian or Siberian kitten or an African Grey Parrot.
The best part? The pet owners aren't asking for any money -- except for the shipping costs.
Sometimes a sad story goes along with the puppies, too. The puppy's owner will tell you that their daughter died and it was her puppy or that they are adopting an orphan and won't have time to care for the puppy.
They'll probably ask you some questions meant to pull at your heartstrings and make you want to qualify to get this free puppy:
But they want some money to ship the puppy and send it through Western Union or MoneyGram. They often want you to send this money to somewhere like Cameroon, or sometimes it will be California or another US state.
Every day, PetRelocation takes phone calls from people who have been victims of puppy scams. It all seems so reasonable to pay the shipping costs. People want to know how much PetRelocation will charge to arrange the shipping, and we must explain that there is no puppy. The puppy scammers will not release the puppy to a reputable company like ours because the puppy does not exist. They only want to get your money, however small, in cash.
Here are some names of fraudulent companies and email addresses we have identified:
If a puppy shipper has scammed you, feel free to post your correspondence in the "comments" section below this post, as others have done, as it will help to deter the criminals.
However, please delete any of your personal contact information from the correspondence you are copying/pasting into your comment before posting your comment.
Many scammers are considered dangerous, and it is important not to publish your name, address, and phone number online. If you have posted your information and would like it removed, please email us (blog[at]petrelocation[dot]com) to let us know your name and the information you'd like removed.
"I have been scammed; how can I report the scammer?"
Read more about puppy scams on our blog and via IPATA.org, and if you run across a scammer who claims to be using our company to ship you a nonexistent pet, feel free to contact us and let us know!