The Better Business Bureau of Acadiana is warning of a new scam that involves puppies! Do your research when buying animals online and find out if the animal actually exists before sending money.

The scam usually happens when a consumer (the victim) is searching for a pet online. The victim sends a message to the seller for information and the con artist will respond with a convincing back story. This should be a red flag. If the seller is giving too much back story it could be a trick. The scammer will then offer to ship the animal to your home and request payment using a digital wallet service or pre-paid debit or gift card.

Unfortunately for the victim, the puppy never arrives and the scammer disappears.

Better Business Bureau Serving Acadiana offers the following tips to Avoid Pet Adoption Scams:

• Never buy or adopt a pet without seeing it in person. This is the best way to ensure you are not caught in a con.
• Do an internet search of the pet’s image. If you do find a puppy online, upload the pet’s photo to a reverse image search. If you find multiple pet adoption sites using the same picture, it’s probably a scam.
• To avoid scams, only use money transfers with friends or people you know.

BBB Serving Acadiana is a private non-profit organization. BBB strives for a trustworthy marketplace by maintaining standards for truthful advertising, investigating and exposing fraud against consumers and businesses.                 

Please contact Better Business Bureau at (337) 981-3497 24 or bbb.org 24 hours a day for information on businesses throughout North America.

BBB Serving Acadiana services the parishes of Acadia, Evangeline, Iberia, Lafayette, St. Martin, St. Landry and Vermilion.

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SOURCE: BBB LAFAYETTE