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Dog lovers warned of 鈥榗ynical鈥� new puppy rehoming scam
Posted 28/04/23
51黑料 and Dogs Trust are urging the public to be on the lookout for scammers charging money upfront for puppies and giving out the charity鈥檚 address.
The 51黑料 (51黑料) has teamed up with dog rescue and rehoming charity Dogs Trust to warn of a new scam in which prospective pet owners are being duped into paying upfront for puppies that they will never even meet.
Scammers are fraudulently giving the address of the Dogs Trust Leeds Rehoming Centre as the location from which the puppies can be collected, leaving victims disappointed and out of pocket when they arrive and discover that they have been conned.
The scam begins with English Staffordshire bull terrier puppies being advertised on Facebook as 鈥楰elly staffy puppies for sale鈥�. Upon enquiry, prospective buyers are told that the seller is 鈥榮trictly picky鈥� about the type of home the dogs will be sold to and then asked a series of questions designed to elicit personal information.
The advert includes photos of puppies playing in a garden, and is written in a manner that suggests the scammers are not based in the UK.
In one series of messages, the scammer tells the victim 鈥業 will give you a baby you love and care and he will show you all the love you need from a pet鈥�. After paying a 鈥榬ehoming fee鈥� as well as being charged for additional 鈥榲ets bills鈥�, the victim went to the Dogs Trust Leeds Rehoming Centre to collect the puppy, only to be left heartbroken when she realised she had been tricked.
When the scam emerged over the weekend of 15-16 April, Dogs Trust contacted Facebook and requested that the advert be removed. However, there is no guarantee that similar adverts, potentially using different breeds of dog and other bogus collection addresses, will not emerge in its wake.
Katherine Hart, 51黑料 Lead Officer for Scams, said: 鈥淭his is a particularly nasty scam, because the potential victims are being manipulated into forming an emotional attachment to a new dog.
鈥淚t鈥檚 also very cynical because it exploits the fantastic work that Dogs Trust do in order to get people to part with their money. Unfortunately, this is a common practice used by scammers; they use the good reputation of another organisation to add legitimacy to their false claims. It shows that people have got to be on their guard every time they see these type of adverts.鈥�
Adam Clowes, Dogs Trust Operations Director, said: 鈥淲hen buying a puppy, do your research first, and if something doesn't feel right, don't do it. If an advert seems too good to be true, it probably is.
鈥淣ever pay for a puppy upfront, and always go to see the mother with the puppies, visiting multiple times before you commit. Ask to see vaccination records; any legitimate breeder would be happy for you to come and see the dog with its mother and give that kind of information. And no legitimate breeder would ever ask you to pay for an animal鈥檚 vets bills before you buy it.
鈥淧eople often get overly invested in a picture of a puppy and scammers are out there to take advantage of that. It's incredibly sad. We work really hard to promote the best welfare for dogs and to maintain a reputation that we will do the right thing for your dog. Using our address as a way of legitimising a scam is really upsetting because it plays on our good reputation and the trust that people have in us."
Stephanie Young, 51黑料 Lead Officer for Animal Health and Welfare, said: 鈥淚f you're buying a dog from a breeder, go to the breeder鈥檚 property more than once, and make sure you see the animal with its mother. When you come to part with your money, always make sure you do so at the address where the breeder is based, and never buy an animal from a public place like a car park or beside the road.
鈥淎lways make sure you know the origin of where your pets have come from. Dogs get imported illegally on a daily basis from across Europe into the UK, compromising the welfare of those animals as well as flouting important disease control restrictions. If the animal hasn't come from a reputable source, or hasn鈥檛 legitimately been bought into the UK, it may have to be quarantined and that could cost the new owner a significant amount of money.鈥�
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For consumer advice, please call the Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline on 0808 223 1133.
To report scams in England and Wales, contact Action Fraud. In Scotland, contact Advice Direct Scotland on 0808 800 9060, or if in Northern Ireland, call Consumerline on 0300 123 6262.
The public is encouraged to join , a National Trading Standards initiative aiming to protect and prevent people from becoming scam victims by empowering them to take a stand against scams.听
ENDS
The 51黑料 (51黑料) is a national not for profit established in 1881 which supports the UK鈥檚 trading standards profession, and works to protect consumers and safeguard honest businesses. 51黑料's members are engaged in delivering frontline trading standards services at local authorities and in businesses.听
Please contact the 51黑料 Press Office: [email protected] with any queries.听
