- December 13, 2025
We live in a world where you can now purchase almost anything on the internet. This includes animals. This leads to those people who are using animals as a way to scam people out of their money.
We, in the animal welfare field, are seeing this more and more. Here are a few ways to not get scammed out of that cute Doberman puppy that you found on Facebook.
Ask questions. Ask lots of questions. You should always ask to see the animal in a video and not just as a picture. Pictures can be stolen from other people’s social media or taken from the internet. You can ask the seller to put something in the video to personalize it so that you know it is not a fake video.
You can ask them to put the puppy or kitten on a blue blanket or something similar to that. Something that would not be in a standard picture or video.
Always ask to come to the location where the animal is kept so that you can see where this animal is coming from. If they won’t let you come to see the animal and instead would rather meet you somewhere else, this is a red flag. You should be allowed to see where the animal was kept and see the parents if they are on property as well.
Do not give a deposit or pay in full over a cash exchange app, such as Cash App. Tell them you would like to pay in cash when you pick up the animal. If they are unwilling to do this then move on. This is a giant red flag that this is probably a scam.
If they want a deposit to hold the animal for you then ask to meet the animal first and then give a deposit the day of the meeting. If you give a deposit over a cash exchange app there is a high likelihood that you will not be able to get that money returned if you get scammed.
Also, if the price of the animal seems a little low or is a good deal then it probably is too good to be true.
There is always a chance of being scammed when dealing over the internet. Be aware of the red flags because scammers will give them, you just have to notice them.
We recently got a report of a woman that showed up to her local humane society to meet someone to get the two puppies that she paid $3,000 for. She was told to meet the seller there to get the puppies, but the seller never showed up. She tried to contact the seller, but she had been blocked from being able to call them. She had no other way to contact the seller, so she was now out $3,000 and had no puppies. She didn’t know how to look for red flags.
The easiest way to avoid being scammed is to adopt a pet from your local humane society. In a brick and mortar facility you can meet the pet, make sure the size and energy level is what you’re looking for. You can bring your pet(s) for a meet to make sure everyone gets along. You’ll receive the health records, including vaccines, spay/neuter and microchip information. The Flagler Humane Society is full of beautiful animals in need of homes. This includes purebreds, puppies, kittens, mixed breeds, pocket pets, etc. Come see everyone!
Katie Share is the lead animal services officer for Flagler Animal Services and has been with the Flagler Humane Society for nearly 25 years.
