How to avoid puppy scams when buying a dog online

Finding the right puppy should be one of the happiest bits of getting a dog. Unfortunately, it's also the point where scammers do the most damage — to your bank balance, and sometimes to your heart, if you end up with a very sick puppy or no puppy at all. The good news is that puppy fraud follows recognisable patterns, and a handful of checks, done properly and in order, will filter out almost every dodgy seller before you part with a deposit.

This guide walks through what to look for, what to ask, and what paperwork you're legally entitled to see before any money changes hands. None of it requires special expertise — just patience, and a willingness to walk away if something doesn't add up.

If you're still deciding whether a dog is the right fit for your home and routine in the first place, our Pet Ownership Quiz is a useful first step before you start browsing adverts at all.

Why this problem has got worse

Dogs Trust's "Dogfished" research, based on a survey of over 2,000 recent puppy buyers, found that deception during puppy buying is disturbingly common. Over half of buyers (51%) were not allowed to see their puppy more than once before collecting it, and 43% were never shown the puppy with its mother — two of the clearest signals that something is wrong. One in eight buyers said outright that they believed their seller had lied to them, and that figure rose to over a fifth among people who bought through online adverts specifically. Among those who weren't allowed to see the puppy at the seller's actual home, some were asked to collect their puppy from a car park or layby instead — a classic sign that the animal has been shipped in rather than bred on site.

The financial fallout can be significant too: many buyers who ended up with an unwell puppy faced unexpected vet bills, with the average unplanned cost running into several hundred pounds on top of the purchase price. Behind these numbers sits a real welfare crisis. Illegally imported and poorly bred puppies are frequently taken from their mothers far too young, transported long distances in poor conditions, and sold with falsified paperwork about their age, breed or vaccination history.

Always insist on seeing the puppy and its mother together, in the place it was actually born and raised — and go back for a second visit if anything feels rushed.

The single most important check: puppy with mum, at home

Every reputable UK animal welfare organisation gives the same first piece of advice, because it filters out the largest share of scams in one move: see the puppy interacting with its mother, at the address where it was bred. The Pet Advertising Advisory Group (PAAG), which is chaired by Dogs Trust and made up of major welfare charities and vet bodies, specifically warns against buying a puppy you haven't seen in person, and advises steering clear of adverts on general social media marketplaces altogether, because they're poorly moderated and easy for scammers to exploit.

When you visit, look at the whole picture, not just the puppy. A genuine family breeder's home should feel lived-in — clean, warm and quiet, with fresh water available and a space that looks like where people actually live, not a bare outbuilding dressed up for viewings. If a seller offers to meet you somewhere "more convenient" instead of at home, that's not a convenience, it's a warning sign. Legitimate breeders want you to see everything, because they have nothing to hide.

Go more than once if you can. A second visit, even a short one, makes it much harder for a seller to stage a one-off performance, and gives you a chance to see whether the puppy's environment and behaviour are consistent.

Ask the questions a real breeder expects

The British Veterinary Association, working with the Animal Welfare Foundation and the RSPCA, recommends a short set of questions that any genuine breeder should be able to answer without hesitation:

• Did you breed the puppies yourself? If the answer is no, walk away — a third-party seller can't give you accurate information about the puppy's health, temperament or early life, and reputable rehoming charities and breed clubs advise against buying from them at all.
• Where have the puppies been kept and socialised? You want to hear about a home environment with everyday household sounds and gentle human contact, not an isolated shed or barn.
• Have the parents been health-screened? Ask to see certificates from a recognised scheme, such as the BVA/Kennel Club canine health schemes, and don't be afraid to run the results past your own vet afterwards to check they've been interpreted correctly.
• Will the puppy be microchipped and vaccinated before it goes home? UK law requires puppies to be microchipped by eight weeks old, with the breeder's details registered first.
• Have there been any health problems in the puppy or its parents? A responsible breeder discloses inherited conditions rather than hiding them.
• Has routine worming been carried out? This should be documented with dates and products used.

A genuine breeder will usually turn the conversation around and ask you plenty of questions too — about your home, your experience, your work pattern and your plans for the puppy. That two-way interest is actually a good sign: breeders who care about where their puppies end up are exactly the ones you want to buy from.

The paperwork you're entitled to see

Before any money changes hands, you should be shown — not just told about — a specific set of documents. According to the Royal Kennel Club, this should include:

• A signed contract of sale (often called a puppy contract), which sets out the terms of the sale, any health warranties, and both parties' responsibilities. The free Puppy Contract, developed by the RSPCA and the Animal Welfare Foundation with veterinary and Kennel Club input, is the industry-standard template and a reasonable benchmark for what a proper contract should contain.
• Microchip documentation confirming the puppy's individual ID number and which database it's registered on, in the breeder's name.
• Vaccination records, stamped and signed by a vet, if any vaccinations have already been given.
• Worming treatment history, including dates and products used.
• Health certificates for both parents, particularly for breeds with known inherited conditions.
• If the puppy is pedigree, a registration certificate (for example, from the Kennel Club) that allows ownership to be formally transferred to you.

Treat vague answers or missing paperwork as a decision point, not a detail to chase up later. If a seller can't produce a document, or produces one that looks hastily assembled, that's your cue to pause the sale rather than push ahead and sort it out afterwards.

Buy direct from the breeder, not a middleman

Since April 2020, it's been illegal in England to sell a puppy or kitten under six months old through a commercial third party — a rule known as Lucy's Law, named after a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel rescued from a puppy farm. Under this law, anyone looking to get a puppy under six months old must deal directly with the person who bred it, or adopt through a rehoming centre; pet shops and dealers acting as go-betweens are no longer part of the legitimate route. The rule exists because third-party dealing was the mechanism that let large-scale, low-welfare puppy farms hide behind an anonymous middleman, selling puppies who'd been separated from their mothers far too early and transported long distances before sale.

In practical terms, this means that if a seller can't or won't put you directly in touch with the person who bred the puppy — or if the "breeder" clearly isn't the person who owns the mother — you're likely looking at exactly the kind of sale the law was designed to stop.

Watch how you're asked to pay

Payment method is one of the clearest tells in an online scam. Genuine sellers rarely pressure you to pay a large deposit sight unseen, and reputable sources including Action Fraud (the UK's national fraud reporting centre) warn buyers to be wary of any pet seller who pushes for a bank transfer before you've viewed the animal in person, especially if they resist a video call or phone conversation. Scammers rely on email- or text-only contact precisely because it lets them avoid awkward, unscripted questions about a puppy that may not even exist.

Common pressure tactics to watch for:

• Insisting on payment by bank transfer only, with no other option.
• Asking for extra, unexpected fees after you've already paid — for "special" transport crates, emergency vet treatment, or import paperwork — a classic sign the "puppy" doesn't exist and the goal is simply to keep extracting money.
• Creating false urgency: "someone else is interested," "the price goes up tomorrow," or offering a suspiciously large discount for quick payment.
• Refusing a live video call showing the actual puppy and its surroundings.

If you've already sent money and now suspect fraud, contact your bank immediately, then report it to Action Fraud at actionfraud.police.uk or by phone. Acting quickly gives your bank the best chance of recovering a transfer.

What a healthy puppy actually looks like

Alongside the paperwork checks, use your own eyes. A healthy puppy should have clear, bright eyes with no discharge, clean ears, and no coughing or wheezing. Its coat should be soft and reasonably shiny, without bald patches, scabs or obvious fleas, and its legs should look sturdy, with no limping or reluctance to move. Behaviourally, you're looking for a puppy that's curious and willing to approach you, rather than one that's withdrawn, overly sleepy, or flinches from contact — all of which can point to poor early experiences or an underlying health problem.

If something feels wrong, report it

If you suspect a seller is trading illegally — operating an unlicensed breeding business, importing puppies without proper checks, or misrepresenting age, breed or health — report it. In England and Wales, contact your local Trading Standards service or the RSPCA; in Scotland, the Scottish SPCA; and in Northern Ireland, your local council or the USPCA. If you've lost money to fraud, Action Fraud is the right first call after your bank. Reporting doesn't just protect you — every report helps build the evidence base that's used to close down organised puppy-farming and smuggling operations, which the RSPCA and others have highlighted as a significant ongoing welfare problem in the UK.

When to see your vet

Even after a careful, well-documented purchase, book your new puppy in for a general health check with your own vet within the first week of bringing them home. This gives an independent professional the chance to confirm the puppy is as healthy as represented, flag anything that needs early treatment, and start your own vaccination and health records on the right footing. If your vet raises concerns that don't match what you were told by the seller, keep a record of what you were promised in writing (your puppy contract will help here) and speak to Trading Standards about your options.

*This is general guidance, not a substitute for advice from your vet, who can assess your individual pet.*

Sources

• Dogs Trust — buying a dog or puppy safely, buyer advice guide (dogstrust.org.uk).
• Pet Advertising Advisory Group (PAAG) / Dogs Trust — "Dogfished" research on puppy-buying scams, based on a survey of over 2,000 buyers (paag.org.uk).
• The Royal Kennel Club — paperwork a breeder should provide when selling a puppy (royalkennelclub.com).
• GOV.UK — confirmation of the ban on third-party sales of puppies and kittens ("Lucy's Law") (gov.uk).