Old scams continue to work on an often unsuspecting public.  I have been warning you about puppy scams for more than four years, but these scams continue to operate profitably for scam artists, the only criminals we call artists.   The puppy scam has many variations, however, often the scam involves a phony website that purports to be the website of a breeder of purebred, American Kennel Club registered dogs that are being sold at what appears to be attractive prices.  The scammers  send photographs of the dogs they are purporting to sell.  Generally,  these photographs are just copied by the scammers from websites of legitimate breeders.  In many cases, after a price is agreed upon, the scammer requires additional payments for shipping, insurance and veterinarian fees.  Once the money is wired or sent by credit card, the victim is told to go to the airport to pick up the dog.    The notice to pick up the dog at the airport often comes by way of an email that appears to be from a legitimate airline, but the email is a forgery and a phony.  Of course, when they get to the airport, there is no dog.

TIPS

Even if you make contact with a breeder over the Internet, do not buy a dog without seeing the dog and the facility that is selling the dog.  Get an independent veterinarian report on the dog.   Also, if the price that you have agreed upon for the sale of the dog continues to increase, that is a good sign that the seller is a scammer.  Finally, check out the seller with the American Kennel Club to confirm that he or she is legitimate.