Pet fraud is emotionally effective in a way few other categories are: the buyer is anticipating a family addition, frequently with children involved, and the escalating fees arrive framed as obstacles to a reunion rather than as costs.
The structure
A listing offers a desirable breed below typical price. The seller is warm, asks about your home, and appears to be screening you, which reads as responsible breeding. A deposit secures the animal. Then transport becomes the issue: a specialist crate, insurance, vaccination certification, customs clearance, each with a fee, each promised as refundable on delivery. The animal never arrives and never existed.
Checks that resolve it quickly
- Reverse-image search the photographs. They are routinely taken from breeder sites and social media.
- Insist on a live video call where you can direct what you see — ask them to show the animal with a specific object.
- Ask to visit. A genuine breeder or shelter expects this; a fraudulent seller will always have a reason it is impossible.
- Verify registration or licensing where your jurisdiction requires it for breeders.
The fee escalation is the tell
No legitimate animal sale requires a series of escalating third-party payments after a deposit. When a second fee appears for transport-related reasons, the correct response is to stop paying entirely — the pattern only continues upward, and each payment is framed as the last obstacle.
If you have paid
Stop immediately, including any final fee presented as releasing the animal. Contact your bank or card issuer, preserve the listing and conversation, and report it. Then consider a local shelter — the animal you wanted almost certainly exists nearby, and can be met in person before any money changes hands.