There are far more scam ads for some breeds (and bulldogs top that list) than real ones.
First of all, I will be up front and say that I am personally heavily involved in animal rescue, and would ALWAYS recommend adopting from a breed rescue or a shelter, as there are so many wonderful dogs in need of a home, including a lot of purebreds. But if you were buying from a breeder, you would want to visit the breeder (or have someone else do it for you), meet the parents, and review not only the registrations, but also the medical backgrounds of the "parents." Unless you are
very active in the dog breeding/showing world (in which case you wouldn't be here, because you would have the necessary contacts to verify any long distance breeder you were considering), you should be EXTREMELY wary of any long-distance purchase, and of course never buy from a pet store.
With that said, though, you can identify a significant percentage of scam ads by looking at the ad itself:
1) Google the photo. In this case, you have already found the photo elsewhere, under another name, on a site that clearly carries more legitimacy. You know right there it is a scam. But say you didn't know the other site was legitimate, or you didn't find a picture? Let's take it to the next step:
2) Price. Is the price realistic for the breed or the dog itself? In the case of this particular puppy, the scammer's price is around half of the real breeder's price. It is very common for scammers to list their (imaginary) puppies at below market price, or even for free. By doing this, they attract people who may not be able to afford the market price, and people who are less likely to ask too many questions, either because they are just happy to get such a good deal, or because they didn't do their research in the first place. You should always try to get a handle on the normal price range, and be highly suspicious of any dog below that range.
3) The storyline. "I'm a missionary who just moved to Africa, and my poor puppy needs a new home now?" But somehow the poor overheated puppy is still only 10 weeks old. There are so many problems with this story (not limited to the never-aging puppy.) This is a purebred puppy of a breed that is highly desirable, and this person supposedly lived in your country until recently. They have NO friends who can take the puppy or help them to choose a loving family? Far from likely. What about quarantine rules? Many countries have quarantine requirements before the pet can even join its family, but scammers are always silent about this. And they claim they want the best possible home for their puppy, but they are willing to hand it over to some stranger from the internet based on a few words via email? Another favorite storyline: "My dear mother-in-law passed away, leaving her pregnant dog, and now I'm overwhelmed!" Again, she has to place a bunch of ads, and hand the puppies to random people hundreds of miles away? Not happening. These breeds are in extremely high demand. I can guarantee that if they were healthy, normal puppies, the owner could find homes through word of mouth. In fact, they would have people lining up at their door.
4) The English. Unusual or very poor English should be a significant red flag.
5) The text of the ad itself. Google is your friend. For example, I ran a quick google for this phrase "She has an awesome personality and is virtually perfect." (It needs to be in quotes.) That is not a common expression, or a famous quote. Chances of
any exact matches are
extremely slim. But what do I actually get?
https://www.google.com/search?q=%22She+has+an+awesome+personality+and+is+virtually+perfect.%22&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a Pages of ads, dating back as far as 3 months ago (yet Nugget, who was advertised in October, was still 8 weeks old yesterday!)
6)The actual claims. For example, in this ad, I would be alerted by the ACA Registration claim. ACA is not a recognized registry by any reputable breed club, and it is not recognized outside of the US. It's worth about as much as a diploma bought online. ACA registration is often favored by puppy mill breeders. You will see it very frequently in pet stores. Without AKC registration, the dog would be ineligible for the majority of reputable dog shows, trials, etc. While AKC registration certainly does not guarantee a good dog, it is the recognized registration in the US, and it is what you would expect for a dog that costs $2500. Scammers just copy other ads, and don't know the difference between registrations. At a minimum, this claim should raise some real questions.
We ask that you NEVER point out mistakes in an ad to a scammer, as this will educate him, and he will fix them the next time--but being aware of these yourself can help you to avoid many of the fakes.
