Don’t Answer if You See One of These in New York

What is always the rule of thumb when you see something on the internet? 'If it is too good to be true it usually is'.

New York State Police is warning New Yorkers about a scam that many are falling for lately and it is no surprise considering that pet sales have gone up 202% during the COVID pandemic.

Police are warning that hundreds of people have called them for help about a scam from people who are looking to purchase purebred puppies.

There are fake dog breeders out there and in order to 'purchase' or come 'see the dogs', you just need to place a deposit first. Of course, the buyer then pays on an app, and no address is ever given. In most cases, the money is never retrieved.

After responding to the ads, the suspects provide a photo of the breed potential buyers are looking for and arrange for a deposit to be paid. Once the deposit clears, victims are giving a fake address which recently has been in the St. Lawrence County area", according to WGRZ.

To protect yourself, ask yourself the following questions:

• 'Is the price too good to be true'?
• 'Are they sending me stock photos from the internet?'
• 'Is this a sketchy way to pay someone?' 
• 'Is their communication, verbiage seem off'?

If so, the Better Business Bureau asks you to report scams and false ads to them and you can call them or the Federal Trade Commission at 877-FTC-Help.