Many puppy scams originate in Africa. Africa is a red flag- period.

All operator assisted calls are red flags. These people say they are in the United States but they are communicating by computer from many parts of the world. It’s called Relay Fraud or Relay Phone scams, in which someone claiming to be deaf or speech impaired uses an operator-assisted Internet Relay Service to communicate with a potential victim. This allows the scammer to hide his true location.​

 Never “just pay for shipping”. This is a common scam. In fact anyone that wants to ship the puppy to  you is suspect

​Reverends and ministers and people claiming to be affiliated with religious organizations are red flags.

Puppy breeders that claim they have sold to many famous people can be red flags​

Just because there are pictures don’t assume there is a real puppy. Anyone can copy or clone a puppy picture.

Just because there is a phone number and a real person to talk to don’t assume there is a real  puppy. Many of these scammers use Majic Jack phones and throw away cell phones.

Just because there is a guarantee don’t assume they will honor it, or  there is even a  real puppy. Many puppy brokers offer guarantees. Often the guarantee requires such expensive and numerous documentation that it runs into the thousands of dollars. They often will not refund veterinary expenses and shipping. Some people have sick and crippled puppies that have died or needed to be euthanized soon after arrival. They were told there wasn’t enough proof to give them a refund.