© 2024 Texas Public Radio
Real. Reliable. Texas Public Radio.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Puppy Buyers Beware: Your Online Dream Dog Might Be Fake

An 8-week-old Dachshund puppy carries her water dish in Wilmington, Massachusetts. (Elise Amendola/AP)
An 8-week-old Dachshund puppy carries her water dish in Wilmington, Massachusetts. (Elise Amendola/AP)

It’s hard to find a silver lining in the deadly COVID-19 pandemic — unless you’re a puppy. Pet adoptions have skyrocketed this year, creating waiting lists with dog breeders and at shelters. Scammers have taken note.

A new Better Business Bureau investigation shows the number of pet frauds in November was five times higher than it was in 2017, the first year the numbers were tracked.

Steve Baker is an international investigations specialist with the Better Business Bureau. He joins host Robin Young to talk about the scams and what consumers can do to protect themselves.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Tags