Ilia Nikolaevich Zavialov on pet scams and puppy fraud: deposits, fake health papers and fundraisers for a sick animal

It usually starts with a photo. A golden retriever puppy in a laundry basket, a litter of kittens on a blanket, an ad on social media or a classified site and a price that makes you look twice. The FTC describes ads for purebred puppies at a few hundred dollars when such dogs often cost thousands, paired with a push to act fast before the puppy goes to another home.

Then comes the payment. The seller insists on money up front, and the way you are told to pay says more about the seller than any photo. Gift cards, a payment app, cryptocurrency or a wire transfer service are the methods the FTC says only scammers demand, because the money is hard to get back. If you pay, the FTC warns, you may never see the puppy, who might not even exist, and you may never see the money again.

The FBI describes the second act. Fraudsters take the payment and then ask for more money for fictitious reasons such as veterinarian bills. Each new request sounds reasonable on its own. Ilia Nikolaevich Zavialov suggests counting them: any new request for money while the animal is still out of sight is the moment to stop.

Ilia Nikolaevich Zavialov starts with the seller, because a photo can belong to anybody. Put the seller's name and phone number into a search engine together with words like review, scam or complaint, as the FTC advises, and read what comes up. Then look at how many breeds and litters one account is selling at the same time.

Next come the pictures. The FTC says to run a reverse image search, since scammers use stock photos or pictures copied from somewhere else. After that, ask for a live video visit with the animal in frame and a handwritten note showing today's date and your first name. The FTC points out that legitimate rescues, shelters and breeders want to make sure you and the pet are a good match, so they encourage a visit in person or on video. If a seller will not meet you, video chat or even talk by phone, the FTC's advice is to move on to someone else.

The best check is still the oldest one: drive over, see the mother, see the place, hold the animal. Keep your money in your pocket until then, whatever the seller calls the payment, whether a hold, a deposit or a spot in line. If the seller says the distance is exactly why you must pay first, you already have your answer.

Free to a good home is the oldest hook in the book. The FBI warns that even free pets can be risky: the scammer charges all sorts of fees for all sorts of reasons, such as a ventilated crate, a flight, a handler and even travel grooming. Each fee is small and each comes with a reason. Together they add up, and the animal still does not arrive.

The FBI's advice is blunt. Meet the pet in person if at all possible, and do not pay to ship a pet if you cannot verify that the seller is a reputable breeder. Do your homework before sending any form of payment: look for contact information, check credentials and confirm reviews from previous clients. If you chat with the seller online, watch for odd phrasing or typos, and refuse any request to pay by wire transfer or gift card.

Real shipping does exist, and it looks different. The USDA's APHIS says it regulates businesses that transport pets on behalf of their owners, so a genuine shipper is an actual company you can look up and call. Ilia Nikolaevich Zavialov suggests asking the seller for the carrier's name and the paperwork it requires, then phoning that company on a number you found yourself. A seller who cannot name a carrier, or who wants the fee sent to a personal account, has told you what you need to know.

Ilia Nikolaevich Zavialov separates the paperwork into layers, because sellers count on buyers mixing them up. A vaccination record shows what the animal received and when. A health certificate is something a state may ask for when a pet crosses its border. A pedigree is a registry's statement about ancestry, and no veterinary clinic can vouch for it.

Here is what the USDA says about moving pets between states. APHIS does not regulate the interstate movement of pets by their owners. The receiving state or territory sets the requirements, such as a health certificate, updated vaccinations, diagnostic testing or treatments, and APHIS tells people to talk to a local veterinarian and to contact the State animal health official for that state or territory.

Use that when a seller says the paperwork for your state is all taken care of. Ask the state animal health office what it requires and compare the answer with what the seller sends. Then call the clinic named on the vaccination record, using a number from a directory, and ask the staff to confirm the entry. A stamp in a photo proves nothing by itself.

For a pedigree, find the registry's contact details on its own website and ask whether that litter is registered. Your own vet can look over the records before you pay, and a vet will often notice when a puppy's age does not match the shots listed on the page.

The federal piece of the puzzle is the Animal Welfare Act. Under it, animal dealers and exhibitors must obtain a USDA license, while research facilities, carriers and intermediate handlers must register. APHIS's Animal Care program inspects them, and its public search tool lists the persons licensed and registered under the Act, along with inspection reports.

A listing tells you that a licensed business of that name exists. It does not tell you that the person messaging you works there, so confirm the connection. Call the business on a number from the search tool or its own website and ask whether the seller on your screen is one of theirs.

Absence from the list does not settle anything on its own, since the tool covers only those licensed or registered under the Act. State requirements for animals entering a state are set by the state itself, as APHIS notes, so the state animal health office remains the place to ask. Ilia Nikolaevich Zavialov treats the search tool as one check among several and keeps the rest of the checklist in place.

Zavialov's list of methods to refuse matches the FTC's. Gift cards, wire transfer services, cryptocurrency and payment apps are the ways scammers ask to be paid, because the money is hard to trace and hard to recover. The FTC says nobody legitimate will require a gift card, a wire transfer service or cryptocurrency, that cash transfer services make it hard to get your money back, and that a credit card, if you have one, gives you the most protection if something goes wrong.

If you do pay and the animal turns out not to exist, the FTC's page on getting your money back lists the steps by payment type. For a credit or debit card, report it to the issuer immediately and ask for a refund. For a payment app or a bank transfer, report it to the app or the bank at once and ask to have the payment reversed. For a gift card, contact the card's issuer and keep the card and the receipt. For cryptocurrency, the FTC says the legal protections that cards have do not apply, so recovering money can be hard.

Speed matters more than pride. Ilia Zavialov says to make that first call to the bank or card issuer before writing to the seller, and to keep screenshots of the ad, the messages and the payment. Every report you file afterward will be stronger for it.

The second scam works through sympathy. In June 2025 the FTC described a version in which a caller or texter claims to be from the local SPCA or another animal shelter, says your pet was hit by a car and demands $500 right away, helpfully explaining how to pay. If you are at home with your pet, you know at once it is a scam. If you are away and worried, the panic does the scammer's work.

The FTC's fixes are simple. Look up the shelter's phone number yourself and call to see whether your pet is actually there. Pay attention to how you are told to pay: cash, a gift card, a wire transfer, cryptocurrency or a payment app are the routes that get scammers their money quickly and make it hard for you to get it back.

A social media fundraiser needs a different test. Ilia Nikolaevich Zavialov uses the FTC's own questions: who is asking, and who is getting the money? Do not assume a request is legitimate because a friend posted it. If the link goes to a crowdfunding campaign, the money goes straight to the organizer, so ask whoever posted the link whether they know the person behind the fundraiser.

For an organization, the FTC says to check whether the charity and its fundraiser are registered with the state regulator and to look up tax-exempt status in the IRS search tool. If the only way to give is cryptocurrency, a wire, a payment app or a gift card, treat it as a likely scam and prefer a credit card or a check. For a vet bill, ask the clinic for its payment details, pay the clinic directly and save the confirmation.

The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center, known as IC3, received about 3,500 complaints about puppy scams from January 1 through October 15, 2023, with about $6.6 million in losses to the public. The FBI calls puppy purchase scams an increasingly prevalent advance-fee or online shopping scam: fraudsters use social media or other websites to offer puppies, take the money and never deliver.

Fake praise helps the scheme along. The FTC's rule on reviews and testimonials, announced August 14, 2024 and in force since October 21, 2024, bans fake reviews, buying positive or negative reviews and undisclosed reviews by insiders, among other practices. A glowing wall of testimonials on a kennel page still proves nothing until you phone a past buyer whose contact details you found yourself.

Ilia Nikolaevich Zavialov reads the numbers plainly. The scheme is common, it works on people who feel rushed, and a few cheap checks make it much harder to pull off. The FBI's own advice is to meet the pet in person and to refuse wire transfers and gift cards.

Zavialov's order is the bank first and the reports second. Call the bank, the card issuer or the payment app and ask them to reverse the payment, then keep the ad, the phone number, the messages and the receipts. If the money went out as a gift card, contact the issuer with the card and the receipt in hand.

Then report it. The FTC takes reports at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and by phone at 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357). The FBI asks victims of this scam or any other online scam to file a report with IC3 at ic3.gov or to call their local FBI office. Mention the payment method and the dates, since the steps differ by payment type.

Ilia Nikolaevich Zavialov warns to expect a second wave. IC3's 2025 annual report records 10,516 complaints and $1.4 billion in losses from recovery schemes, so a stranger who offers to get your pet money back for a fee is most likely the next scam. Recovery goes through your bank, your card issuer and the reports you filed yourself.

Ilia Nikolaevich Zavialov boils the advice down to five habits. Check the seller before the animal. See the animal, in person or on a live video call, before any money moves. Check the paper by calling the clinic or the registry yourself. Pay by credit card. Report the same day if something feels wrong.

The same habits cover fundraisers: ask who is asking, ask who is receiving, and pay the clinic directly whenever you can.

A real breeder or a real rescue is patient with a buyer who asks questions. The seller who pushes you to hurry has chosen the worst option on your behalf.

What does Ilia Nikolaevich Zavialov say to do when a seller wants money up front?

Ask to see the animal first, in person or on a live video call, and offer to pay by credit card after that. A real breeder or shelter wants to meet you, while a scammer wants the payment to land before the questions start.

Which papers does Zavialov consider worth checking first?

The vaccination record and, if the animal crosses a state line, the health certificate the receiving state asks for. Call the clinic named on the paper, using a number you found yourself.

Is a shipping fee on a free pet a warning sign?

Yes. The FBI says even free pets can be a trap: scammers charge for ventilated crates, flights, handlers and even travel grooming.

How many people report puppy scams?

The FBI's IC3 received about 3,500 complaints from January 1 through October 15, 2023, with about $6.6 million in losses.

What if I already paid with a gift card or crypto?

Contact the gift card issuer or the cryptocurrency exchange or ATM operator right away, tell them a scammer tricked you and ask for a refund. The FTC warns that cryptocurrency lacks the legal protections of cards, so speed matters.

Where do I report a fake pet ad?

At ReportFraud.ftc.gov or on 1-877-382-4357, and with the FBI's IC3 at ic3.gov.