NaN:NaN
But for Buffie Coleman, a mom from Richmond, Virginia, who fell victim to a scam, it was a heartbreaking outcome for her and her daughter Aniyah, whom she was planning to surprise with a puppy on her birthday.
\"She loves pets, she's very energetic, she loves being outside,\" Coleman said of her daughter. \"So we figured, what better way to release some of the energy but to go ahead and invest in a family dog for her.\"
When Coleman found the perfect miniature poodle on a website, and discussed the price with the contact listed, she said she ended up losing $500 and never got the dog.
Now, she's telling others to be cautious of scammers when trying to purchase a dog online.
\"Just be careful,\" she said. \"They have nothing to do but to prey online and over the telephone.\"
Here are three tips from Baker on how to avoid a scam.
\"I would never personally buy a pet that I was not able to see in person,\" said Baker. \"That is the simplest and most effective step you can take.\"
However, if you can't, Baker suggests to take the photo of the pet that's listed online and Google it.
\"You can do an internet search for a photo,\" he said. \"I've done that before and seen the exact same picture show up over three years in five different countries.\"
You can take it a step further by searching the same description that's listed about the dog. Put the description in your browser and search for it, recommends Baker.
Baker explained that sometimes the price that is listed for a pet online is lower than it would be for purebreds that they're describing, which is a major red flag.
He suggested to use a website like PetScams.com, to help identify bogus sites.
In addition to the price of pets online, Baker said that most scammers want payments in an untraceable way such as gift cards.
\"As soon as you read the numbers off the back of that card, that money is gone and cannot be recovered,\" said Baker.
Once you've identified a scammer who claims they're selling puppies, Baker said to report them to the Better Business Bureau or the Federal Trade Commission.
\"A lot of people are embarrassed by these sorts of thing, but they need to complain with that information for the better,\" he explained. \"Those complaints go into a database where people can look for patterns and hopefully some of these folks can be found and arrested.\"
","canonicalUrl":"https://abcnews.com/GMA/Living/tips-avoid-puppy-scams-pandemic-business-bureau-investigator/story?id=72810016","legacySlug":"/living/story/tips-avoid-puppy-scams-pandemic-business-bureau-investigator-72810016","noIndexNoFollow":false},"publishTime":"12:25","publishDate":"09-04-2020","updatedTime":"22:11","updatedDate":"09-04-2020","socialImage":{"alt":"","credit":"STOCK PHOTO/Getty Images","ratio":"16x9","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/frenchie-gty-er-200903_1599179972386_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg","width":992,"height":558},"datePublished":"9/4/2020 12:25:00 GMT","video":{"live":false,"id":72810016,"headline":"3 tips to avoid puppy scams during the pandemic","mediaAssetTitle":"200904_PET_SCAMMERS_GMA_bernabe","description":"While many search for pets to keep them company, scammers take advantage.","duration":"NaN:NaN","posterImg":{"url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","width":608,"height":342},"video":{},"playlist":["64289985","70200422","133741861"]},"relatedItems":[{"contentType":"story","date":"July 12, 2019","headline":"Nicole Kidman gets her 1st puppy, says she's 'been waiting for this my whole life!' ","section":"culture","slug":"/culture/story/nicole-kidman-1st-puppy-shes-waiting-life-64289985","id":64289985,"image":{"alt":"Nicole Kidman gets her 1st puppy, says she's 'been waiting for this my whole life!' ","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/nicole-kidman-puppy-ht-jt-190712_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Nicole Kidman/Instagram","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"story","date":"December 24, 2020","headline":"Therapy dog, 'Dogtor Loki,' delivers 'Hero Healing Kits' to health care workers","section":"living","slug":"/living/story/therapy-dog-dogtor-loki-delivers-hero-healing-kits-70200422","id":70200422,"image":{"alt":"Therapy dog, 'Dogtor Loki,' delivers 'Hero Healing Kits' to health care workers","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/loki-01-ht-jef-200416_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Caroline Benzel","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"video","date":"June 10, 2026","headline":"NASA unveils Artemis III crew","section":"News","slug":"/video/133741861","id":"133741861","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: NASA unveils Artemis III crew","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260610_gma_benitez_artemis_715_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: NASA unveils Artemis III crew","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260610_gma_benitez_artemis_715_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260610_gma_benitez_artemis_715_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260610_gma_benitez_artemis_715_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260610_gma_benitez_artemis_715_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260610_gma_benitez_artemis_715_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260610_gma_benitez_artemis_715_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260610_gma_benitez_artemis_715_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260610_gma_benitez_artemis_715_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260610_gma_benitez_artemis_715_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}}],"relatedContentSection":"news","schemaContent":{"name":"3 tips to avoid puppy scams during the pandemic","description":"While many search for pets to keep them company, scammers take advantage.","duration":"NaN:NaN","uploadDate":"09-04-2020","publication":"09-04-2020","images":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","link":"https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/living/story/tips-avoid-puppy-scams-pandemic-business-bureau-investigator-72810016"}},"playlist":[{"id":"133929295","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133958398","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133882828","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133810954","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133779647","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133810835","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133749799","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133777519","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133748258","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133730535","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133712423","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133694181","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133688738","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133616358","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133616342","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133522899","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133584123","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133579397","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133482839","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133390157","contentType":"story","section":"news"}],"kvps":{"pgtyp":"article","lang":"en","sp":"goodmorningamerica","programmatic":"true","bundleId":"com.abcnews"}},"analytics":{"accountID":"wdgnewwdgnewgmaweb","ns":"gma","pageName":"gma:living:video","pageType":"video","globalSpecVersion":"v1.08","siteDifferentiator":"gma:site","tagID":"g_page01","userABCookie":"0","section":"living","title":"3 tips to avoid puppy scams during the pandemic","pubTime":"08:25","pubDate":"09-04-2020","modTime":"18:11","modDate":"09-04-2020","taxonomyTags":"none","id":72810016,"editorialOtherSubjects":"","wordCount":"none","columns":"none","authors":"","authorsUnit":"none","authorsBureau":"none","subBrand":"Good Morning America","provider":"Good Morning America","videoName":"3 tips to avoid puppy scams during the pandemic","mediaAssetTitle":"200904_PET_SCAMMERS_GMA_bernabe","videoId":72810016,"mediaOnPage":"video","legacySlug":"/living/story/tips-avoid-puppy-scams-pandemic-business-bureau-investigator-72810016"},"taboola":{}},"request":{"headers":{},"httpVersion":"1.1","method":"GET","url":"/video/72810016","vary":{"host":"www.goodmorningamerica.com","cached":true,"path":"/video/72810016","forwarded-proto":"https","device":"desktop","userab":"0"}},"viewport":{"width":1260,"height":0},"user":{}};