WA Consumer Protection reveals West Australian dog lovers lost a record $26,000 last month from puppy scams

They say a fool and his money are easily parted, but it really is no contest when said fool has been in COVID-19 lockdown, unable to socialise and with too much time on his hands, and the offer of a cheap French bulldog appears on his Facebook feed. This wouldn’t be such a problem if the hard-earned cash changing hands eventually resulted in the appearance of an Insta-worthy dog but that failed to happen all too often last month, according to WA Consumer Protection. In fact, West Aussies lost a record $26,000 to puppy scams last month, which is about twice as much as we’ve lost in any month of the past financial year. Individuals coughed up anything from $150 to an eye-watering $5000, having been fooled by dodgy advertisements on websites, trading sites such as Gumtree and social media. Though we used the word “fool” earlier, anyone with a trusting nature and penchant for puppies could fall for some of these sophisticated swindles. And a fear of looking foolish often stops people from reporting crimes, so we unreservedly take it back. Incidentally, it’s not just WA folks — back in mid-May the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission revealed the nation had blown a collective $300,000 on puppy scams this year, so by now Australia has probably already exceeded the $360,000 it lost to doggy deception. Consumer Protection commissioner Penny Lipscombe said the most common breeds featuring in puppy scams recently were Frenchies and British bulldogs, but all the cons tend to follow a similar pattern. “Scammers provide consumers with images and videos, usually stolen from other websites, as proof they have puppies for sale,” Lipscombe said. “(After the purchase a) fake shipping company then makes contact to confirm the purchase details and claims additional payment is required for things like insurance, immunisations and storage costs, which will be fully refunded later.” Much to the distress of the victim, it soon becomes clear the puppy is a no-show and the payments they’ve made are virtually impossible to trace. WA ScamNet has mechanisms for removing fake websites and Facebook pages when a complaint is made but prevention is still the best strategy. Call ScamNet on 1300 304 054 for a second opinion on the legitimacy of a puppy seller, or visit scamnet.wa.gov.au to learn more.