MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Victims from four states have reported being victimized by an online company, purportedly based in Memphis, offering puppies for sale. The victims, from Alaska, Missouri, Nevada and Memphis, all filed scam reports with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) in the last few days. They each lost between $500 and $750.
The company’s website, cylixfrenchies.com, claims to be “a small family-owned kennel concentrating on breeding superior Teacup French Bulldog Puppies as family pets.” It also claims to be located in "beautiful Memphis, Tennessee,” but gives no physical address on the site. The website was recently created on June 10, 2020, and was privately registered, meaning no contact information is publicly available.
Fraud in the sale of online pets has continued to increase during the COVID-19 pandemic, with scammers victimizing American consumers at an alarming rate. BBBs across North America have received more than 2100 reports of puppy scams so far in 2020. Many of these begin with a fake website and stolen photos, often lifted from a legitimate site.
Homebound Americans who’ve decided to bring a pet into their family generally start their search for a new pet online. However, even the most careful online search is likely to put a consumer in contact with a potential thief. Incredibly, experts believe at least 80% of the sponsored advertising links that appear in an internet search for pets may be fraudulent. In fact, it can be difficult to navigate an online search for a pet without coming across a bogus website.
Greedy “sellers” are rarely satisfied with stealing a few hundred dollars from their victims. Most will demand additional payments for items such as special shipping crates or vet visits until the buyer finally becomes suspicious or runs out of funds.
One Memphis woman paid $650 for one of the puppies on Cylix Frenchies’ website. She told the company she would pick up the puppy the same day, but they sent her a contract showing a balance for shipping, insurance and medication. “I disputed the charge with my credit card company,” she told BBB.
A Missouri woman said the company only communicated with her via text message and asked for payment through a peer-to-peer cash transfer app. She paid for her puppy using one such app. Then the company asked for more money for a thermal shipping crate due to COVID-19. “When you ask for your money back, they get silent,” she told BBB.
The other two victims who filed scam reports with BBB of the Mid-South also reported that the company stopped communicating once they received payment. None of the victims ever received their puppies.
Simply put, many of the pets marketed online do not exist – at least not as advertised. In virtually all cases, the scammers never own the animals described on the sites.
BBB recommends you follow this advice to avoid being the victim of a pet scam:
- Never send money to people or companies you don't know and trust. With person-to-person cash transfer apps, once the money is sent, it’s gone for good. The same goes for the money on prepaid debit cards or gift cards when you give the numbers to someone else.
- Don’t buy a pet you can’t see in person before making a decision. This is the only sure way of making sure your cat or dog really exists and will be delivered to you without fail.
- Research prices. Make sure you know roughly the going rate for the specific breed you are interested in. If someone is offering a purebred puppy at an extremely reduced price, chances are it's a fraud.
- Be wary of websites that display cute pictures of pets but little or no contact information. A website that asks you to communicate via a “Contact Us” form, an email address or text may be suspect. Without a phone number and physical address, it’s almost impossible to trace the company if problems arise.
- Check out the registry of the company’s website at whois.com. Newly created websites that lack contact information may be one red flag that the site is bogus.
- Pay with a credit card if possible. You have more protections under federal law with credit cards than debit cards or other payment methods.
For More Information
To learn more about how to protect yourself from pet scams, read BBB’s investigation at BBB.org/PuppyScam.
If you've been a victim of a pet scam or think you’ve spotted a fraudulent website, report it to BBB Scam Tracker at bbb.org/scamtracker and FBI’s ic3.gov to help others avoid a similar fate.
ABOUT BBB: For more than 100 years, the Better Business Bureau has been helping people find businesses, brands and charities they can trust. In 2017, people turned to BBB more than 160 million times for BBB Business Profiles on more than 5.2 million businesses and Charity Reports on 11,000 charities, all available for free at bbb.org. There are local, independent BBBs across the United States, Canada and Mexico, including BBB Serving the Mid-South was founded in 1948 and serves 28 counties in West Tennessee, East Arkansas and North Mississippi.
