As I have talked to buyers I have come across so many people that have been scammed. They pay for a puppy that they never recieve and likely never existed. So how can buyers know if someone is legitimate or not?
ASK FOR A VIDEO CALL
Breeders often for the safety and health of puppies do not allow visitors to their home, however, all legitimate breeders are willing to do a video call at some point before you pick your pup.
ASK FOR PICTURES & VIDEOS
Scammers tend to only have a few pictures of the puppy they are "selling" where breeders will have about a billion.
Ask for specific pictures. For example: "Can I see a picture of yellow collar with a waterbottle in the picture?"
PICTURE DISCREPANCIES:
Look for discrepancies in pictures, scammers tend to send pictures of puppies that they claim are the same pup, yet if you look closely the markings don't always match. Here's an example: (these pictures are not mine. They were taken off a simple Google search)
A scammer might claim that they are the same pup, however, if you look closely you will notice that the bottom pup has a black under lip as well as more black on his jowls and a different facial shape, where the top pup has a large white flashy mask. Look for discrepancies in photos of the puppies.
ASK FOR REFERENCES:
Real breeders have real people that they have sold their dogs too as well as veterinarians and reproductive specialists they work with. Ask for references and contact those people to learn about their experience working with the breeder.
ASK FOR SIRE AND DAM INFO:
Breeders do a great deal of research on their breeding pairs to help ensure health, longevity, improvement of their lines, etc. Ask to see pedigrees of the sire and dam. Ask to see any health testing done on the two. Ask to see lots of pictures of both, all breeders will have this information where scammers more than likely will not.
ARE THEY IN A HURRY:
Breeders don't tend to be in a hurry to sell you their little one, where a scammer urges for money to be put down right then. A legitimate breeder asks you a multitude of questions such as
Number of family members
Where the dog will be living
Your experience with the breed
Your info (address, email,phone,etc.)
Activities you will do with the dog
Etc.
Breeders also tend to have terms or contracts. Breeders are willing to share with you information about themselves as well.
Scammers don't tend to do any of these things, they send you the minimum amount of pictures, information, and act as if it's urgent to buy right then.
If a person knows nothing about you it is a scam.
REFUNDABLE DEPOSITS:
Scammers tend to claim that if you back out of buying the pup, they will give you the money back. This is to lure you into a false sense of security. Breeders most of the time have nonrefundable deposits, this is because finding and placing pups in wonderful hands takes a great deal of effort, and nonrefundable deposits tends to weed out the flakes who don't show on pickup day.
REMEMBER
Anything that is done through technology: Facebook, AKC websites, etc. can be hacked, do your homework and make sure you aren't the one that gets scammed!