Staying safe
How to spot the common scams when getting or selling an animal online, and the simple steps that stop them.
See the animal before you pay
Most scams have one thing in common: the animal doesn't exist, or isn't the seller's. Photos are easy to copy. A live look is not.
- Visit if you can. If you can't, ask for a live video call and ask the seller to show you the animal.
- Ask for a proof photo from your request on PerfectPal. We give you a code, and the seller sends a new photo of the animal with that code written beside it.
- Check the code in the photo yourself. PerfectPal doesn't judge proof photos.
- A seller who can never visit, call or send a proof photo is a reason to walk away.
Pay in a way that can be put right
Card payments on PerfectPal go to the seller's own payment account, and your card issuer can look into a charge if something goes wrong. Payments made outside the site don't have that.
- Never pay with gift cards, cryptocurrency or a wire transfer. They can't be reversed.
- Be careful with money transfers to someone you haven't met, above all for a deposit.
- Read the seller's refund terms before you pay. They decide when a deposit comes back.
- For a larger sale, ask the seller for a contract you both sign on PerfectPal.
Warning signs for buyers
Any one of these is worth slowing down for:
- A price far below what others ask for the same kind of animal.
- Pressure to pay today because someone else is about to.
- Being asked to move to another app, text or email before you've paid anything.
- Shipping only, with no visit, video call or pickup possible.
- New fees after you've paid: a crate, insurance, customs, a courier.
- A seller who avoids questions about the animal's age, parents, diet or records.
Scams aimed at sellers
Sellers are targeted too, usually by a buyer who has never asked about the animal.
- Overpayment: the buyer sends too much and asks you to refund the difference. The first payment later fails, and your refund is gone.
- Cheques, including certified ones, can be returned weeks after they seem to clear.
- A courier or agent who will collect the animal for a buyer you've never spoken to.
- Record a payment as received only once it has fully cleared. Card payments on PerfectPal show as paid when they are.
- You can ask a buyer for a video call, and say no to anyone you aren't comfortable with.
Keep it on PerfectPal
Messages, payment requests, contracts and bookings on PerfectPal leave a record that both of you can see, and that staff can look at if there's a problem.
- If a message matches a known scam pattern, the person who receives it sees a short warning under it. A warning isn't an accusation: it's a prompt to take care.
- Each seller's page shows which checks they've passed, such as an identity check, and which they haven't.
- The Before you pay list on your request shows where a sale stands.
If something seems wrong
Stop, and don't send any more money. You can report a listing, a seller or a message from its Report link, and staff will look at it.
- If you paid by card, contact your card issuer as soon as you can.
- In Canada, report fraud to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. In the United States, report it to the Federal Trade Commission.
- Keep your messages and receipts. They help whoever looks into it.