UK families lose £7.2m to pet fraud as puppy scams rise

Families across the UK have lost a combined £7.2 million to pet fraud over the past five years, according to data obtained through a Freedom of Information request to Action Fraud. A total of 14,300 pet scam reports were recorded between 2019 and 2024, with victims typically losing hundreds of pounds to fake listings for puppies.

London, Manchester and the West Midlands were among the areas most affected. The Metropolitan Police recorded the highest number of cases (1,684) and the largest financial losses, totalling £1.19 million. The fraud is often carried out through online classified adverts, where scammers use stolen or AI-generated images to pose as breeders, taking deposits before disappearing without delivering a dog.

Kate Margolis, 39, from Gloucestershire, lost £500 to a fake Golden Retriever listing. “I transferred a £500 deposit for a Golden Retriever I’d fallen in love with online, only to be told it had ‘eaten plastic and died’. I never saw the puppy, or my money, again,” she said. Margolis later founded the verification platform Petproov.com, aimed at reducing pet scams and improving transparency for prospective pet buyers.

She warned that summer is a peak time for pet fraud, as families search for puppies during school holidays. Scammers often create urgency using phrases like “ready to go today” or “last one left”. Images are frequently lifted from search engines or social media, and some fraudsters now use pre-recorded or AI-generated video to deceive buyers into thinking the pet is real.

Margolis advises that prospective buyers never send money without meeting the dog in person, and to ask for identification and documentation from sellers. “Would you buy a car from someone with no name or address? Of course not,” she said. “Take your time, ask questions and trust your gut.”

In addition to the Metropolitan area, other police forces with high numbers of reported cases included Thames Valley (616), West Midlands (579), and Greater Manchester (559). In terms of total financial losses, Thames Valley (£352,571) and Greater Manchester (£324,487) followed London.