Buyer's Tips | PetzLover

  1. Search the seller's phone number, email address and name online (Google, Bing and others). Scammers post the same ad in many places and under many breeds. If you find that, it is probably a scam.
  2. Run the pet's photos through a reverse image search (Google Lens, TinEye). Photos copied from other sites, or made with AI, are a common sign of a scam. Ask for a new photo or a short video of the pet with your name or today's date.
  3. See the pet before you pay: visit the seller, or ask for a live video call that shows the pet and where it lives. If the seller always has a reason why that cannot happen (moved, travelling, working abroad, sick), treat it as a scam, however real the story sounds.
  4. Search a few lines of the ad text online. Scammers reuse the same introduction and description in many ads.
  5. A price far below the market price is a warning sign. Scammers use cheap prices, and urgency (“someone else is about to buy”), to rush you.
  6. Do not pay a deposit, a “holding fee” or the full price to someone you have not met. Do not pay by wire transfer, gift card, crypto, Western Union, MoneyGram, Zelle, Cash App or similar money-sending apps — these payments usually cannot be recovered or refunded. Pay when you collect the pet, or use a method that gives buyer protection.
  7. Be careful with “shippers”, transport agents, escrow, insurance or vaccination-certificate fees. Fake delivery and escrow websites look real. Look the company up yourself on its official website, not through a link the seller sent, and stop if new fees appear after you have paid.
  8. Never share verification codes (OTP), bank logins, card details or ID documents with a seller, and do not log in through links a seller sends you.
  9. If you think you have found a scammer, report the listing or write to us at contact@petzlover.com so we can block them and protect other buyers.
  10. Payments are made directly by the buyer to the seller. Petzlover is not involved in the payment between seller and buyer. Agree on the price and the payment terms with the seller before the transaction.
  11. When you contact the seller, mention that you found the listing on Petzlover.