Puppy scammers have been striking hard in Denver, where the BBB has gotten wind of eight different scam rings targeting consumers.

Puppy scams are a growing concern around the US. The BBB scam tracker has records of 907 reports regarding these kinds of scams. The Federal Trade Commission also handles these kinds of incidents, and they’ve received over 37,000 complaints of this kind of scam. The vast majority of pet scams involve puppies, as families are often keen to add a furry little friend to the home and they don’t always look at what they’re buying so carefully. The problem is so bad that the BBB International Investigations Initiative has launched an international investigation into the intricacies of puppy scams and the people behind them.

There are certain red flags to look for and steps you can take to protect yourself from puppy scams. First of all, don’t buy a pet without seeing it in person. Many of these scams use pictures of the same cute dogs, so if you find pictures of the same dog on multiple sites, you should report it to the BBB, FTC, and any relevant local authorities. Next, you should never pay for a pet using a money transfer service like Western Union or MoneyGram. Scammers try to get you to pay with these services for a reason; you’ll probably never get that money back. You can also use the BBB scam tracker to find out about cases of puppy scams in your area. As always, if you’re going to pay for a pet and feel uneasy, use a credit card in case you need to dispute the charges.