Why would a scammer gives you a physical address?
Does it mean they are legitimate?
Why would a scammer even give you a physical address if they know that you will easily figure out that it is a scam when you visit the address and realise that there are no puppies for sale?

We are not sure how many dogs Randy Travis owns but every Friday the Peabody award winning reporter for Fox News Atlanta includes a “feel good” story about puppies. In February 2019, Randy posted a story about a couple who had recently bought a house only to find that multiple scam victims called to their door expecting to find a puppy!
What was happening?

The scammer has multiple websites including:

Remember that in any puppy scam, the main scam is the delivery payments which can include payments for an “air conditioned crate”, vaccines, medication, pet insurance etc etc. In this case the scammer created a “Scam Shipping Website” in order to con people out of these payments.
Welcome to diamondaircounty.com

Why would a scammer give a false address?

If you have ever chatted with a breeder, the first thing you will want to know is the breeders location. This is fairly obvious as you will want to visit the puppy, view the parents and be sure that you are buying from an ethical breeder.
If you are chatting with a scammer, the first thing they want to know is your location.
This is because they will claim to be based at the opposite end of the country from you. If you are in New York, they will give you an address in Atlanta. If you are in Atlanta, they will give you an address in New York.
Their aim is to force you to pay for shipping with diamondaircounty.com

Is a scammer happy for you to visit their address?

In a word, “No”.
The scammer wants you to pay, in advance, for the promise of a puppy. They then want you to pay, in advance, for any fees in the transportation.
Scammers have a strict script to keep to. If you deviate from the script, they are more than happy to punish you.
If you insist on paying in cash the scammer will not waste time trying to convince you. They may pretend to be extremely offended as they are “god fearing” and are not capable of scamming someone however if you insist on traveling up to 10 hours to pay in cash they will relent and give you a fake address. By now the scammer has given up on trying to scam you and has moved on to another victim who may be more likely to pay.
The fact that you will have a wasted 10 hour journey is their petty revenge for wasting their time!

How does a scammer choose a fake address?

Scammers will choose an address simply by searching for property for sale in their chosen area. Ideally the scammer will prefer an address that is not in use because the victim may not be 100% sure that they are being scammed if nobody answers the door.
As with the video above, the property was empty until the current homeowner bought it however the scammer continued to cut and past the same address into his replies to his intended victims.

Where is the scammer actually based?

Judging by the records on PetScams.com, the scammer that created the above websites is based in Cameroon, West Africa.
The scammer uses fake addresses and phone numbers to appear to be based in the US but has victims in the US, Canada, Israel, Australia and the United Kingdom amongst others.

Conclusion

It is not difficult to establish if the person you are dealing with is actually selling a puppy.

  1. Arrange to speak to the breeder on a video call. Skype, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger are easy programs to use.
  2. Ask that the puppy and the puppies mother (if possible) are in the video chat.
  3. Ask that the breeder writes your name and the breeders name on a piece of paper. That paper should be in the video when you are viewing the puppy

Genuine breeders not only face competition from scammers but they also lose the trust of the public because of these scams. A genuine breeder may not be happy for you to visit in person as you may carry infection from another breeder but they should be happy to take a photo or a quick video.