The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement warned Pennsylvania dog owners looking to purchase new or renewal licenses of a fraudulent website selling dog licenses online.

“The Department of Agriculture works with Pennsylvania’s county treasurers for the sale of dog licenses,” said Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding. “The best way to ensure that you’re completing an official transaction is to start on licenseyourdogpa.pa.gov.”

Most recently, the department has identified www.padoglicense.online as selling fake PA dog licenses and even paying search engines to appear at the top of search results pages for common terms, like “Pennsylvania dog license” or “renew PA dog license”.

Here are some tips to help customers ensure that they are on an official website:

Rather than using a search engine to reach a website to purchase a dog license, type www.licenseyourdogpa.pa.gov directly into your browser’s address bar.

When in doubt, call your county treasurer’s office. Each county treasurer has a different process; while most offer an online option for the purchase of licenses, some do not and require a paper form to be dropped off or mailed.

If you have a concern about a third-party website, contact the PA Attorney General Bureau of Consumer Protection at 1-800-441-2555.

For more information of Pennsylvania’s dog laws, visit agriculture.pa.gov or licenseyourdogpa.pa.gov.