diff --git a/lib/copy-sync/copy-sync.js b/lib/copy-sync/copy-sync.js
index d837780c..2d9523ec 100644
--- a/lib/copy-sync/copy-sync.js
+++ b/lib/copy-sync/copy-sync.js
@@ -47,6 +47,9 @@ function getStats (destStat, src, dest, opts) {
            srcStat.isCharacterDevice() ||
            srcStat.isBlockDevice()) return onFile(srcStat, destStat, src, dest, opts)
   else if (srcStat.isSymbolicLink()) return onLink(destStat, src, dest, opts)
+  else if (srcStat.isSocket()) throw new Error(`Cannot copy a socket file: ${src}`)
+  else if (srcStat.isFIFO()) throw new Error(`Cannot copy a FIFO pipe: ${src}`)
+  throw new Error(`Unknown file: ${src}`)
 }
 
 function onFile (srcStat, destStat, src, dest, opts) {
diff --git a/lib/copy/copy.js b/lib/copy/copy.js
index 14aab7d5..c12578db 100644
--- a/lib/copy/copy.js
+++ b/lib/copy/copy.js
@@ -72,6 +72,9 @@ function getStats (destStat, src, dest, opts, cb) {
              srcStat.isCharacterDevice() ||
              srcStat.isBlockDevice()) return onFile(srcStat, destStat, src, dest, opts, cb)
     else if (srcStat.isSymbolicLink()) return onLink(destStat, src, dest, opts, cb)
+    else if (srcStat.isSocket()) return cb(new Error(`Cannot copy a socket file: ${src}`))
+    else if (srcStat.isFIFO()) return cb(new Error(`Cannot copy a FIFO pipe: ${src}`))
+    return cb(new Error(`Unknown file: ${src}`))
   })
 }