A horse buying fraud ring keeps resurfacing on the internet. Targets include people offering horses for sale via internet listing services. The con artist offers, via email, to purchase the animal at the asking price, sight unseen and usually without asking any questions.
The con usually works this way. If the seller responds the buyer arranges to send a cashier's check to the seller for the price of the horse, plus a couple thousand dollars extra for the hauler. The seller is to negotiate the cashier's check, then mail payment to the supposed hauler via another cashier's check or money order.
The only problem is that the original cashier's check is a forgery and once discovered, the bank goes after the hapless seller to recover its money.
DON'T SELL ANYTHING TO ANYONE who requires you to negotiate a large check and disburse funds to other unknown parties. This is simple common sense but this old scam must work since the con artists keep on running it. We run an adoption program for wild horses and we must get a half dozen of these attempts a year.
Finally, DON'T EVER RELEASE AN ANIMAL TO ANYONE without proper paperwork and confirming proper identification of the buyer and/or transporter. A number of animals that end up at the slaughter house were given away or sold cheaply to what the donor or seller thought was a good home or a charity project.
The internet is like the untamed and wild old west. Don't become an internet scam victim. Think things over and verify the situation before doing anything with your animal or accepting responsibility for any money via an internet transaction.
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