How to avoid horse scams?
Online classified sites offer endless possibilities but some are simply "too good to be true".
Surely you have come across an ad that described the perfect horse. Beautiful, extravagant, friendly, trained ideally for your needs and with all the veterinary certificates describing the horse's perfect health. When you checked the price... Wow! This is a good deal. But unfortunately that is not the case. Most likely, this is a typical internet scam.
Perfect horse ad
Scams are becoming more and more frequent and that is why EquiGaia gathered helpful advice on how to recognise classified ad scams and how to avoid them.
5 CHARACTERISTICS OF CLASSIFIED AD SCAMS
1. They usually contain a beautiful horse photo. The most frequent targets of scams are: Friesians, Gypsy Vanners, Quarter Horses and other warmbloods. Besides the photo, the ad contains an amazing horse description that depicts its great movement, skills and friendly character.
2. The price of the horse is very low (500 - 3000 €). In reality, the mentioned breeds are much more expensive. It can also happen that the scammer will offer the horse free of charge as long as the buyer pays for the transportation.
3. The seller has a commercial email address (yahoo, gmail, live.com etc.)
4. The ad usually does not contain a pedigree.
5. The horse's name is short and simple (John, Mike, Ty, Jackson etc.)
PeTypical scammer's ad (1)
PeTypical scammer's ad (2)
Typical scammer's ad (3)
5 TIPS on how to recognise that the SELLER is a SCAMMER
When the buyer contacts the seller, the seller:
1. Answers in poor English.
2. Praises the horse, sends additional photos and points out that this is a unique opportunity because they must sell the horse because of personal hardship.
3. Pretends to have suffered a tragic event in order to stimulate feelings of friendship and empathy in the buyer as well as to evoke a feeling that the horse was well taken care of.
4. Asks questions carefully, e.g. Are you married?, How many children do you have?, Do you own horses?, Where is the horse going to stay?. All this, just to make the buyer feel that the seller is a responsible person and that doing business will be a pleasure.
5. Demands personal data and sends payment instructions. The payment is usually done via Western Union, a cheque or banker's draft. The bank account is usually open in Nigeria. The buyer makes the transfer but then... The horse and the seller vanish.
This is only one case of a typical scam but it must be emphasised that scammers always find new ways. They not only sell horses but also buy them.
5 TIPS on how to recognise that the BUYER is a SCAMMER
1. Scammers search for horses in the price range from 500 – 3000 €.
2. Scammers contact sellers via email and ask for additional photos and horse data and ask, if it is possible to send a cheque to cover to costs. They sometimes even offer an amount that exceeds the set price.
3. They apologise for not being able to come and see the horse in person because of different reasons and flatter the seller that they trust them completely.
4. If the seller agrees to the deal, they receive a cheque, arrange transportation and, after a while, the banks informs them that it was a forgery. That leaves the seller without the money and the horse.
5. What proves that such scams are spreading like viruses, is that not only horses are targets but also horse trailers, horse products and even frozen semen. The result is the same. The victim ends up losing the money and the item.
Examples of such inquiries:
"Hello am sam and am interested in buying your horse,could you tell me the present condition and send me pictures with the last price.Payment will be by euro cheque.
Regards. +447024017719”
“Hello, My name is Mrs Stepan Dirk, I am interested in the purchase of your horse for my daughter,my daughter will love this horse like her baby, what is the last prize in euro for this horse? hope the health is ok. please reply me with the last price you will accept so that we can arrange payment and meet for pick up. Stephan”
“Hello. This is just to let you to know that i came across your advert on the website and I'm very interested in buying it from you. I'll like you to kindly write back if you still have it for sale and what is your final price? Also I'll really appreciate it if you can send me some recent pictures. Meanwhile i live in England , but I will like you to know that I will personally take care of the shipping of the down to my location. Thank you. Mail.john.tony600@gmail.com Regards, John”
WHAT TO DO?
1. EquiGaia webmasters carefully check ads on a daily basis and delete suspicious ads. If you encounter a suspicious ad, we kindly ask you to contact us. You can do that by clicking the red text "Report inappropriate content" located under each ad. Alternatively, you can send us an email at support@equigaia.com.
How to report inappropriate content
2. In case you became a scam victim, you are advised to save all correspondence with the scammer and to contact your local police who may be able to assist.
EquiGaia loves horses and wants them to have caring and loving owners. We also hold a strong opinion that the purchase of a horse should be made prudently, thoughtfully and in a responsible manner towards these remarkable animals. Since EquiGaia cares for its users, we hope the advice will help you when selling and buying online.
Do not forget, if it seems too good to be true, then it probably is!
Written by: Maja Primožič
Additional advice?
If you think, we forgot to include some important advice, please send us your suggestions to support@equigaia.com and we will include them. Only by working together, we can get rid of scammers.