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Re: [RC] Horse ads - how to tell legit responses - Carol Suggs

This happened to me a couple of years ago.  I had a horse listed on
Dreamhorse.com and bayequest.com, so I am not sure how this person got the
ad.  The horse was listed for $7,500 and  the "buyer" emailed me that they
would send me a cashiers check for about $13,000, apparently to pay for
shipping.  I was to deposit the cashiers check and then send the balance to
a shipping agent who would later contact me for arrangements.  VERY FISHY.

So I emailed the person back and started asking a bunch of horse questions,
some pretty bizarre answers came back so I notified my ISP and they informed
me that this was a scam. Plus the spelling and grammer weren't the greatest
and the whole thing sounded like a crock to me.  My ISP told me that several
elderly people in our small community had been taken by scams like this when
they had placed their classified ads on our local web site.  Such a shame
that folks take advantage of others.

The cashiers checks are indeed false, and although your bank may deposit
them and allow you to write checks against them, they normally find out
weeks later that the checks are bad and charge you back for them.  By then
the scammer's shipping agent has your money and you have no way to get it
back.

Just remember if is sounds fishy it probably is.

Carol-Mariposa


----- Original Message -----
From: "Ridecamp Guest" <guest-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, June 03, 2005 9:48 AM
Subject: [RC] Horse ads - how to tell legit responses


Please Reply to: Sharon Hahn sharon.hahn@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx or
ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
==========================================

Use your common sense to evaluate the person's interest.
Example:  You post an ad for "grey Arab mare, age 10,
goes English or Western. $1000."  Person from overseas
immediately wants to buy the horse and make arrangement
for payment and shipping through a weird & complex method.
Now granted, there MIGHT be a legit overseas buyer, but
this should raise tons of red flags:

1.  Why does this person want your "regular" horse so badly?
Don't they have horses for sale in their own country?
2.  Does the shipping cost exceed the value of the horse? (A bargain airfare
for a PERSON to the UK is about $400, so I'm
sure shipping a horse is MUCH more!)
3.  Why hasn't this person asked for photos, videos, add'l
information, vet check, etc?  Have they even asked if the
animal is sound and healthy?  I mean, really, who would
want to buy a horse and ship it sight unseen without even
asking a few basic questions?  If they were legit and really
that clueless, would you even WANT your horse to go live
with them?

If it seems weird, it's a scam. If you think the person
might be legit, send an email back asking something like,
"tell me what you want to use this horse for so I can help
you decide if she'd be a good fit."  A real horse person
will talk your ear off.

If you are selling a horse, insist on cleared funds prior
to releasing the horse, and insist that any shipping
contract be between the buyer and the shipping company
so you don't get stuck paying shipping charges.  Your
involvement should be limited to having the horse ready
for pickup at the appointed time.
_________________________

Anyone have any idea how to tell if a response from someone in a foreign
country is legit?  Also, what would it cost to ship a horse overseas, say to
Europe or UK?  I have NO experience with that.  Seems the ads here are
really being hit by people from 'out of US' territory.  mas


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Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.
Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp
Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp

Ride Long and Ride Safe!!

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[RC] Horse ads - how to tell legit responses, Ridecamp Guest