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Watch Out for these Email Scams WHAT CAN YOU DO?

As a service to both our advertisers and buyers, we will be using this page to post information about known email scams.

HEADS UP! False Insurance claims
It has been brought to our attention that some sellers are claiming to be insured by EquestrianConnection.com, and that EquestrianConnection.com manages all of their transactions.
THIS IS NOT TRUE!
EquestrianConnection.com does not provide any insurance to any sellers or buyers at any time. We do not manage any transactions.
Equimarket is a buyer beware and use at your own risk - we cannot verify the validity of any ads.
If you receive such a message from a seller, please notify us immediately.

 

HOW DO YOU SPOT A SCAM?

Although some scams can be very sophisticated, most are easy to spot as they usually contain at least one of the following:

  • Poor Grammar & Spelling: most of these emails are riddled with very poor grammar and spelling
  • Wanting to send you more money than the value of what you're selling: For example, if you have a saddle that you're selling for $2,000, they want to send you a cheque for $4,000 and ask you to send the balance in cash to their 'broker'
  • Require you to send money: if you are selling a horse/item, you should not be required to send the buyer any money
  • Request financial information: you should never give out any personal and/or financial information over email. Financial institutions themselves will never ask for this type of information over email as they are aware of the security risks.
  • Pressure Tactics: if the buyer is trying to apply pressure to you in order to speed up the transaction, then take this as a warning sign.

As with any form of public classifieds (online or in print) both advertisers and buyers need to be aware of potential scams, and also do due diligence when entering a transaction. It is always advisable to have the terms of the transaction in writing with each party signing. If a party does not want to sign their name to the terms, this could also be a warning sign that something is not right.

Sincerely,

Equestrian Connection Team
www.equestrianconnection.com
Canada's # 1 Equestrian Website

 

Try to get as much information from the buyer as possible in order to help protect yourself. If you think it might be a scam and/or fraudulent, then notify the proper authorities:

In Canada: contact the Royal Canadian Mounted Police at
http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/scams-fraudes/index-eng.htm

In the U.S., contact the Federal Trade Commission at
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/menus/consumer/tech/privacy.shtm

 

SAMPLE SCAM

Hello,
Good day to you, Am Smith Jones , I have a customer who is interested in buying of your HORSE, if you are selling, kindly get back to me with the final price and picture . Payment do you accept a certified check?Shipping i will be responsible for the shipping myself, I will be looking forward to hear from you.
Regards.
Jones..

HOW DOES IT WORK?
They want to send you a cashier's cheque which will cover the price of the horse and the shipping. They then explain that they have an international shipping agent who will ship the horse to them in the U.K.(or some other country), and ask if you can deduct the price and send them the remaining funds meant for shipping to their International shipper via Western Union Money Transfer. Once they get the money, they will pick up the horse. However in reality, the cashier's cheque is counterfeit but this is not discovered until after the horse has been sent, and the 'extra' funds wired through.

Note: There are also scams where the scammer refers to escrow companies (similar setup to above) as well as employment scams where they ask for money for 'processing fees' in order to help you enter the country.


 

 

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