My first buyer scam

[Marsha Cassada]

I had a horse advertised both on the Forum sale page and in two local newspapers. I got a phone message through a computer operator about the horse with an email contact. So I emailed yesterday, as I had heard that hearing impaired people use that method sometimes. I sent a thorough description of the horse, but when I got a reply email, I realized I had been scammed.

It was a classic--bad spelling, faulty English, and the ol' Western Union spiel.

Sure made me mad.

Marsha

 

[Jill]

I saw a news clip the other day about people using the hearing impaired system to try and take advantage of people selling puppies. I'm happy you knew it was a scam.

 

[MiniHunterHorseFan]

Oh we have had people email us that were scammers. Horrible spelling, stuff like that. Funny, I email them back and said to give us proof they weren't scammers.

 

[mininik]

Getting mad is a waste of emotion on those people. I have fun with them, instead.

 

[misfitminis]

Everytime we advertise an apartment for rent on-line we get those kinds of emails. It is terrible.

 

[wrenhart]

I have also been called by the deaf relay service wanting to buy a puppy from me...it was very frustrating to find out it was a scam, you can not be to careful these days , it is sad the way things are in the world today but we have intuition for a reason ladies...always trust your gut!

 

[Marsha Cassada]

I think the worst thing about the abuse of the deaf relay service is the harm it does to the people it was meant to help. If some TRULY deaf person tries to contact me now, I am not sure I would even take it seriously.

What made me mad about the whole thing, was the half hour I wasted composing the email reply with all the photos and information. I could have been playing with the horse all that time!

Marsha

 

[dgrminis]

I know scams are running high these days but I wanted to say PLEASE be sure that you are dealing with a scam. I have sold 3 minis and several goats to a deaf lady that lives about an hour from me and she uses the relay service to call me and the first time I talked to her I thought she was a scam because of the way she "speaks".. Also in her e-mails she is a horrible speller and it is very hard to understand what she wants to know at times. At one time she thought she was buying one of the horses from me but she had never actually SAID she wanted to buy it so I hadnt considered it sold and she was already talking like it was hers and I had to come right out and ask her if she was buying it and she said YES she had even sent the money the day before because when I got my mail the check was in there.. So please be sure that you are really dealing with a scammer as I would have lost a very good buyer if I had let her bad spelling and the relay service put me off..

On the other hand I wanted to say good for all of you that catch the scams BEFORE they happen -- I cant believe some of the scams people get hit by

 

[Gracie]

Im glad you discovered it was a scam BUT please dont think EVERY person who contacts you via e-mail because of hearing issues is a scammer, I have a hereditary condition and at 43 I have allready gone deaf in 1 ear and can hardly hear out of the other unless i turn that ear to your face, I cannot use phones because of this and do all my purchasing selling etc via e-mail I have no other choice,

And my typing is not so good I have an issue which makes it VERY hard for me to type what I am meaning to type,

I know what I want to type but somehow DOG becomes DINNER or Horse becomes Sheep. I spend alot of time going back trying to fix what I typed, lol

 

[joylee123]

[SIZE=12pt]I've found with true scammers it's not so much poor spelling as the words they use. Things like "is it still available?"[/SIZE]

"Gooday" things like that which are a little unusual

Heck even if it wasn't a scam... I'd never sell to anyone calling my kids an "IT" OH! Sure wish someone could do something about it.

I almost got taken for 4500.00 several years ago when these scams where not quite as well known. I had an antique Pony cart listed and got the old "I'll send you extra for the shipper, send the extra to him in Dallas via Western Union"

Oh my.... I got the cashier's check in the mail and so thought all was well, went and cashed it at the bank.... no biggie, went to western union (SENT THE MONEY!!!

) bumped into a friend 1/2 hour later who told me about a Nigerian Scam. I contacted Western Union. The Money hadn't been picked up yet, so I got it back, minus $124.00 handling fee, which at that point I was more than happy to pay

Live and learn

 

[Marsha Cassada]

I can sure see getting zapped by a scam that asks for something INanimate, like a cart or concert tickets. But something ALIVE, such as a horse or puppy? That woudl be harder to follow through on.

By the way, I was telling someone about my scam yesterday, and she knew of a young man who was sent travelers checks for a car. He cashed the checks at the bank and low and behold--the bank contacted him later and said the checks were a fake! He got stuck with $2400. The bank isnt' responsible for them.

Marsha