Possible Scammer from England

[Joanne]

Just a heads up to miniature horse sellers in the United States.

For the last two months we have had someone from England claiming to want to buy one or more of our horses.

They went so far as to request my bank account information so that they could wire me the money in full.

They booked an export through Sheri Lykken at Shortview Stud Farm in Texas with a quaranteen to start in Mid. March.

The biggest problem with people like this is that they make it so hard to trust the honest, real buyers.
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They just seem to be toying with everyone. Asking for large amounts off of a package and saying that other farms will do that for them. Saying "I keep coming back to your horses. They are so beautiful" etc.

They are having people take more photos, videos, do blood work, have the veterinarian health checks done, or run genetic tests and then they either disappear, or ask for large discounts on package deals !  


I do not know if this is a scam, or if they are just incredibly inexperienced.

 


They seem to be finding the horses through the LB Sale Board.

 


If you are having a simular experience as this with a buyer please PM me for the name.

 


P.S. I just spoke with someone that had an experience with these same people trying to buy mammoth Donkeys! They are still owed money.

 

[REO]

Please tell me who they are. Sounds JUST like who, and what I just went through!

All I did was ask them if they might use Western Union because I wasn't sure if I could get the bank account info they wanted (I was putting them off until I could get a password protected account or a new account just for this) and they dropped me!

 

[Connie P]

This worries me also for the honest folks trying to make purchases. It is so hard not to be suspcious of everything these days. Sad.

 

[fastrack]

It would be very helpful if the Quarantine/Shipper and US seller communicated. It might eliminate some spammers from getting as far as they do with a sale.

We just experienced an international purchase cancellation at the '11th hour'. In this case, the only money I'm out is because the US SHIPPER (not the foreign buyer) called us and requested us to expedite coggins and necessary papers because they were going to ship the horse to quarantine within 10 days. Then, they didn't come.

I was very disappointed in the lack of communication from the chosen Quarantine/Shipping Company.

I think the buyer was legit in this case, but just gave up.

 

[Joanne]

I will happily give you the name and details if you email or PM me. I do not want any of you to go through what I have just gone through.

I have shipped internationally before and have never had to go through this. I have even worried that they were after my bank details in some sort of money scam.

I have been dealing with these people for two months and there has been a few days to a week or more that they do not reply to an email and then they are back! Wanting more or different horses.

They say "I am very, very interested in this horse. I am so excited" etc. Then nothing.

Mary Lou knows about this. But without her permission I will not post their names.

Since posting this two other people have contacted me and these people have done the same thing to them in the last few weeks.

They have to be stopped. They are hurting people and costing them money.

The emails to the other California farm look like cut and pastes from what I have received, with just the name of the horses changed.

 

[REO]

Yes, it's the same people I just dealt with too.

I told Joanne my story and I'd like to know the stories of others if possible. PM/email.

The deal fell apart when I said I didn't think our credit union would do that but said I'd find out. (putting them off til we could make a new account) So I asked about Western Union. They were pretty much only wanting our bank account info and they dropped off when they didn't get it.

 

[anita]

Joanne, you should close your account immediately.

Yes, I dealt with them too. Short time only because I was suspicious

As long as horses are not paid in full I will not make any further move. Its not just about me and $$

its also a hassel and very stressful for horses.

 

[REO]

When I didn't give them my bank info, they dropped me like a hot tater!

They must be also looking here on the forum, because I have not put an ad on the sale board in 2-3 weeks! I have not advertised anywhere. And my encounter was just Monday.

I hope no one who gave bank info gets stollen from

 

[SWA]

Ok, now this has me concerned. I recently had something similar happen with a pending sale over a near two month period as well. I wondered for the last couple weeks if they were really on the up and up or were they really trying to scam me somehow???

It is so hard to know how to tell the sincere from the scammers. This person really had me trusting at their word in their sincerity of interest in my horse...now I just don't know.

 

[Minimor]

I have found that most often a sale that drags out too long, or that you have to work too hard at to make the deal, is a sale not worth making. I haven't sold many horses, but have still had to deal with things like that a time or two, and a number of other peole who do a lot of selling have told me the same thing. When you find yourself having to work too hard to try and satisfy the potential buyer's requests, when things keep changing (whether it's how the money is to be sent, or which horse they want, or whatever) it should raise a caution flag.

I deal with the credit union, and credit unions here are not compatible with other bank systems, so we cannot have buyers wire or e-mail funds into our CU account--so I don't have to try & decide if I should send my bank account number to someone so they can transfer money to me for a purchase. I've wondered though how safe that is to do--can anyone actually do anything just with that bank account number? After all, it's really no different from sending a check to someone--any time you give someone a check, you are giving them your bank account number. But, scammers are their own breed--I may have, over the years, given checks to a few questionable people, but none of them were actually smart enough or crooked enough to try & get money they weren't entitled to out of my account. Scammers, I'm afraid, may be a little smarter & may have some way of doing it?

For those that provide a bank account # to buyers, is it secure, or have you just been careful/lucky in who you've given the # to & so haven't had a problem, or do you have a special account that you don't keep money in, and just use it for buyers to make payment to?

 

[shadelady]

Please bear in mind there are two sides to every story. I know the person about whom this is being said, no mention of the 7 horses that she IS currently importing. Mary Lou I have asked her to contact you asap regarding this. Can it be locked until she has a chance to become a member and answer for herself ?

 

[Becky]

For those that provide a bank account # to buyers, is it secure, or have you just been careful/lucky in who you've given the # to & so haven't had a problem, or do you have a special account that you don't keep money in, and just use it for buyers to make payment to?

I have an account I use that I only keep enough money in to keep it open. I've not had issues up to this point.

I agree with Shadelady. They may very well be legitimate buyers. Just trying to make sure they are buying the best horses for their money!