Please be A-WARE, not A-VICTIM!
If you have a horse, dog, or anything else listed for sale on the internet, chances are you have received, or will receive emails similar to the following:

Actual emails received from scammers:

�hello, having seen your adds on the internet, i'm intrested in your � ____� which i believe is still available for sale. let mw have your last offer and i'll also take care of shipping. get back to me asap. thanks Sailor.�

- And -

�i will speake to my manager rigth now so that he can send you payment in cashier check. i'm handling shipping myself so my shipper also will be ready. just get the health papers ready. i'm presently in west africa. thank Sailor.�

These people will send a fake check (usually cashiers check) for more than you are asking (to cover shipping), then ask you to return the difference to them.

Please be alert for the following signs, and IF you choose to accept checks, it is best to call the issuing bank to verify 1) that the check is genuine and 2) that the funds are available.

Watch for:
~ ...sending cashiers check (without ever laying eyes on your horse, etc.)
~ �i'm handling shipping�
~ buyer is in another country and/or buying for someone in another country
~ Also, these emails often contain broken/incorrect English, numerous typos, etc.

Occasional phone calls from scammers:
These are usually of the 'relay' type where an operater types back & forth with the scammer and relays his/her conversation to you. (you never hear the caller's voice) (I have received a couple of them, I simply said, "I don't deal with scammers." -and the callers disconnected immediately! But if they don't, just hang up.)


Remember this: and you will NOT be scammed...
-- You should NEVER!, EVER! have to send money to someone who is buying something from you.

* Attention PaHorseMall advertisers:
At the bottom of this page is a response you can send to scammers when they email you. (It normally sends them running with their tail between their legs!)
When you email them, place: pahorsemall@earthlink.net on the "carbon copy" (Cc:) line of the email OR forward the email to me (pahorsemall@earthlink.net) so I can add their email address to the list below. Feel free to email me any time if you have questions!!



A Personal Experience with a Scammer:
A true story from a PaHorseMall client which she was generous enough to share.
Reading it will help to provide insight and understanding to how these scammers operate.

"...The man contacted me with all pertinent questions you would ask regarding a new purchase. However, the wording included "do not sell your horse to anyone else until you talk to me". He sent me a cashiers check for $17,850 (I had the horse sold for $11,000 to him). He emailed me and wanted me to use the extra funds to pay the vet for his coggins, etc., get him a blanket for his kids for Christmas, and give the balance to the shipper when he picked the horse up. This man was from Great Britain and went by the name of Sir Frank Washinghton (with an extra h) and was posing as the CEO of British Airways.

I red flagged him, but took the check to the bank. Prior to taking the check to the bank, I looked the bank name up on the internet. It was a legitmate bank, Partners Bank of Anaheim, CA, and is a Disney Corporate Bank. I took the phone number of this bank to my bank and had them call to verify funds. This check he sent me was actually going to be cashed by my bank as it contained original water marks, account number, signature, etc. However, the check was already cashed in August, 2003. It, along with a whole box of CASHED cashiers checks were stolen from Partners Bank and are being washed out and used in internet scams. Banks are cashing them as they are ORIGINAL.

A second scam came to me regarding the purchase of [my horse] through brokehorses.com. This guy's name was Jones Smith, which was my first red flag. He agreed to the $2500, but wanted me to take a check for $7000, again to pay his shipper, etc. I ignored his emails as the British guy's check came in during the process of the second potential scam.

These men talked and emailed with British accents, yet had a Nigerian tone to their voices. FBI is involved in the first case, however, being that they considered it such a low amount and the emails and calls are generating from England, they kind of blew it off.

May want to post this on your site also for people to BEWARE of the idiots out there. Luckily I still have my horses to sell to reputable people who will hopefully give them good show homes."


Remember:
-- DO NOT under ANY circumstances! send money to someone who is buying something from you. Furthermore, you should NEVER have to arrange shipping; that is the buyer's responsibility NOT the seller's.



**Scammer Email addresses reported to date:

Click HERE to search PaHorseMall's current list of Scammer email addresses
--- Thanks to all of the PaHorseMall visitors and clients for your contributions to our Scammer's Email list! Keep them coming!!


* Response to scammers for PaHorseMall advertisers... or anyone!
Feel free to send the following response to scammers, and don't forget to pass the address along to me to post! (pahorsemall@earthlink.net)

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks for contributing to the list of "scammer" email addresses made available to the public at �a high-traffic internet location�

Do NOT email me again.

I KNOW all about you !!

Sincerely,
____________


Or more simply, when they request your 'final asking price,' reply with: "I want $1 million, CASH ONLY!"
...that works wonderfully also!
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More resources and information regarding internet fraud:

If you have been contacted or victimized by one of these people, you can file a complaint at:
http://www.ifccfbi.gov/cf1.asp

www.crimes-of-persuasion.com - Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, Scams, Frauds

www.lookstoogoodtobetrue.com - "...The LooksTooGoodToBeTrue.com website was built to educate you, the consumer, and help prevent you from becoming a victim of an Internet fraud scheme."

www.scambusters.org - Internet ScamBusters Helps You Protect Yourself From Clever Scams -- Online and Offline...

www.hoax-slayer.com - Information about many other types of email hoaxes and internet fraud, including Lottery Scam information, Spam Control tips, and more.

www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/11/01/eveningnews - "Big, Bad Banking Scam" - Here is an informative story done on the CBS Evening News on Nov. 1, 2002.