Am I too cautious???

[albahurst]

Today I received a phone call about a couple of horses I have for sale currently.

Of course, to me, red flags went up right away. But I would like to hear your opinions.

When I asked what his plans were for the horses- no real response in particular about my two horses, just that he has 45 horses in Mexico.

When I said I would need a veterinarian reference, his response -he has a vet in another town than where he is 'living' (he told me the town names but don't know if I should post those particulars). But, so far I have no contact info.

He did name my two horses and their listed prices.

But, and here is certainly where the flags went up- he was very eager to talk about wire transfers and the cost of shipping. I told him he would have to check into it. OF course, the talk of wire transfers and shipping came up immediately after he said hello, identified his name, and mentioned my two horses by name.

Of course, I feel this was a scam- just thought I would see what you all think. I find it interesting, though, that my horses were named and their prices were given. In the past, the scammer emails I have received never seemed to mention the horses by name and their listed prices. So, am I just being too cautious, or are scammers getting trickier and are using actual info from ads and sale pages?

 

[Becky]

Peggy, I've never had a scammer call me on the phone. They've always contacted me by email. There are legitimate Mexican buyers out there. I think I'd want to pursue that and see where it goes. Good luck!

 

[Genie]

I would be suspicious....but I am an old banker

 

[Ann knight]

If I were you I would listen to that little voice ...it is usually right !

Ann

 

[Charlotte]

There are many legitimate and some very wealthy buyers in Mexico. Just take your time and check everything out. We have a special banking arrangements for our wire transfers.

Ask him what he plans to do with the horses. Get him to spell the name of where he lives. Get his telephone number and his mailing address. Just ask for a lot of legitimate information and this should tell you if he is legit.

good luck and please let us know if it turns out to be a sale or a scam.

Charlotte

 

[joylee123]

[SIZE=12pt]Peggy,[/SIZE]

It doesn't cost anything to see where it goes, ya never know it may be ok. Just be aware of how a scam works.

They will tell you they want the horse(s) and that they will send you a cashiers check for over the amount of the purchase price, so that you can pay the "shipper". They will ask you to send by Western Union, the "over "amount to the "shipper", that is usually the profit they make on the transaction. So you take the cashiers check to the bank, and cash it then you send the extra by wire and you get stuck paying the bank back the whole amount of the cashiers check you cashed, because it can take up to two weeks for the bank to find out it's a counterfeit check! Pretty slick con, till folks caught on. Alot of folks fell for it because the bank will usually cash the check for you so folks would think it was a legitimate check, then a few weeks later bam! the bank wants the money back and you have already wired the over amount!

[SIZE=12pt]Anyhow hope it turns out legit for you![/SIZE]

Joy

 

[Genie]

In Ontario Canada, the fraudulent cheque takes up to a month to be "charged back".

We have customers deposit and wait what they think is a normal 10 days to clear, then send the shipper fee, or "overpayment" whatever the scammer calls it.

While they wait for the sale item to be picked up, which of course never happens, a month later back comes the draft/money order, whatever.

 

[MiLo Minis]

I would just be honest and upright with him and let him know that you are cautious about scammers as is anyone in business these days and so you need to be able to confirm that he is indeed an honest customer. Ask him for his personal information so you can check him out. If he is an honest and legitimate customer he shouldn't have a problem providing it or mind you asking.

 

[albahurst]

Thank you, all, for your very good advice.

There are some things about this that speak of 'honest', so I will see how it goes. He is supposed to call later tonight. He did give me a name that is believeable, called my horses by their names, and quoted my listed price on each horse. I think the thing that made me leary is the quick mention of wire transfer. Oh, the phone # came up on my cell, too. I will let you know how it turns out. Thanks again-

In a separate matter- have any of you done a 'relay' call for horses- where someone is typing a message to an operator and the operator gives you the spoken message?

 

[TheCaseFamily00]

I don't think you can ever to be to cautious with your animals

.

 

[Mominis]

Three years ago, I sold a gelding to a man from Mexico. He had contacted me by email and his English was not great, like you, I immediately thought I had a potential scammer. He had an agent that he worked through in Arizona and supplied me with her name. I spoke with her on the phone and asked for references from this woman of other people from whom he had purchased horses and they checked out fine. I was wired exactly the purchase price of my horse, the agent in Arizona arranged the transporter to come pick up the horse. The transporter was very capable and kind with the horse. I am happy to report he is living a very good life in sunny Mexico while we are stuck here in the snow. So, in the end, they aren't always scammers.

 

[~Lisa~]

It is not uncommon for someone out of the country to wire you your money. In fact I would trust that more then a check from a bank out of the country.

Most scammers do not call you and make personal contact but you have to do what you feel comfortable with

 

[Holly at WhiteTailsMinis]

In a separate matter- have any of you done a 'relay' call for horses- where someone is typing a message to an operator and the operator gives you the spoken message?

I have never done a relay call for horses, but have had relay phone calls. When I have done relay phone calls is because the person is deaf.

 

[Tony]

Almost all of our international sales have involved wire transfers. That is NOT a fake cashier's check which is the mode of scammers. A wire transfer instantly moves funds from one bank to another. Nothing that you have said so far would stop me from continuing with the customer.

 

[HGFarm]

I have worked in Fraud Investigations for years, and these folks are thinking up new ways of scamming people all the time.

Several things sound funny here. Did he ask ANYTHING about the horses themselves? Personality? Production or show records? Movement? Correctness? Sounds like someone trying to obtain your BANKING INFO to me!!!!

He never gave you any REAL answers. Ok, so his vet is in another town... WHAT IS THEIR NAME and INFO??

This sounds like a scam and I would not release my banking info to ANYONE over the phone- especially someone who can't give you any real info, brought that subject up right away and that you can't verify who they are and if they are really trying to purchase a horse.

THIS SOUNDS LIKE A POSSIBLE SCAM TO ME, but then after working in credit card fraud for so many years, I am not giving my banking info to ANYONE I dont know without some way to verify this person is REAL and on the up and up.

 

[albahurst]

I have worked in Fraud Investigations for years, and these folks are thinking up new ways of scamming people all the time.
Several things sound funny here. Did he ask ANYTHING about the horses themselves? Personality? Production or show records? Movement? Correctness? Sounds like someone trying to obtain your BANKING INFO to me!!!!

He never gave you any REAL answers. Ok, so his vet is in another town... WHAT IS THEIR NAME and INFO??

This sounds like a scam and I would not release my banking info to ANYONE over the phone- especially someone who can't give you any real info, brought that subject up right away and that you can't verify who they are and if they are really trying to purchase a horse.

THIS SOUNDS LIKE A POSSIBLE SCAM TO ME, but then after working in credit card fraud for so many years, I am not giving my banking info to ANYONE I dont know without some way to verify this person is REAL and on the up and up.

Your concerns are exactly why I have a funny feeling about it. The only question asked about the horses were their ages. Nothing more. There was plenty of discussion on cost of transport and sending money. The guy never called back last night so I guess I don't have to worry about it.

 

[rabbitsfizz]

When considering an International sale I always ask myself this question first:

If the animal does not suit, or the buyer gets tired of him/her, or they just decide, as is their right, to sell, what are the prospects for this animal in the country to which I am selling ?

If the answer is not "At least as good as those of the country it is currently in" then, I am afraid, the answer is a polite "No".

Regardless of whether the buyer is a good person.

Irrespective of the buyers wealth.

If the animal is likely to be at risk in it's new country, it does not go.

We can never, ever safeguard our animals completely, we all know this.

The best plans go wrong and it is always the animals that pays the price.

All we can ever do is our best for our animals, and we know that every time we sell one, including in our own countries, they are at risk, potentially.

But we can still do our best to remove the obvious potential risks.

 

[sedeh]

In a separate matter- have any of you done a 'relay' call for horses- where someone is typing a message to an operator and the operator gives you the spoken message?

I had this happen when I advertised my puppies for sale in my local newspaper a couple of years ago. I remember telling the operator "sounds like a possible scammer" she was unable to advise, said she could only translate. I gave the caller my email address and the next correspondence was major scammer vocab! Really ticked me off when I realized they were utilizing services for the deaf for their scams!

As far as your Mexican buyer, you've gotten some really good advice! Just go slow and get all the information you need and if that little voice in your head still isn't happy....pay attention to it and squash the deal!

 

[Marty]

There is NO way.......

I would tell him my horse does not speak Spanish and that is it!