Beware!: Sheriff's Department warns of Internet horse scam
Sheriff's Department warns of Internet horse scam
By Brian DeNeal
Staff Writer
HARRISBURG - Nationwide there is an Internet scam that involves horse trading that recently hit Saline County.
Saline County Sheriff's Deputy Todd Fort recently handled a case in which a woman was contacted by a horse buyer in Nigeria and was suspicious enough she took the information to the department.
Fort said the woman posted a horse for sale for $3,500 on a reputable Internet horse trading Internet site and got a response from a person in Nigeria offering her $8,000.
Fort said a cashiers check arrived by air express from Nigeria. Fort said the check was routed through a person in Maryland and though there was a name and street number in the address, there was no city.
That sends up all kinds of bells and whistles this is a scam, Fort said.
Fort said the cashiers checks the con artists send are fake, being generated on a computer. The way the scam is supposed to work is a contact in this country is to pick up the horse, and the seller can get no money from the fake check.
The victim is out the horse and the total sum of money, Fort said.
The U.S. Secret Service is handling the scam reports and Fort is sending information on the local case to the agency.
