Help please - is this email a scam?!

Suzie86

Suzie86

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Ok I think I am genuinely pretty good at recognising when you get a scam email regarding a horse you have advertised! However, I THINK this one sounds v suspicious but I'm just not 100% sure!! The original email was:

Hi,
I saw your advert and i would like to know if your horse is still available for sale?
I will await your response immediately after you have received this message.
-NAME (I dont want to put her actual name in case genuine!)

I then said

Hi NAME
Yes he is still for sale - give me a call or email me if you want more info or to arrange to come and see him. My number is 0**********.

Thanks, MY NAME :)

So I thought all fairly normal. Then just now got this. What do you think!?!


Hi Suzie,

Thanks for the e-mail.
What is your last asking price for the horse?
I saw the picture and read a little about it and so far i am very satisfied with what i saw but I would really appreciate it if you could add anything extra that i will need to know.

I will be needing the horse as a gift for my brother who has a big passion for horses. He has a huge barn with a huge field outside and he already has one so i figured getting him another one would be a great gift.

The birthday and 10th year marriage anniversary will be coming up simultaniously on the 25th of November.

I am located in London but due to work I am always on the move so through e-mail is the best way that i can communicate.

I am hoping the process of getting the horse will not be a long one since the birthday and anniversary are just around the corner.

I will pay for the transportation/delivery of the horse myself.

Thank you

I will await your reply.

NAME

Scam, or just weird!??! I am assuming scam but dont want to risk dismissing a genuine enquiry just as its phrased weirdly!!!!


Thanks in advance :)
 
Makes me think scam tbh. If not a scam then I would be rather scared off by the buyer not intending to keep the horse but thinking it would make a good gift on the basis of the 'owner to be' already having a horse. That is a little odd?
 
Scam, ask if they want to come and see it, bet they don't and will want to send you a cheque, it won't clear, they will add a bit more on for your trouble, no one says Barn!
 
Poor English, no 'phone number or address, apparently no knowledge of normal procedures of buying and selling horses...SCAM! And even if not, would you really sell a horse to someone this clueless??
 
How about emailing her and saying that you would need the prospective owner to meet you and try your horse out before selling to ensure the brother was right for him etc.
 
Suzie86 said:
Ok I think I am genuinely pretty good at recognising when you get a scam email regarding a horse you have advertised! However, I THINK this one sounds v suspicious but I'm just not 100% sure!! The original email was:


I will await your response immediately after you have received this message.
-NAME (I dont want to put her actual name in case genuine!)

/QUOTE]


I think Scam - I don't know anyone who would put this on an enquiry email! People genuinely looking to buy a horse are so much chattier!

The second email confirmed it. To me.

Sad, I know, but I just said it in a sing song silly foreign-type accent, and it's even worse!!!
Click to expand...
 
Suzie86 said:
lol! Thank you all for confirming my suspicions!! Am now going to create something amusing to send back, any ideas ;)
Click to expand...

I think you should Google for the most expensive, luxury horse transportation firm you can find and email her saying, "My horses only travel with these people" then give a list of ludicrously expensive feed/kit/handling requirements (ie four grooms to work in shifts), tell her how much it'll all cost and ask for the sum as a deposit, paid in cash in person :p
 
Scam! They tend to say the " I am buying it as a present for...." So you don't get suspicious of their complete lack of horsey knowledge. You can reply by saying unforunately the horse is no longer for sale as it had unexpectedly gone into hibernation for the winter and may be asleep under the straw for a possible 3 years :D
 
Suzie86 said:
lol! Thank you all for confirming my suspicions!! Am now going to create something amusing to send back, any ideas ;)
Click to expand...

Your horse has a tendancy to love or hate men, a bit like marmite, so would have to meet your brother before sale commences or your brother may be put in hospital for anniversary instead of having a nice relaxing ride :p

I agree, it screams scam - who has a huge barn, passionate about horses and then has one horse already so another one may be a nice gift?
 
I'd say a scam, I had one very similar when I was selling my old horse, as with you I didn't want to dismiss a enguine person so I got just the stage you at and said a price ect and asked if they wanted to come and see the horse and if not how they wanted to do the payment transaction, then when they said no they didn't need to see the horse and would pay by cashiers check which the horse transported would give to me I new it was a scam and just didn't relay backa nd reported the e-mail address to the website I had my horses advertised with.

No harm prodding a bit more but remember does any genuine person buy a horse without even seeing it?
 
sarah sum1 said:
Scam! They tend to say the " I am buying it as a present for...." So you don't get suspicious of their complete lack of horsey knowledge. You can reply by saying unforunately the horse is no longer for sale as it had unexpectedly gone into hibernation for the winter and may be asleep under the straw for a possible 3 years :D
Click to expand...

hahaha
 
sarah sum1 said:
Scam! They tend to say the " I am buying it as a present for...." So you don't get suspicious of their complete lack of horsey knowledge. You can reply by saying unforunately the horse is no longer for sale as it had unexpectedly gone into hibernation for the winter and may be asleep under the straw for a possible 3 years :D
Click to expand...

:D Hahhahaha!
 
Total scam, I got this exact email today except change the word horse for horsebox and said he has a trailer so she wants to get him a horsebox :rolleyes: Darn I thought I might get a sale haha
 
Yep sounds like a scam to me. I replied to an ad for the most gorgeous cob for sale, the advert was kind of the same - couldn't quite tell if it was legit or not. The replying email was written in the same tone like yours and was just a load of rubbish. They had put some pictures in there of a similar looking, but different horse! I didn't even bother replying as I was suspicious from the outset and hadnt got my hopes up.
 
It's a scam, and you should report it to Trading Standards.I know you haven't been cheated out of any money, but they need to know about ruses like this so they can build up patterns (like the letters from gentlemen in Africa with huge sums of offshore money they'd like to put into your account if you could just send them your bank detsils!!)
 
Sounds like a scam - I had a similar one in Australia, and they will offer to pay by cheque - the cheque will bounce or the bank will mark it has dodgy.
 
It's a scam, I had a similar email about my horse yesterday. The next email will ask you to transfer money to an account for some reason or another, also got these emails when selling a quad last year.
 
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