JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – Scammers are lurking in all corners of the internet, and now they’re targeting those looking to buy hay or horses in Mississippi.
Dean Barnard, director of the Mississippi Bureau of Agriculture and Livestock Theft, said his department has seen an increase in these scams this year.
“When this happens out of state, you know, it’s taking advantage of our local Mississippians,” he said.
This scam stands out to people who live in Mississippi due to the drought that affected much of the state last year.
Hay is in short supply, Barnard said, and if you see these ads, you’re probably in a trap.
“They were advertising hay for sale that they didn’t have and were using images from other social media,” he said. “It’s a fake online site and they ask for payment up front. Often, they want you to wire money or just send a prepaid card, but you’ll never receive the horse, or you’ll never receive the hay.”
Barnard said scammers often use offshore bank accounts and burner phones.
So by the time law enforcement tried to get involved, the money had been moved and the scammers had disappeared without a trace.
“It’s a dead end,” he said. “There was nothing we could do, you know, we really tried everything we could to track them down, but we hit a dead end.”
In other cases, Barnard said scammers will send you an address to pick up the hay or horses you think you’re buying.
“When they go to that location, if the address is given, there’s nothing there,” he said. “It’s just residents of our city. So, they’re using these fake addresses, fake numbers.”
To avoid falling victim to these online scams, Barnard says you should pay close attention to what you see before you buy.
Want more WLBT news in your inbox? Click here Subscribe to our newsletter.
See a spelling or grammatical error in our story?please Click here Report and include the story title in the email.
Copyright 2024 WLBT. all rights reserved.