If it looks too good to be true, then it probably is
The following is an email received by a user who reacted to an ad that offered a horse for free.
We strongly advise: see before you buy!
thank you for your interest in my horse, well the reason i am
giving Kent away for adoption is because I had a car accident, and my
doctor said that the accident affected my legs, so I can not ride a
horse again. I am on a wheelchair, and I can never walk again. I really
love my horses (Kent), so I want to find a new home for him. Kent is 6
years old, and is a black magnificent friesian stallion by nature with
no marks.
i do not feel comfortable selling Kent, since he was like part of my
family, reason why i am giving him out for free adoption to any willing
and caring family, with the potentials of taking good care of him. i
live in Victoria Cameroon. you live in Aruba, that means i will have to
ship Kent to you, so the only thing you will pay for is transportation
cost. i took time to call a transportation agency and i was told it is
going to cost about $ 640, to transport Kent to you. you will pay this
money to the transportation agency, all i will have to do is get Kent
registered with them and also provide them the new transfer of
ownership document, which proves that Kent is your horse legally. if
you are ok with this let me know so that i can start working on the
transfer of ownership documents. by the way do you have any experience
with horses?
i hope to read from you soon. here's my husband's number you can call
us anytime. +23799150384 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting +23799150384 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
kindest regards
CAMEROON INTERNET PET ADOPTION SCAM
Source: http://www.pettravel.com/news_pet_adoption_scam.cfm
There are now two versions of this scam - be very careful!
Over the past six months we have had reported to us an increasing number of "scam" offers to adopt a pet. In almost every case the person offering the pet is in one of the African Countries. Cameroon is often mentioned. The offer takes several forms but generally offers you a free happy healthy pet that the organization is selling at a discount. Pictures are sent and introduction emails as well. Your only obligation is to pay the cost of transporting the pet from its current location to you.
In one scam, they identify themselves as being in the EU and sometimes use the name France Airlines. In this case they will tell you the pet is ready to ship but unless you send them $500.00 (approximate) the pet will go into quarantine for 13 weeks. To add credence to their proposal they have used this company's name, the name of Virgin Atlantic Airlines and others. You will be asked to send some money perhaps a couple of hundred dollars and sometimes more to pay for the animal's transportation. If you send this money you will then receive a second notice that the animal is being held by the customs authorities at the airport in that country and is being mistreated and will probably die form mal-nutrition. You will be asked to urgently forward additional funds to pay the customs officers so that they will release the animal. There is no pet to be adobted. It is a scam. In the other scenario, they will ask you for insurance monies, usually about $500.00 after the payment for the pet. Then there are customs fees and the cost of the crate. We have received calls from people who have purchased puppies as well as birds and have never received them despite wiring thousands of dollars. Email addresses show pettravel@whateverwebsite.com. We have no control over the first part of the email address. Pet Travel has NOTHING to do with these transactions, and we sincerely caution you against dealing with these people. They will keep asking you to wire money (no credit cards means no retribution), and your pet will not arrive.