Why you should care about a cattle scam
By Greg Collier
The scam we’re about to discuss probably wouldn’t affect the majority of our reading audience. However, we think it goes a long way into showing just how prevalent scams are these days.
A cattle farmer from Tennessee was looking to add a cow to his livestock. He went on a legitimate livestock marketplace platform called Cattle Exchange. There, he found cattle he was willing to purchase. The seller, who claimed to be from Arkansas, asked for a $15,000 deposit to be sent through wire transfer, with the rest being paid on delivery. After sending the $15,000 deposit, the seller then started asking for the rest of the money before delivery.
It was at this point the farmer realized that something was wrong. The farmer contacted law enforcement, but unfortunately, his money could not be recovered since the money was sent somewhere out of the country.
According to the news report, the traditional way to pay for cattle is through a cashier’s check. However, the article states that you should check with the issuing bank before depositing the check to make sure the check is valid.
So, why should our readers be concerned about a cattle scam? While the odds are pretty good you may not be a cattle rancher, you probably do have an interest which could be considered a niche interest. While I’m sure it’s very profitable, cattle ranching can be considered niche to those of us not involved in the industry.
No matter how niche or obscure your business, hobbies, or collections can be, the odds are there’s a scammer waiting to take advantage of you. This is especially true when making trades or purchases online. Not only do scams happen on large platforms like eBay and Facebook Marketplace, but they also happen on specialized marketplaces that only cater to a limited audience.
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