Please enjoy our guest blogger series from Windhorse Legal! Jo is one of those do-it-all badass women we love to support here at Decidedly Equestrian. A lawyer, an equine professional and active in the non-profit world! She has a unique combination of legal qualifications, work experience, and equine industry involvement as a horse professional.
As an equine horse professional and business owner in the digital age, you have to be careful of scams that happen in your business dealings online. For example, we all know to be careful when buying a horse in person. Is the horse lame? Is the seller being honest about the horse’s training? But you need to also consider email scams when doing business. The latest email scam is one that could easily hit the horse world and hit it hard.
According to a recent NPR story, cybercriminals are engaging in new email scams. These scams involve someone hacking into an email conversation. They monitor the conversations and then wait for an opportunity. When they see one, they pretend to be a person involved in the conversation. The opportunity usually involves a monetary transaction. The scammer provides information concerning where to send the money, and before the person knows it, they have paid the scammer instead of the legitimate party
Here is how the scam would work in the horse world. You find a horse advertised online that you buy for yourself or a client. You and the seller wind up negotiating the sale of the horse via email. Unbeknownst to you, the cybercriminal hacks into your email conversation. He or she waits until you are about to send the money and then pretends to be the seller. The directions you get for the payment are coming from the cybercriminal, not the seller. You send the money, thinking the seller is all set. When you check with the seller to confirm receipt of the money, you see that the money has gone to the cybercriminal and is probably out of the country and irretrievable.
The best way to avoid such a scam is to call the seller to discuss payment and to get payment instructions. Any conversation that might lead to a scammer getting confidential information or involving bank information should be conducted by telephone. Having actual discussions can lead to a greater level of security for your business transactions.
This blog post is for educational purposes only. It does not create an attorney-client relationship. Seek an attorney’s advice for your specific situation.