SECURITY TIPS FOR EVERYONE:

• Never provide credit card information by email.
• Northernhorse.com will never ask you for your account information. If you receive an email from us asking you to do something with your account, please do not click on any links in the email. It is easy for individuals to create emails that appear to have come from Northernhorse.com. Instead, visit the site directly and access your account from the regular login page at https://www.northernhorse.com/signin/
• If you would like to report a scam, please email us with any correspondence you have had with the scammer at classifieds@northernhorse.com. You can also report online crime to Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre
• To see RCMP bulletins about online security issues, please visit the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre

SECURITY TIPS FOR SELLERS:

1. Never send money to someone who is buying an item from you!
2. Always try to establish personal communication via telephone before completing a sale.

• Sometimes the buyer will try to send you more money than the item is being sold for and claim that the overage is for shipping expenses. You are then asked to send them back the difference. Unless you have their cash sitting in your bank account (not just a cheque in hand, verified or not), then do not send them money.
• Be cautious if listingg your mobile number in your contact profile. We can protect you from most scams sent through the contact form on your ad, but we cannot protect you from text message scams. Remember the golden rule. Always try to establish personal communication via telephone before completing a sale.
• It is also a good idea to let funds acquired via a cheque or money order sit for a week or so in your account before you withdraw and use the funds. This allows your bank to review the deposit and reverse it if needed.Your bank will want the funds back if the cheque clears initially and then bounces a week later.
• If using an online payment service like PayPal, remember the golden rule. Never send money to someone that is buying an item from you!
• We will always send you a confirmation email after you have placed an ad. That email will contain a security code that only you and the administration have access to. Please request that the individual calling you for payment information recite the security code for verfication purposes. DO NOT accept any emails with security codes that arrive AFTER your ad has been approved as it may be a fake created by a scammer looking for new ads on the Classifieds.
• If you are unsure if the person calling you is a Northernhorse.com Classifieds staff member, please hang up and call us directly at 403-728-3661.
• Always wait for money sent to you to clear with your bank before shipping the item to the buyer.
• Never provide bank numbers for deposit to a buyer.
• Be protective of your personal information by only providing it if you trust the recipient.

SCAM ALERTS FOR SELLERS:

There are individuals who travel through the ads found on this classifieds website looking for easy prey. These people are trying to trick you into sending them money with no intention of purchasing your animal or item. Become informed and protect yourself from scam artists!

Please pay close attention to the way that the scammer below is attempting to pay for the item that is for sale. Also, all communications have been by email at this point. ALWAYS try to talk to the buyer in person before completing a transaction (especially on large-ticket items). Note that the item in the example below was listed at around $3000, yet the scammer is willing to send $7000.

potential scammer:
Hi <seller name omitted>,
Thanks for your respond am happy to hear from you. Right now you know i'll instruct my Business Associate to send you a US  Certified CASHIER cheque of $7,000 before he leaves for Korea(He's a multiplebusiness man, and you'll send the excess funds to my shipper via western union,for him to come for the pick up at your location,I'll give you my shipping agent's datas as soon as the cheque gets to you,and he will handles my shipping arrangement.I'll be very grateful if really you can do everything the same day you recieve the cheque for a faster transaction....You must send the balance to the shipper the sameday  you recieve the check,i hope this all clear to you. I'll compensate you with $280 for the (efforts and western union charges)running around in sending the balance to my shipper..
I'll need your datas for the cheque to get to you soonest..
NAME..
ADDRESS..
ZIP CODE..
CITY..
STATE...
COUNTRY..
PHONE NUMBER
(HOME,OFFICE,CELL)
Pls mail me today,to let me know what's good. I know I can trust you, hope all my explanation is clear to you bcos i will arrange the shipemnt with my private shipper which has been in service for shipement long years ago.
Regards
<potential scammer name omitted>

Here are some user submitted potential scams. We will post more here as they become available.

user submitted report:
Thanks for the mail, i am buying this for my son as his birthday gift because i would not be around to celebrate with him i am a petroleum engineer currently on a rig offshore and due to the nature of my work,phone calls making and visiting of website are restricted but i squeezed out time to check this advert and send you an email regarding it. I really want this item to be a surprise gift for my son so i wont let him know anything about the item until it gets delivered to him , i am sure he will be more than happy with the item.I insisted on paypal because i don't have access to my bank account online as i don't have internet banking, but i can pay from my PayPal account, as i have my bank a/c attached to it, i will need you to give me your PayPal email address so i can make the payment as soon as possible for the item and pls if you don't have PayPal account yet,it is very easy to set up, go on www.paypal.com and get it set up ,after you have set it up i will only need the e-mail address you use for registration with PayPal so as to put the money through.I have a pick up agent that will come for the pick up immediately you have receive the payment in full.what is your final price including the paypal charges?.

user submitted report:
Hi seller top of the day to you well i was browsing through the site for a horse to get for my family because my wife and kids have troubled me to get one at home since the former one we had was sold out so i decided to come to the site to check for one and urs got my attraction so i want to get it,i would like u to get back to me with ur last asking price and more details about the horse and if u are intesrested to sell to me,well i want to remind u i would be making the shipping myself with my shipping agent ok and payment would be made through a certified cashier check or money order to ur address that u would be sending to me ok.Pls get back to me because i have made everything ready for the horse if u would sell to me it would be in a clean and big ranch that i use for my former horse ok.

user submitted report:
Individuals offer you what you want without ever seeing or talking to you face to face or even by phone.They tell you that they need your name and address and that they will send an amount large enough to cover shipping. When you receive the money you are given a contact # for the shipping and are expected to wire the money to them.