Introduction
Scams & Fraud are a world wide problem. Check any other website or printed media, if they haven't got a warning, they should have! Everything from Banks, to charities are affected. If there is any chance of making some easy money, the scammers will give it a try.

What we can do to help.

1/ Education: The NFED is certainly no worse hit than any other popular website, but we are determined to fight back making it harder for the fraudster by keeping our users fully informed; "forewarned is forearmed". New scammers are listed below, linked from What's New, Twitter & Facebook.

2/ Protect Advertisers: To contact an advertiser, a form must be submitted which is sent to the advertiser by Email without showing the address. Providing you not include your address in the advert text or reply to an enquiry, your Email address is safe.

3/ Identify Fraudster's: The senders IP address is included on classifieds enquiries which allows us to trace the senders service provider & country. If necessary, we can block access to the entire website &/or report them to their service provider.

4/ Share Information: The fraudster's aim is to creep around the internet unnoticed, defrauding people at every opportunity. Publishing their details makes them available to others searching for an Email address. The more trouble that we cause for them, the more likely they are to leave us for other sites that don't take the time to deal with them.

What NFED users can do to help.

Make sure that you are aware of the common scams.There are numerous types of scam, although many do not apply to the NFED the common scams have been listed on this page to help our users understand the various ways that criminals will try to trick you out of your money.

If you receive a suspicious reply to your NFED Classified advert, check the senders address against the offenders list. If is is not there, forward the Email to editor@nfed.co.uk

PLEASE NOTE: If you have also advertised elsewhere, you can identify NFED enquiries by the Email subject line "NFED Classifieds Enquiry". Providing it is an NFED enquiry, we will check the address & either add it to the list to warn others, or let you know if we consider it to be ok. We cannot deal with Emails originating from other websites, please contact them directly.

Whether it is internet, phone or post, NEVER give anyone contacting you, your personal or bank details, full or part pin numbers, passwords or send them money. That is all they want & will give many different reasons why you need to give it.

Any reputable company will fully understand your caution, just offer to call back the registered company phone number or contact them through an official website. Never use the number given by the caller or a link provided by Email.

Further Information.
The government is taking online fraud seriously. See http://www.actionfraud.org.uk for further advice or to report fraud.

Offenders List

If the sender is listed below, there is no need to report it, just delete the Email & do not reply.
If the sender is not on the list, please forward the original enquiry Email to editor@nfed.co.uk.

The senders IP address is shown on any NFED Enquiries. This can be checked this against the list below.

The following list applies to the NFED Classifieds only.

Senders Details IP Address Action Date & Time Spambot 5.248.80.68 Blocked 10.08 18/05/13 gregmathew09@gmail.com 184.107.49.122 Blocked 13.04 09/05/13 tina.james00@hotmail.com Various   Reported 25/04/13 vikimeyers082@hotmail.com 197.106.107.187 Blocked 08.50 18/04/13 powelldominos@yahoo.com Awaiting details   11/04/13 partridgebrian805@yahoo.com 195.60.77.240 (Variable) Blocked 12.00 27/02/13 stevemorris456@yahoo.com 184.107.221.26 Blocked 16.00 04/01/13 lizzydawson1202@hotmail.com 105.236.166.30 Blocked 21.10 20/12/12 Spambot 188.143.234.27 Blocked 13.45 06/11/12 twfunding01@msn.com Loan Spam 67.220.217.114 Blocked 17.30 23/08/12 maureenjohnsonwilliams1@yahoo.in 174.142.36.117/8 Blocked 15.00 13/08/12 troywest837@yahoo.co.uk 77.102.141.76 Reported 15.00 05/08/12 dennismarknov@yahoo.com Various AOL IP's Reported 22.30 01/08/12 Spam 188.143.232.12 Blocked 07.34 19/07/12 katherine_gibson22@yahoo.co.uk 195.76.170.51 Blocked 18.50 28/06/12 Spambot 91.232.96.18 Blocked 09.37 25/06/12 jray.collins2233@yahoo.com 91.238.215.168 Blocked 09.10 20/06/12 clarkbrown20010@yahoo.com Various AOL IP's Reported 09.15 19/06/12 Spam 83.133.110.36 Blocked 13.10 26/04/12 Spambot 46.21.144.176 Blocked 16.05 24/04/12 Spambot 173.13.200.181 Blocked 08.07 26/03/12 Spambot 80.243.181.34 Blocked 21.43 12/03/12 Spambot 196.35.33.39 Blocked 10.12 10/03/12 Spambot 121.242.68.54 Blocked 09.43 10/03/12 Spambot 46.232.207.230 Blocked 18.30 09/03/12 pauljam88@yahoo.com 66.135.43.183 Blocked 13.37 03/03/12 Spambot 91.207.8.38 Blocked 13.37 03/03/12

Phone Scams

The caller claims that they are from a company or give a name that you know, explaining that there has been a problem with the payment or asking for payment for any other reason. They ask for your card details to rectify the problem.

THIS IS A SCAM. Never give your payment or personal details to anyone calling you.
Never call back the number given to you by phone.

• We DO NOT call for payment unless requested to by you.
• If there is a problem, you will be contacted by Email not by phone.
• Your name & phone number are hidden by default. If you don't show your number, they can't attempt the scam.
• If your advert can be seen, it has been approved & there isn't a problem
• If you request a call, we will provide your secret advert password as proof of identity.
• The scammers do not have access to your password, never give your password if asked.

All websites & printed media are being targeted. The NFED is certainly no worse hit than others, but we are determined to make life as difficult as we can for the scammers by ensuring all of our customers are aware of the scam & not taken in.

SENSIBLE PRECAUTIONS

• Never give your personal or payment details to anyone that phones you
• If you have already given your details, contact your bank immediately to cancel the card
• Never call back the number that the caller gives you - it is part of the scam
• Offer to call back the number given on the company concerned website or paperwork
• If genuine, the company will fully understand your caution

IF YOU RECEIVE A CALL OR THREATS ARE MADE.

1/ Record the time of the call.
2/ Report it to the police
3/ Immediately contact your phone service provider who will log the call.

THEY ARE NOT UNTOUCHABLE

The scammers seem to think that they can't be traced but they are wrong, every phone or internet user leaves a trail. Withheld numbers can be traced if the phone service provider knows the time of the call. The service provider will then liaise with the police.
Every website user is recorded in server logs. This gives the IP address which will identify the criminal’s internet service provider. The police then have the power to contact the ISP for their records to obtain the customer’s name & address.

Further Information

NFED Warning in Horse & Hound 21st March 2011
Horse & Hound Warning 29th March 2011
BBC Warning
HMRC Warning

Help Fight Back, Share This Page & Warn Others

Buying & Selling Scams

This is a world wide problem for ALL Internet and traditional printed classifieds.

Just remember the following, use common sense and enjoy using the NFED classifieds:

• NEVER under any circumstances send them any money or accept a cheque for over the asking price. They are not interested in your horse, saddle, car or whatever you are selling, they only want your money & will give hundreds of reasons for you to send it to them.
• If someone is prepared to buy a horse unseen, alarm bells should ring immediately. Always try to meet & deal in cash if you can. Scammers are very reluctant to meet & dealing in cash will rule out many of their scams.
• For your protection, your Email address is hidden on the NFED Classifieds, unless posted in the body of your advert. To discourage scammers and multiple replies, pasting has been disabled on the advert reply page, meaning every reply has to be typed in.
• If you do receive a suspicious reply, please don't bother to reply which will reveal your Email address. If you have already replied, just ignore any further Emails from them.
• If suspicious, check the senders Email address against the offenders list below.
• If the senders name is not on the list, please forward the entire Email to: editor@nfed.co.uk
  NOTE: We do not publish addresses if the full classifieds reply is not included.
• If we consider that the reply is genuine, we will tell you, if it is a scam, we will add them to the list & let them know that they have been reported. (Sorry, we do not always have time to acknowledge your Emails)
• If there is any doubt, we are happy to contact the Email sender on your behalf for further information.
• You know your subject and the questions that should be asked, they do not and are easily fooled.
• Their aim is to give you forged cheque for over the asking price & con you into sending the difference, which you will lose. Tell them that you do not have a bank account & will only accept cash on collection.
• Your bank will initially accept the cheque. Although it will probably clear and allow you to draw money against it, it will eventually bounce leaving you out of pocket.
• Wanted ads are also targeted. They normally send a short reply & when asked for more information send a copy of a real advert. If you carry out a Google search for a few lines from the advert, it often brings up the original. Never buy unseen or send money to anyone, if there is any doubt, walk away.

Help Fight Back, Share This Page & Warn Others

Adoption Scams

That horse or cute puppy in the photo on the legitimate-looking website is almost too good to be real. Often, he isn't.

One scam promises you a free puppy or horse, you only have to pay the shipping cost. Once the scammers get your payment, the scammer says your animal is stuck at the airport or port due to customs complications, and you are asked to send more money for up keep or to get customs release.

Finally, the scammer disappears along with your money. In many cases, victims think their animal is at the airport waiting for them after they've sent several payments. Don't reply to their Emails.

Charities, Rescues & Welfare Scams

In times of recession animals do suffer & there are plenty of people that want to help. Unfortunately the scammers know this & they never miss out on an opportunity to get part you & your money.

A number of scam horse welfare sites are now popping up with the intention of getting your donations or bank details. Please carefully check the credentials of any such site before entering any personal information. They make look very official with lots of photos of malnourished & neglected horses, or links & backing of other well known organisations, but this is meaningless & can easily be faked. Just because they say that they are supported by a well known organisation, it doesn't mean they are!

If they are a registered charity, they will have a registration number which can be checked online out at: www.charitycommission.gov.uk

If you would like to give money to charity or a welfare organisation, choose one which is well known and has a good reputation. If in doubt about an organisation’s legitimacy or credibility take the time to check it out with your local Horsewatch scheme, Police, or other reputable registered charity i.e. RSPCA, World Horse Welfare, Redwings Horse Sanctuary, The Donkey Sanctuary.

Spam

A collection of unsolicited bulk electronic messages; Any undesired electronic content automatically-generated for commercial purposes; An unsolicited electronic message sent in bulk, usually by email or newsgroups; Alternative form of SPAM; To send spam (i.e. unsolicited electronic messages

Spambots

Spambots are computer programs that crawl the internet, filling in & submitting forms with spam & links. These can be very hard to stop & are to blame for the various methods used to try to identify humans & real form entries (CAPTCHA). We have stopped many of the simple bots, but the more sophisticated do manage to get through occasionally. Please do not click on any links contained in your classifieds replies

For further Information on Classified Scam and other Internet Fraud, Please See PAGE 2 >>>

Sample Scam Emails

Sample Adoption Scam Email

hello
thanks for the interest you have in my cute and adorable horses .They are well trained and have all health papers EU passports and will be coming with a one month health guarantee, we have all export licens so there will be no problem of transportation
They also have their passports,so these horses are located in cameroon where i am located . we are Gemand citizens who relocated to vcameroon and that is why we are selling the horses because the climate here does not favour them.
WE are a loving family looking for good homes for our horses .
so attached to this mail are some photos of the horses that we have here And all you need to do is choose the one that you love best and get back to me with the name
furthermore i will be needing your full contact details so that i will use it to pay for the flight of this horses to your location
the horses will; be delivered at your home by the airports home delivery agent
so you please get back to me with following information

your full name?
The name of the nearest airport to your house?
your house and street address?
your phone number?
Which of the horses are you interested in?

so with the above information i can then book the flight to your home . and as for the price your going to pay just for the transportation and delivery of the horse to your home which will cost you just 500$,This money includes the transportation,change of ownership papers ,delivery charges AND CUSTOME.
thanks and waiting for your reply

For an ongoing scam staring your friendly editor & a fraudster know as Kelly, Please Click Here

The following are just a few actual scam Emails received by our advertisers. They are quite easy to spot, but may improve over time.

Hello i am interested to purchase the 17" synthetic saddle. Please tell me the present condition your last offer for the 17" synthetic saddle and your phone number. expecting your urgent response. thanks

Hello,
I am intrested in purchasing your (Lovely pony ) which price is £550 and don't worry about the shipment i have a shipping agent that will certer for the shippment but i want you to no that am going to send £3000 certisfied cashier check down to you and I want you to Have it in mind that the remaining balance of the excess fund will be send to my shipping agent that is coming for the picked up in your place. if this mode of payment is accepted by you i will like you to send your Full name and address including your phone number in which you will receive a certified check drawn.

Waiting For Your Quick Respoced A.S.A.P.
Regard,

Hello,
I'm Mark from Netherlands, irrespect of you advert placed on the web for "Older Rice Horse Trailer" which is for sale I here b want to kno if the condition is still okay and also the last price you're offering it for.

I look forward to your reply ASAP.

Regards
Mark.

N-B: Please include recent pictures.