Livestock scams: cattle, sheep, goats and poultry
What happened
A documented scam pattern that hits farmers and smallholders. Cattle, sheep, goats, donkeys and chickens are advertised on social media at good prices; a deposit is taken to "reserve" the animals or arrange transport, and the stock never appears or was never there. In one South African case a fraudster collected over R100 000 for cows across three provinces and delivered nothing (IOL). Verify ownership and branding, insist on inspecting the animals at the seller's registered property before paying, and be wary of deposits for stock you have not seen.
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