Beware of “Free” Horses!
If you spend a lot of time online, chances are you’ve come across various scams. Sometimes, when I have the time, I actually enjoy playing along just to see how far they’ll go—before I expose them. Unfortunately, they rarely give up; they simply move on to the next potential victim.
I’ve been contacted many times by people claiming I should manage their inheritance or something similar, but this scam was a new one for me.
Recently, I was contacted by a man who claimed to be from “Dallas.” He had a website that looked fairly convincing at first glance—but with very few followers, which immediately raised a red flag.
He offered me a horse for free, saying he just wanted it to have a good home. That’s something people do now and then, so I told him I live in Hungary—figuring that would be enough to put him off. But no, apparently Hungary was just “a few hours away,” and it was “no problem at all.” That’s when I knew it was a scam, but I played along to see where he was going with it.
He said that the reason he didn’t want to rehome the horse in the U.S. was because it was free, and he didn’t trust people there to give it a good home. He sensed my suspicion and pretended to call me via Messenger. When I answered, he didn’t show up, but instead sent me a screenshot showing a black screen, claiming there was something wrong with his Messenger app. I told him he could send me a voice message if there was something he wanted to say—but again, Messenger was “malfunctioning.” Oddly enough, he had no trouble writing messages and sending pictures…
I asked for more details about the horse. He said it was a 12-year-old gelding, 155 cm tall, kind and ridden, and that she didn’t bite or kick.
That’s when I asked, “Are you sure you’re from Dallas?”
He said yes.
And that’s when I called him out.
I said, “I’m 100% sure a man from Dallas would never refer to a gelding as she.”
He tried to cover his mistake by saying the horse behaved more like a mare. Then he asked if I was using Google Translate. “No,” I replied, “but you are.”
Then I told him exactly what I thought of people like him—scammers who try to profit from people’s love for animals. But he didn’t give up. He insisted he would never do such a thing and that he knew the horse would be safe with me. That’s when I ended the conversation.
If you’ve never experienced something like this before, you might think, “Well, what’s the harm in accepting a free horse?” But that’s exactly what they want you to believe.
I promise you—if I had said yes, the horse would have mysteriously gotten “stuck” somewhere during transport. Then he would’ve asked me for just a little money to help get the horse to me. And of course, it would be such a shame if the horse didn’t make it to my amazing place… and the money? Well, that would be paid back as soon as the horse arrived.
But the horse doesn’t exist. He doesn’t own it. And you’ll never see your money again.
There are organized groups out there scamming people in every possible way. Sadly, many of these scams are connected to networks in places like Nigeria, where they make millions preying on kindhearted, trusting people—often taking their last money.
They say never look a gift horse in the mouth—but I say: look at the owner. Be careful. Don’t let your emotions lead the way. It could cost you dearly.
This was the picture of the horse.
