Livestock scam: Harvey Police investigating claim victim was swindled out of $16,500 via Facebook ruse

Harvey Police have warned the public to “exercise due diligence” when making online purchases as they investigate an alleged livestock advertising scam. Police say the incident occurred last month when the alleged victim was led to believe they were purchasing a significant amount of livestock from a farm in Keysbrook, an outer southern suburb of Perth, after engaging in the alleged sales process via Facebook last month. It is alleged the victim transferred around $16,500 and was told to pick up the livestock, only to find the farm owners were not aware of the transaction upon their arrival on the property. Police say the victim attempted to contact the alleged fraudulent salesperson but the Facebook account had since been deleted. It was also believed the alleged salesperson was using the same Facebook account to post livestock advertisements to the Great Southern and Wheatbelt livestock sale pages. In a statement posted to social media, Harvey Police said they wished to “raise awareness of this matter, in the hope others can avoid a scam of this nature”. The investigation remains ongoing.