Perhaps the downside of being the leading modular horse barn company in the country is that inevitably you find yourself a target from time to time of nefarious behavior. Social media is awash with fake news and fake offers, which is a shame because if used kindly and the way it was intended it can be a great resource and even provide comfort to people. It is essential that you do your due diligence when buying a horse barn. Here are some examples of the type of scams out there and ways to avoid becoming a victim of them.
Genuine of Fake?
It is a shame that it is necessary to issue a warning to prospective and existing clients, a PSA if you will, about the fraudulent efforts that pervade social media platforms. Sadly, there has been a recent rash of the ‘fraud’ disease with postings on social media that poach photos from the Horizon Structures website or press materials and claim the structures as ones they will provide – given of course – you ‘ante’ up the cash. While the Oscar Wilde quote may be relevant in some cases, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery,” in these cases it is a guise to defraud people.
Unfortunately, the downside of operating a company with a trust and transparency ethic, in the way that Horizon Structures does, means that the company’s information is readily available. Details such as plans for barn designs, photos of buildings, etc. are all online and able to be downloaded. And policing their misuse is a big problem, as social media platforms do little to use their AI and algorithm program abilities to mitigate or manage the concern.
There are a myriad of ways that criminal activity can creep up on even the most cynical or informed person, and if you are fooled or deceived by these players it is not a question of a lack of intelligence or anything to be ashamed about. AI increases the ability for heavy use of psychological tactics to be included in these scams (and often target a particular demographic), sometimes making it difficult to ascertain what is genuine or fake. ID management of phone numbers to local numbers, creation of bogus websites and fake checks and advice you’ve been hacked, owe money or have won a price but just need to send in a fee to collect it are rampant across the world. Simply because, some of the time and enough of the time, they work.
Many people, (particularly the elderly, but everyone can fall prey), become embarrassed when something goes awry and fail to report the incidents to the relevant authorities or even to their family members out of fear they will look stupid or fallible. An understandable reaction, but sadly, not reporting the matter doesn’t help others that are potential victims of the abuse. So please speak up. The community effort can make all the difference in increasing awareness and in promoting the offering of better protection to the public with new laws and required enforcement of laws that can shut down these bad actors.
I recall around 30 years ago; I fell for a scam where someone called the company I worked for and pretended to be a member of the local police department requesting a charitable donation for a program they were running to help a special cause. They offered to come and pick up a check at the office. I said I’d prefer to mail it. I then mailed it to a local P.O. Box. number that they provided on the phone call. Looking back at it I was obviously taken in. It happens! Needless to say, since that time I have never donated or sent money in any format to anyone that uses the phone and makes a request. Whether they claim to be political campaigns, lobbyists, fire or police departments, or charity organizations. If anybody calls in requesting money, I simply hang up. And I do it right away.
The use of the internet runs two ways, and doing your own due diligence by engaging in some basic research is not hard to do. For example, on the Horizon Structures website you will find photos in the Feature Project gallery and the Barnfinder that you can verify as our own buildings.
Our own C.M.O, Jill Siragusa, weighs in:
“Please do not be fooled by these brazen false actors that seek to lure you in and scam you,” says C.M.O, Jill Siragusa at Horizon Structures, “ Our presence on social media platforms is easy to ascertain as genuine as it is always under our brand name, we never post anything under any other brand name. Neither do we share any photos of our buildings without express consent. All our materials and creative assets are copyrighted and protected. We do our best to have these fraudsters’ activities halted and posts taken down, but it is difficult to monitor everything that pops up on social media or media platforms. As folks know, we build a lot of horse barns!
If folks see this abuse anywhere, we’d really appreciate a ‘heads up’ so we can shut it down.“
Similarly, the Horizon Structures, “6th Annual Run-In Shed Giveaway” also received some unwanted attention, with posts that stated winners had already been announced. This was not true.
Access to the application page is always directly on the Horizon Structures website for these annual Giveaways and is always secure. The rules and Terms/Conditions of the contest are also readily available for download on that application. Including what dates for Finalists and the Winner will be announced. These Finalists are contacted by Horizon Structures, and their names posted on the Horizon Structures media outlets, as is the ultimate Winner.
Things To Know
Federal Guidelines on common scam tactics, ways to avoid being scammed and protect yourself, and where and how to report incidents, are well worth a read (even as a reminder).
Meantime here is a list of things you should also know to help protect yourself from these bad actors in regard to buying from Horizon Structures:
- Horizon Structures website at https://www.horizonstructures.com/ is secure, and online purchases with a deposit are always available, as are financing options (including interactive options for immediate information on monthly payments etc.).
- Horizon Structures will never pressure you to make a quick decision or transfer funds.
- Horizon Structures always gives a penny,’ upfront quote for the horse barn, including freight and delivery/set up. If freight/set up is not included e.g., on our Sales Lot because we don’t have your location info, then that is stated.
- If you have doubts about the veracity of a posting you see please ask us. You are welcome to call our team anytime directly at (888) 447-4337.
- Don’t blindly click through website links that are posted on social media or open attachments on emails received from people you do not know. For example, if the post is about a Horizon Structures Contest but the link is to something other than HorizonStructures.com, then don’t click through.
- Horizon Structures will never ask for monies to be transferred to a bank account or other payment service such as Paypal/Venmo or Bitcoin etc. without prior agreement and executed contracts. Our accounts are all verified.
- Horizon Structures will never suggest that they will visit your location to pick up funds or ask for funds.
- Aside from direct online deposits for in-stock purchases, Horizon Structures will never receive or ask for funds without a contract being executed that spells out the Terms and Conditions for deposits and provides a payment schedule.
- Horizon Structures will never ask you to divulge personal information such as bank account numbers, social security numbers, etc.
- Specific details on the materials, size and type of barn being purchased are always provided directly by us before purchase, not by third parties.
- We do not use 3rd parties to quote or give estimates for our builds. Please see our privacy policy notes within our full Terms and Conditions, which are always available on our website and can be found here.
- Our “Run-In Shed” Giveaway Contest Entry Form can be found directly on our website and not elsewhere! When running and open, the contest entry form can be found here.
- Never part with any money or funds in any format without being 100% certain you are working with the real ‘leading modular horse barn’ company, us!
Remember if a deal sounds too good to be true it probably is. Never part with any money unless you are 100% certain that the party you are giving it to is bona-fide and you have verified their true identity.
