An online scam offering Highland cows for sale has been exposed after potential buyers appeared at a popular country park.
Rangers at Muiravonside Country Park near Linlithgow were alerted after people turned up to examine the shaggy long-horned cows and other livestock in person.
Trading standards investigated and found the scammers were using the park’s address and postcode to appear credible to unsuspecting buyers. They found that the bogus website had also been used for scam puppy sales.
Claire Martin, Countryside Ranger at 170-acre Muiravonside, assured visitors that its five Highland cows – Kyla, Haggis, Beth, Mona and Caity – are going nowhere.
She added: “It is disappointing to see someone using the park to con the public potentially. Our cattle are not for sale, however we do have five very lovely Highland coos that the public are more than welcome to visit at the park.”
Michael McGuiness, Falkirk Council’s Head of Growth, Planning, Sport & Culture, said the attempted con was “deeply concerning”.
He added: “We urge everyone to exercise caution when making purchases online, especially from unfamiliar websites. Our priority is to protect consumers and ensure that fraudulent activities like these are dealt with quickly by the right authorities.”
Trading Standards officers alerted Nominet, the organisation responsible for managing domain names in the UK, to take down the fraudulent website, which is no longer available to view online.
