A Logan County haying operation found itself unwillingly drawn into an internet scam this week, but law enforcement authorities and a Facebook moderator shut the operation down before much harm could be done.
Mike Schuppe, co-owner of Schuppe Hay Farms of Iliff, was surprised to get a call from a woman asking about the $200 deposit he was requiring on an order of hay she wanted to place. The woman, whom Schuppe didn’t name, said she’d seen an advertisement on Facebook for hay in either large square or round bales. There was a 720 area code number – that’s central Colorado, in the metro Denver area – but the address listed in the ad was that of Schuppe Hay Farms. The woman connected the address with Schuppes, looked up their web site and called.
That was the first Mike Schuppe had heard of it.
The ad seems to have originated on an equine Facebook group page, although the group is not responsible for the ad. Many horse owners advertise their stock on the page, along with various equine-related products and services. The advertisement looked professional and contained information that indicated knowledge of the industry.
The ad came to the attention of the Journal-Advocate when it popped up on a reporter’s timeline as an alert from the Logan County Sheriff’s Office. Mike Schuppe said he’d called the LCSO, while his wife Kammy contacted the administrator of the Facebook page and had the ad taken down. The LCSO immediately put out a scam alert, which was…
