Reports have emerged of a scam which has seen farmers turn up to a legitimate farm on the Isle of Wight to buy machinery, only to be scammed.
The scam centres on fake farm machinery adverts published on social media sites or through other publications and magazines.
Victims, upon seeing the advert, then contact the ‘seller’ and pay huge sums of money to purchase the tractor or farm machinery.
Victims have been given addresses on the Isle of Wight to attend to collect the machinery, with some travelling across the UK.
However, upon arriving at the destination, they end up finding that no such equipment exists and that they have been scammed.
Often the addresses given to victims are those of real Isle of Wight farmers who have no knowledge of the scam.
These legitimate farming businesses are then left in a vulnerable situation in which they are confronted by confused, upset and disgruntled victims of crime.
The most recent incident, reported to Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary on 21 January 2025, saw victims travel from Devon and Scotland to an Isle of Wight farm to collect goods that they believed they purchased.
In other scenarios in the past, some victims were promised to have the equipment delivered to them, but the goods never turn up and the ‘seller’ then disengages from all contact.
What is the advice?
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary has issued advice to machinery buyers and farmers.
"Be wary of this type of fraud and trust your instincts - if something appears too good to be true, it probably is," the force says.
"If you are a farmer and find yourself in a situation confronted by a disgruntled victim of a scam, our advice is to remove yourself from the situation and if you feel threatened, ring 999."
The force also encourages the following:
• View the machinery in person first and ask for the registration and/or V5 document before handing over any money.
• Find out as much as possible about the seller; ask them about the history of the machinery and their business
• Request scans of the registration document and do some research on the item – consider phoning the previous owner or the DVLA
• Check that the engine number still correlates with the logbook
• Do an online HPI check to ensure there is no outstanding finance
