Scam Alerts


The following is a brief list of examples of potential scams, as related to us by customers of Sandhills Global’s publications Machinery Trader, Truck Paper, TractorHouse, and Controller. Sandhills Global urges you to call your State Attorney General's office or your local FBI branch to report any suspicious activity.

Scammers are using email and Web addresses such as sandhill-publishing.com and sandhills-publishings.com to attempt to defraud customers. If you spot any of these, or similar addresses, being given in connection with any 'Business Purchasing Protection Plan,' ignore them.

MachineryTrader.com, TractorHouse.com, TruckPaper.com, and Controller.com are advertising media which connect buyers and sellers. We do not participate or involve ourselves in any way with buyer/seller transactions. If you are currently involved in any transactions where mention is made of handling any facet of that transaction ‘through Sandhills,’ contact local and state law enforcement agencies immediately.

Our corporate Web site can be reached by using either of the following addresses: www.sandhills.com or www.sandhillspublishing.com. Any addresses with dashes, etc., are fraudulent.

Scammers have been detected sending emails from an address such as '[email protected]' implying they are from the 'MachineryTrader Abuse Department' and your account may be suspended within 24 hours for security reasons. The email says to confirm your email address by clicking on the link in the email or your account will be suspended.

No such department exists within MachineryTrader.com, TractorHouse.com, TruckPaper.com, Controller.com, or Sandhills Global, and the link included in the email is NOT associated with any of our Web sites and, if opened, can possibly contain a virus that could be harmful to your computer.

Any information regarding your account will come directly from your advertising representative and not from a general ‘department’ of any sort.

Scammers may be calling users, asking for the ‘Accounting Department,’ and saying they are representing one of our publications or Web sites. They may be inquiring about listings that are posted on the site, and they may be interested in buying a machine.

Please use extreme caution when being asked for accounting information, bank account numbers, or credit card information. Please note that any legitimate contact regarding your account information will come directly from your advertising representative.

One of the most widely used email/Internet scams involves overpayment for the machine being sold, where the buying company will send the seller a certain amount over the agreed selling price, saying the seller should then send the overage amount to the shipping agent. Victims of this scam have paid the ‘shipping agent’ before the check from the buyer clears. Those having done so find that the buyer’s check does not clear, and they are out whatever amount they have sent to the phony shipping agent.

Be wary of any buyer who asks you to send money to a third party and be sure all checks clear the bank completely before parting with any equipment.