A Scottish council has issued a warning to the public over a website that claims to be selling Highland cows and other livestock from a country park.
Falkirk Council's Trading Standards has warned that a website is using the address and postcode of Muiravonside Country Park, Falkirk's only Country Park, to fraudulently to appear to be credible with the public.
The scam first became known when members of the public arrived at the park to enquire about the cattle and other livestock for sale and alerted staff to the situation.
On checking, Trading Standards officers found that the website www.newparksfarms.co.uk had also been used for scam puppy sales.
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Michael McGuiness, Head of Growth, Planning, Sport & Culture issued a warning to the public regarding the scam: "It is deeply concerning to see scammers using a place like Muiravonside Country Park to deceive unsuspecting buyers.
"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."
Additionally, Trading Standards officers are alerting the issue to Nominet, the organisation responsible for managing domain names in the UK, to take down the fraudulent website.
Claire Martin, Countryside Ranger at Muiravonside 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.”
Trading standards advise the public to verify any website or online business before making financial transactions involving significant purchases like livestock or pets.
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