Scams and Scam Sites - Please list here

So I just won a GB auction this morning. I’m generally a very suspicious person, so I wanted some feedback from the group before sending my money.
Shortly after winning, I start getting texts requesting payment. The area code is out of a different state than the item location listed on GB and the mailing address for payment is a different state than either the phone number or item location. I start looking through closed auctions on GB and find the exact same photos of the item I won with an auction end date of 12/03 (three days ago) out of yet another state and listed by a different seller. Both sellers have very limited feedback (2 or 3 ratings) they aren’t FFL’s and they’ll only take a money order. I asked the seller to send me a close-up photo of the item serial number, and they send me a photo from the listing which has an unreadable serial number.
Do these sound like reasons to be suspicious, or am I being paranoid?

Keep your money. It’s a scam.

Thanks guys.

I would contact GB to see if you really won. And if you did win, where to send the money.
Congrats on your win.

Thank you for posting this, it's educational, almost a case study. What you describe fits a general pattern of asking for money urgently, which is always suspicious. And the rest of it, identical pictures elsewhere, money order for payment, different states, etc. No legit seller will ask for payment in the form of untraceable money (money order).

Probably a scam.

I won't buy unless the seller has a physical address that matches the ad and an internet search for the name at that address. A real phone number is a big plus.

One of the most serious red flags is someone who you would think would accept credit cards but doesn't. That's because on a credit card purchase you can get your money back.

Another part of some of these scams is to insist that they shipped the goods when they did not. Then you get a little rain dance about the shipper must have lost it, or someone stole it off your porch, and that's not their problem. Funny how they don't have the tracking number.

denton said:

Probably a scam.

I won't buy unless the seller has a physical address that matches the ad and an internet search for the name at that address. A real phone number is a big plus.

One of the most serious red flags is someone who you would think would accept credit cards but doesn't. That's because on a credit card purchase you can get your money back.

Another part of some of these scams is to insist that they shipped the goods when they did not. Then you get a little rain dance about the shipper must have lost it, or someone stole it off your porch, and that's not their problem. Funny how they don't have the tracking number.

Click to expand...

Or they ship a box of trash instead of your firearm

C. Younger: I've never heard of so many odd groups of disconnected info linked to a single Gunbroker deal.

On Armslist about three years ago I posted two photos of a WW2 Mauser Hsc (.32 Auto), and stated that there were two barrels, and a single frame, non-matching. I always stated "local deals (in person) only - no exceptions".

The style of the e-mail I soon received seemed 'impatient', almost ' breathless '.
Not only did he/she not have any question about, or request for another photo of the gun....or anything else about the condition.

The person asked whether my gun could "be shipped to my FFL in FL?". This goes against the basic idea of Local Gun Deals (and you realize-- but many of our new Lurkers might Not know this....).

Only 10% of the odd info you put in your original remarks would have stopped me. No kidding and no exaggeration at all. A fraction of that info would be enough.

Simply a mis-matched address With mis-matched phone # is the GB --equivalent-- of a totally unexpected phone call (spoken with an accent), for example: "Good afternoon sir, are you sitting in front of your computer??" " I'm with Microsoft and there is a problem ................."...

bdickens said:

You should have thought about all this before even bidding.

Click to expand...

Sellers contact info (phone number and mailing address) isn’t given until after you’ve won. Since the majority of the hinkiness came from those two factors I’m not sure how I could have thought about it before bidding. It wasn’t until red flags started showing up that I was reviewing old listings. So, the only indicator of something not being right was a low transaction count.

That's one of the reasons that I quit putting pictures of my guns on the internet - I started seeing them on auction sites... .

Theres a site on the internet that seems to sell guns... but wants you to send them gift cards. You know, the ones you buy at the store and spend anywhere.. and they want you to call them with the numbers on the back of the card to finish the transaction. Interestingly, you cannot trace the card after they get the numbers. I was looking for a very distinct firearm, and they seemed to have one in stock... but when I called to ask them to lay hands on it to ensure credibility, I got a lady who told me it was in the warehouse, and she couldn't touch it. She told me what the process was to ensure purchase.

I bailed on that sale.

I think it was this site...

https://www.raniersec.com/shop/winc...wall-hunter-28-nosler-1-rds-28-barrel-walnut/

C Younger said:

and they’ll only take a money order

Click to expand...

The phone number is not a huge deal I don't think I have never changed my cell number when I have moved. But the MONEY ORDER is a GIANT RED FLAG! Run! Run fast! Run Far! Do not pass go! Do not collect $200!

The fact that the address for the payment and the gun is also a red flag but a much much smaller red flag and could have an explanation. But never pay with money order! you could try reaching out and seeing if they would accept another type of payment and go from there or just give up on it. Up to you.

Gun4Fun90 said:

The phone number is not a huge deal I don't think I have never changed my cell number when I have moved. But the MONEY ORDER is a GIANT RED FLAG! Run! Run fast! Run Far! Do not pass go! Do not collect $200!

The fact that the address for the payment and the gun is also a red flag but a much much smaller red flag and could have an explanation. But never pay with money order! you could try reaching out and seeing if they would accept another type of payment and go from there or just give up on it. Up to you.

Click to expand...

GB got back to me and advised that I not continue with the transaction and that the order had been cancelled. The biggest red flag was the previous listing under a different seller with the exact same pictures and the fact that they couldn’t or didn’t send me a close up picture of the serial number, but rather a photo from the listing. Not sending a new photo, in my mind was proof that they didn’t have the gun in hand. It was the phone number and mismatched addresses that led me to look further into it.

Jimbo80 said:

I wonder what my guns are going for? I find it's always good to ask for specific pictures before finalizing an online deal or even driving very far for a F2F.

Click to expand...

The additional photos was a new idea to me, but will now be a part of every online transaction unless it’s a reputable dealer.

Grumpy_old_Fart said:

Theres a site on the internet that seems to sell guns... but wants you to send them gift cards. You know, the ones you buy at the store and spend anywhere.. and they want you to call them with the numbers on the back of the card to finish the transaction. Interestingly, you cannot trace the card after they get the numbers. I was looking for a very distinct firearm, and they seemed to have one in stock... but when I called to ask them to lay hands on it to ensure credibility, I got a lady who told me it was in the warehouse, and she couldn't touch it. She told me what the process was to ensure purchase.

I bailed on that sale.

I think it was this site...

https://www.raniersec.com/shop/winc...wall-hunter-28-nosler-1-rds-28-barrel-walnut/

Click to expand...

rainiersec.com is a well known scam site.

One thing that always tells me to stay away is a company that won’t take credit cards and want payment through Zelle or Venmo

Odd Job said:

Doesn't necessarily mean that the First Crown website is legit either,

Click to expand...

Well, the About US page on First Crown has exactly the same suspicious payment information:

FORMS OF PAYMENT: You can order your product online using our secure server. We accept;
Google Pay
– Bitcoin
– Zelle
– Cashapp
– Venmo

We are currently facing some issues with receiving Credit cards payment so we will advice you kindly use the other forms of payment. All transactions are authorized for the full amount at time the order is placed. Please contact your financial provider for more information regarding Authorizations.

Click to expand...

A gun company calling itself "Rampage" Firearms tells you all you need to know, from the very name. Law-abiding gun owners don't go on "rampages."

I never order in the blind from a company without first doing some verification.

My first test is to see if they prominently display a phone number on their website. The harder it is to find a phone number, generally the worse the customer service. If everything else checks out, then I'll call them before I place my first order. In this case they have a phone number, but it's not prominently displayed.

Next is to do address verification. Plug in their address and drop down to street view. They fail.

Then I'll google the company name with "reviews" "problem" or "complaint" and see what I come up with. They fail.

I also pay attention to the language on their site. There are warnings like this all over. "Have any question about any product?" Broken English. They fail.

Last is method of payment. Crypto only? They fail here too.


I guess there is a lot of money in defrauding desperate gun enthusiasts. Sites are popping up all over the place. I don't know how anyone can be dumb or ignorant enough to get taken by a site that bad, but it's happening.

It's the same as the sites that were using some of the makers' names, like "Remingtonfirearms" or "Rugerguns". As fast as they get shut down, they're back up under new names.

MIDWAY WEAPONS

I was looking for 10mm ammo from Underwood and came across this website. They had the 200 grain ammo for $15 a box compared to $25.99 from Underwood direct. They have a $99 minimum and only accept Bitcoin, Zellepay or gift cards as payment. I won't order from them so I haven't been scammed by them and can't definitely say they're fraudulent, but the signs are there.

I guess we have to go over this again...

DO NOT BUY FROM UNKNOWN OR SUSPICIOUS SITES!

Scam, and reported to Midway USA for stealing their logo.

Larry