Scam Alert! Beware!

[Captcurt]

Got a couple of emails lately from fellow gun nuts who had seen some of my guns listed on Gun Broker and then also found them for half price on Armslist. So far I have had at least 5 guns that I know of that have been listed on Armslist by a scammer. I have notified Armslist and the FBI Cyber Crime Unit. Please beware when making a purchase online. You need to do a little research before you send any money. Check feedback on the seller if available and if the deal sounds to good to be true it probably is a ripoff. I had a like new H & K 93 listed for $3100. Dufus had it for $1680. A Sako with a custom stock I had for $785. He had it for $480. As soon as I had Armslist delete these listings he had my Model 64 Winchester and a Savage 1899 listed. If I could find him, ........

 

[hamp sandwich]

Any info on who it is? His user name, location, etc?

 

[Elkins45]

Only an idiot would send money to a seller on Armslist. Face-to-face in a public place only. If somebody gets taken it's on them: even Armslist warns against it. There's no such thing as feedback on Armslist.

I know it makes you mad they are using your pictures but there's not much you can do about it unless you put a watermark across all of them.

 

[Crowcifier666]

Are these your stolen guns they are selling? Offer to meet up with the police in tow? I guess it's not that simple...

 

[Captcurt]

The guns are in my safe. I contacted the seller faking a purchase. He told me who th make the money order out to in North Kingstown , RI. When Armslist pulled his listing he emailed me saying that he had pulled the listing and was holding the gun for me. Then he told me to text him and gave me a phone number. FBI has all of the contact info. Only time will tell if his name and address are real or if the phone is a burner.

 

[The Alaskan]

I agree with the Face to face rule, but for folks lie me, up here in AK, interested in buying rare or antique gus, it doesn't work. Not too many Winchester Model 92's in 32-20 floating around up here, AND for sale, if you get my meaning.

Face to face is fine if you'r buying a Glock, doesn't work with rarities.

But you're right, you pretty much deserve to get taken for a ride.

 

[plodder]

Believe it or not, I actually purchased a fairly expensive firearm (actually a NFA item) sight unseen from out of state off of Armslist with no issues. I will tell you that I spent an inordinate amount of time checking out the seller and "stalking" him via the internet before I sent any money.

Furthermore, I was more than a little apprehensive until it showed up at my FFL. But all worked out well.

I have also sold firearms on Armslist with no issues. (3 in-state FTF)

I do not recommend it though, and Face to Face is the best policy if you have an interest in a Armslist firearm.

 

[drcook]

If you use Google Chrome, there is a feature where you can right click on a picture and search the internet for another version of that picture. I have found lots of scams on Armslist using this method (as well as items on Craigslist, etc, it is not just guns that scammers swipe the pictures of, motorcycles, travel trailers, etc).

Basically, if the deal sounds too good to be true, be skeptical of it and start doing searches.

You can also snip out pieces of the text and do Google searches. I have found the scammers will swipe the entire description and then cut out parts, usually sentences or 2 but leave the remainder of the text intact. They don't know enough about what they are scamming to write up a believable description.

I have found scams looking for text also.

Folks that sell on Gunbroker (and other sites) should push to have all the uploaded photos watermarked across the entire photo (background) as I have found scams where the watermarks that were put at the bottom were simply edited off using Paint or other program.

As far as watermarking your own photos, there are free versions available, and if not free, trial versions that will run for so long. If you are not in the business of selling guns, then a free/trial version will work just fine.

On one deal that I found, I asked for a physical address and then I used Google Earth to zoom in and look at what the address was. When I saw it was the guy's house and the phone number provided also matched up to the house, I thought the deal was OK.

 

[Elkins45]

If you use Google Chrome, there is a feature where you can right click on a picture and search the internet for another version of that picture. I have found lots of scams on Armslist using this method (as well as items on Craigslist, etc, it is not just guns that scammers swipe the pictures of, motorcycles, travel trailers, etc).

Basically, if the deal sounds too good to be true, be skeptical of it and start doing searches.

You can also snip out pieces of the text and do Google searches. I have found the scammers will swipe the entire description and then cut out parts, usually sentences or 2 but leave the remainder of the text intact. They don't know enough about what they are scamming to write up a believable description.

I have found scams looking for text also.

Folks that sell on Gunbroker (and other sites) should push to have all the uploaded photos watermarked across the entire photo (background) as I have found scams where the watermarks that were put at the bottom were simply edited off using Paint or other program.

As far as watermarking your own photos, there are free versions available, and if not free, trial versions that will run for so long. If you are not in the business of selling guns, then a free/trial version will work just fine.

On one deal that I found, I asked for a physical address and then I used Google Earth to zoom in and look at what the address was. When I saw it was the guy's house and the phone number provided also matched up to the house, I thought the deal was OK.

I'm glad it worked out for you, but I wouldn't give my physical address to a stranger. That's telling potential thieves where to come murder me and get free guns.

 

[Elkins45]

I agree with the Face to face rule, but for folks lie me, up here in AK, interested in buying rare or antique gus, it doesn't work. Not too many Winchester Model 92's in 32-20 floating around up here, AND for sale, if you get my meaning.

Face to face is fine if you'r buying a Glock, doesn't work with rarities.

But you're right, you pretty much deserve to get taken for a ride.

This is where the difference between Gunbroker and Armslist becomes important. Gunbroker at least employs some rudimentary form of verification and provides a platform for feedback.

Armslist is like Craigslist: assume it is a scam until proven otherwise.

 

[Captcurt]

This is where the difference between Gunbroker and Armslist becomes important. Gunbroker at least employs some rudimentary form of verification and provides a platform for feedback.

Armslist is like Craigslist: assume it is a scam until proven otherwise.

I had an episode with Craig's List last year. We had listed our house with a local realtor. Two weeks later a guy came to the door wanting to rent our house. He said that it was listed for rent on Craig's List. I looked it up and there it was with the real estate companie's picture and description. I contacted the fake owner and was told that he was going to Africa to do God's work and was renting his house until he returned. I hope he burns in Hell.

I can't believe that anyone would send money to rent a house or buy a gun online without doing some research of some kind. I am so thankful for fellow gun fanatics who have contacted me about the false listings on Armslist. If any of you are on the High Road, hats off to you.

 

[thump_rrr]

In this internet age there are people who won't think twice about paying for things over the internet.
I have a friend who rents a $500,000 vacation home to people he has never met.
They leave a security deposit and pay in advance electronically. There is an electronioc lock on the house which he can reprogram remotely.
Once they leave he calls the cleaning service who goes and cleans the place, confirms that there is no damage and he refunds the security deposit.

 

[george burns]

All of the guns I have sold over 45 years were FTF only. How can you buy something as personnel as a gun or a car, without seeing it yourself. I find things that gun and car dealers didn't even notice were wrong or damaged. I would never buy a gun without first handling it.