Scammers among us.

[truckerdave397]

322218
So I contacted a seller on here with a” I will take it” response. I did the normal back and forth PMs and everything went well. I did receive this PM from someone else that was not the seller. 0 post, joined this month , random PM sounds like a scam to me. Hopefully the administration will take care of it. Again this has absolutely nothing to do with the original seller.

[ShooterAZ]

They have been banned. Thanks for the heads up. This is a typical Scam setup, so in the future please hit the Report Post button. It's the little black triangle with the exclamation point in it. That way we can get to it sooner.

[Winger Ed.]

Thanks for reporting that.
The S&S section is among the most heavily watched and moderated places on the internet.
However; Moderators can't catch 'em all and not soon enough.
We are still dependent, and grateful for members reporting suspicious things or violations.

When found or reported, the issue is handled as soon as possible, often within the hour,
and with all the grace and finesse of a falling ton of bricks..

[WILCO]

Glad it was shutdown.

[deltaenterprizes]

Thanks for the good work mods!

[trapper9260]

Thanks for the good work mods!

I 2nd that, we need to keep those off the site.

[Shawlerbrook]

Unfortunately this type of scam has been common on other sites with Buy/Sell sections. Big red flag is when they want to communicate by email only. Moderators thank you for for hard work.

[georgerkahn]

This happened to me not too long ago, and the CLUE was scammer employed, too, my "real" eMail address, as opposed to just using the Private Messaging on this forum!" I immediately informed a Mod and scammer was gone :). (Funds did get to seller, and I received that which I had purchased :))
Anyhoos -- this is a headsup for me -- perhaps, too, for you? -- if the "seller" contacts you vis anyother means than your handle on this site, and Private Message on this site -- for me, I view it as a scam!
geo

[MrWolf]

If they have zero posts, just joined, or post to a thread over a year old as their only post the red flags start waving. Can't stand scammed. Mods do a great job, it's not easy.

[Reg]

Your first clue should have been the new member with zero posts. Those of us who have been here for some time have an established feed back record as far as the S&S section goes and guard our reputation.
On about all sites now scamming is running rampant but established reputation is everything!

[ddeck22]

In terms of feedback (specifically regarding the Straight Shooters and Deadbeats section), I find that only 10% of people leave feedback. I agree that # of posts is a decent proxy for that...1 is definitely a red flag :)

[hoodat]

String em up -- It'll teach em a lesson. jd

[jdgabbard]

I usually do a quick look at the seller's previous posts (go to their profile and look under activity). This does help narrow down someone actually engaged in the hobby versus someone on here just trying to sell, or scam. Sometimes I'll take a chance with someone who doesn't post but seems to have had multiple selling threads with no negative comments.

Another big red flag for me is inadequate response time or refusal to respond to specific questions. If you wait days/weeks to respond, and ignore specific questions, I'm very likely to not purchase from you again...regardless of how the transaction ultimately ended up.

A long time ago I had a college professor who told me to trust my gut, it had several million years of evolution behind it, and it was more dependable than my over analyzing mind. Since then I've been burned far fewer times....

[Alex_4x4]

It makes sense to move this topic to the top of the list of “Our Town” topics.

[trebor44]

Several decades ago, I got scammed by an outfit that had run a full page ad in a popular magazine. I contacted the authorities and got 'nada'. There really are NO safeguards to NOT getting scammed or taken. Go with your 'gut feeling', yeah you may lose out on a "deal" but it really is up to you! Some of the advice given here is valid, and some is 'iffy'. The sophistication of the 'scams' is just starting, thanks to AI! "Scamming" aka thieving is as old as prostitution (at least you get something)! Note: if they get your email they 'have you'! The same goes for phone numbers etc.

[Arkansas Paul]

I want to make sure I'm understanding this correctly.
The people trying to scam folks isn't actually the seller, right?
Are scammers seeing the thread, then going to the potential buyer's profile and getting their email address?

I just want to confirm that it is not the actual sellers doing the dishonest shenanigans.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

There have been several variations, but what usually happens is that Party #1 agrees to buy something from Party #2. Then they receive a PM, or sometimes an e-mail, giving instructions to send the payment to Party #3 (the scammer). Some have done this, and lost their money, but quite often now days Party #1 thinks something isn't quite right and reports the payment request by clicking on the little triangle at the bottom left of the posting window. Forum Staff then usually bans Party #3.

DG

[elmacgyver0]

I have been lucky so far on this site, everyone I have had dealings with have been on the up and up.
I have been scammed a few times, but not here.

[truckerdave397]

I want to make sure I'm understanding this correctly.
The people trying to scam folks isn't actually the seller, right?
Are scammers seeing the thread, then going to the potential buyer's profile and getting their email address?

I just want to confirm that it is not the actual sellers doing the dishonest shenanigans.

Paul you are correct. The seller had absolutely nothing to do with this potential scam. Someone saw that I was buying some magazines for over $100 and I assumed that they figured that I would send the $$ to them. Again, I can not stress this enough, the seller had absolutely nothing to do with the scam.

[Winger Ed.]

I just want to confirm that it is not the actual sellers doing the dishonest shenanigans.

Right.
A scammer jumps in and sends a PM to the buyer and tries to hi-jack their money by attempting
to get the buyer to send their money somewhere else other than directly to the the seller you're dealing with.
The PM will start off with having the buyer contact the scammer at a certain email address to set up the payment/theft.

The seller is unaware of this and is completely out of the PM (communication) loop.
Stopping/banning these people depends on the buyer reporting the PM.
Moderators can't access your PMs. The only way we'll know a scammer has contacted you is if you report it
by clicking the little black triangle on your PM screen and it goes to the Staff where it can be acted on.
Most of the time, these reported posts get acted on within the hour.

[huntersdog]

Dave,

Many with zero posts, few posts in the last year, want to communicate via email are red flags. Dave is a good guy and dealt with him a few times.

What stinks are these scammers are using USA VPN's that many, many good people in the USA use and are blocked here. I remember all the good times and still have my leather Cast Boolits leather wallet.

[ShooterAZ]

The thing to really watch out for is someone sending a PM to contact a third party to send money to. WTB ads have been especially targeted by the Scammers, but it's not just the WTB ads. We do our best to weed them out, but once in a while one slips through and rips someone off.

[dverna]

I must be thick. Why in the Wide World of Sports would a buyer respond and send funds to someone who is not the seller? Why would the seller deal with someone who is not the buyer?

I have never been burned either here, the SASS site, Trapshooters site, or GunBroker. Ditto for Amazon or eBay.

[truckerdave397]

I must be thick. Why in the Wide World of Sports would a buyer respond and send funds to someone who is not the seller? Why would the seller deal with someone who is not the buyer?

I have never been burned either here, the SASS site, Trapshooters site, or GunBroker. Ditto for Amazon or eBay.

Just so that everyone knows, I did not respond to the random PM or use the email that was sent to me. I knew better. I just photoshopped it and started this page to warn others.

[Winger Ed.]

I must be thick. Why in the Wide World of Sports would a buyer respond and send funds to someone who is not the seller? Why would the seller deal with someone who is not the buyer?
I have never been burned either here, the SASS site, Trapshooters site, or GunBroker. Ditto for Amazon or eBay.

The scammers have nothing invested except a few minutes of time.
When someone does pay them, it's all profit.
If it works for them with 2% of the messages they send out--- they come out ahead, and make money.

[dverna]

The scammers have nothing invested except a few minutes of time.
When someone does pay them, it's all profit.
If it works for them with 2% of the messages they send out--- they come out ahead, and make money.

WE,
I understand scammers are preying on a small percentage of folks. My question is why folks fall into the trap. It is so obvious….unless…like I said…I am thick and missing something.

[Winger Ed.]

WE,
I understand scammers are preying on a small percentage of folks. My question is why folks fall into the trap. It is so obvious….unless…like I said…I am thick and missing something.

People want to believe and trust others. Scammers just capitalize on that human weakness- for lack of a better word.
The older and older people get, the easier it is to con or scam some of them. That's why so many scams target older people.

That amount of theft and fraud in the US is greater than the entire Gross National Product of most other countries.
There's stories all the time of folks getting scammed out of their life's savings because they miss placed their trust..

[trebor44]

Scammers rely on the "Foto Mat Business model", just one time and they make a profit!

[MrWolf]

Dave,

Many with zero posts, few posts in the last year, want to communicate via email are red flags. Dave is a good guy and dealt with him a few times.

What stinks are these scammers are using USA VPN's that many, many good people in the USA use and are blocked here. I remember all the good times and still have my leather Cast Boolits leather wallet.

I use my Cast Boolits wallet every time I leave the house. Folks here have come to trust our "family". We have had a few instances just like any other family. What sucks is when these scum take advantage of the trust that was built up. Some folks may not have been paying as much attention as they should have and got bit. I can't stand scammers and liars.

[Barry54]

This happened to me not too long ago, and the CLUE was scammer employed, too, my "real" eMail address, as opposed to just using the Private Messaging on this forum!" I immediately informed a Mod and scammer was gone :). (Funds did get to seller, and I received that which I had purchased :))
Anyhoos -- this is a headsup for me -- perhaps, too, for you? -- if the "seller" contacts you vis anyother means than your handle on this site, and Private Message on this site -- for me, I view it as a scam!
geo

Learn something everyday...

I didn’t know offering to use real email was a trait of scammers. I offer my real email for two reasons. It’s on my smartphone and I don’t have to remember to come here to look for messages. And secondly I can not figure out how to attach images to private messages on this site.

[Winger Ed.]

I didn’t know offering to use real email was a trait of scammers.

They're just free 'throw away' accounts, not their 'real' one they use like we do.

[Dekota56]

It is a shame to see a scammer was on this site. but, at least they called out with the post.
Thank you for your post. This is one of the best sites that I trust going on.

[huntersdog]

I use my Cast Boolits wallet every time I leave the house. Folks here have come to trust our "family". We have had a few instances just like any other family. What sucks is when these scum take advantage of the trust that was built up. Some folks may not have been paying as much attention as they should have and got bit. I can't stand scammers and liars.
Meet many good folks here over the years. :drinks:

[truckerdave397]

323791
So I just got hit with another scammer. Again absolutely nothing to do with the poster selling the bullets. I did report this one.

[Minerat]

Everyone if this happens to you, pick that little triangle in the lower left of the message and report it to us so we can deal with them. In this case he has been banned.