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SOLD/EXPIRED Scammer Beware

Look out for username Pratshooter. Will tell you he has a lead on what you are looking for. A rifle in my case. Will give you the email address [email protected]. Phone #913-841-9656 Tullahoma,TN. Will say he has dealt with Bob a lot and he is top notch. Sent me pics of the rifle, said how it shot and what he wanted for it. We agreed on a price, sent him money via money gram, emailed me back saying he needed $400 to cover transfer and shipping to my ffl dealer. Red light starts going off. Question him about it, request my money back and hasent responded back. Googled his number and SCAM ALERT comes up. Contacting the authorities in the morning. Any advice will be appreciated but I bet I'm screwed. Have purchased many items on this site and members have been very honest. Maybe let my guard down because of that.
Contact ATF since it involves wire theft and a firearm. They can also go after the FFL holder who brokered the deal.

Best of luck.
 
I've bought a lot of high dollar stuff on this site, Armslist, and Gunbroker.

Ways to protect yourself.

My FFL requires a copy of the sellers DL even if they go through another FFL. I get that first thing.

I always ship the case the firearm is to be shipped back in to the FFL Holder of his choice.

Prearranged with the FFL Holder (whom I've already verified to be real) When the seller delivers the firearm he is to inspect it and ensure it is what was represented. The money for the purchase is shipped inside of the case and upon inspection being good to go he hands over the money to the buyer.

I won't say it's fool proof but it's as close as you can get.

Lastly follow your instincts. Shady people usually give themselves away with a little back and forth conversation. If your flags go up, walk away.
 
You got a address on this scum bag I thank I want to be the crazy redneck that has 6 feet tall and 3 feet wide and wrestle pipe every day I thank if I get it on vidio we can make your hard erned money come back if not maybe we take the procedes from the vidio and get your money back
 
You hit the nail on its head Wildrose. Never hesitate to protect yourself and verify as much information as you need to. An honest, legit seller has no problem providing you with information about themself within reason and communicating well through out the transaction. If it doesn't feel right to you MOVE ON.
 
Thanks for all the good advice. Have dealt with several members on this site for a lot of items and never once had an issue. I just let my guard down on this one. The money was collected in the country of Indonesia and the Emil address is a 72yr old widow that they have hacked into her accounts. All this info is from a police investigation. Thanks to everyone for their support and the watch your language on LRH got me but never again. Thanks again to all.
 
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I live 20 minutes from Tullahoma shoot me his address. I'll see if he's got a legit location.
 
Wow, that sucks! I've had even "friends" scam me in the past, nice Ha! One guy through a friend, for a lot of money, took me almost two years to get most of it back. And Yes I had to track him down, something about showing up on someone's porch deck of their mobile home gets their attention! But it took a lot of leg work, driving around, and a lot of phone calls asking the right questions to find him. Eventually he moved to another state after I sued him personally and won a judgement against him for the final $4,500.00 still owed to me. Years later I wrote if off my taxes as a uncollectible debt. If you want action, sometimes you'll need to make things happen.

The sad part is as a seller here on LRH these scammers cause lost sales to honest people like myself. I've probably sold 13-20 items, and some rather expensive rifles and high end scopes. I always ask for USPS Money Orders because they are hard to fake, checks have a way on bouncing back at you when you least expect it.

I'm sure the face to face sales I've done where just because those buyers where unsure about letting their money go out of their sight? I don't blame them either, like I said, I've been burned before more then once.

I recently found a scammer using my classified sales pictures of a Kimber Advanced Tactical Rifle Kit I had For Sale on here on Armslist.com until enough of us flagged it as a scam and shut his ad down. BTW, his price was dropping like a rock everyday hoping to find a buyer? This was just a month ago. I've heard they refer Armslist as scamslist? I see why now, but that still leaves a lot of honest sellers wondering what else can be done about the crooks and thieves that make doing business safer for both parties? I like to offer references and check my history of sales on this site, or others sites.

BTW, my gut told me don't wire $300.00 to that "old Friend", but my girlfriend said that's rude not to help her out "since she's stranded at the air port" Ya right my butt I thought...... Intuition is something that has kept me alive, saved me from the BS out there and has helped me more then anything smart I think I might know.

Sometimes you have to make a leap of faith and hope for the best, but after you've made a few inquires and things seem to check out? And if things don't seem totally up and up, do what Wild Rose suggested and get a broker/dealer involved for the transaction if need be. Although that runs up the transaction costs.

I remember I had a guy all upset and calling me every name in the book on my answering machine because I didn't call him back one weekend I was out of town (although he didn't know that). The 1st call was on Friday just asking if I received the funds? But at each passing moment, he got more worried to the point of calling every few hours, he was ****ed off! He sent me the funds USPS certified mail....... he got all hot under the collar screaming bloody murder and he was going to let everyone know on GA.com I was a scammer!

Yet this guy never checked the tracking number if it was even delivered? Pretty Stupid on his part, while I was insulted up and down like no tomorrow! Made me mad, yet I told him to cool his jets and that I'd drive the six hours (one way) to deliver the rifle to him. At that point I wasn't sure myself if the check was going to be even good? But even after I left with the cash he made another mistake by not asking for the bank check back, but I had already endorsed the check and made it payable to him and mailed it back by the time he even figured that mistake out! But Hey, mistakes happen. I was out of town because my former girlfriend was just told she'd lose her eye sight in 6-8 weeks.... so I had a good excuse why I wasn't available to be reached. I only say that because sometimes there are extenuating circumstances, and that maybe a little level headed thinking might be in order, maybe?

Use a little common sense, be wise to "if it sounds to good to be true, it probable is" and sometimes just asking the right questions and/or "can it be inspected prior to purchase" might be just the ticket to learning if this person really does have "the goods"?

Good luck in your own success in getting your money back, sometimes learning the hard way hurts, but you'll be wiser in the end. Sorry these things happen, I'm even more sorry it happened on here. This site has been good to me. Best of luck in the future to you though.
 
you know, the more i think about it, it is rather insulting that he is trying to scam a bunch of guys with guns. you would think he would be over on the birdwatching forum or the chess forum. he must think he is pretty slick. douchebag
+1...
 
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