Avoiding WTB Fraud - A Primer
Folks throughout India and West Africa have figured out that U.S. gun buyers are prone to trying to jump on good deals quickly and way too trusting. Firearm transactions also tend to be higher in monetary value - $500+, so they can represent a worthwhile time investment for scammers. Because the prevailing custom on U.S. gun forums is for a buyer to pay first, not using escrow, and often not using any insured financial method, you have a recipe for widespread fraud targeting buyers. Sometimes this will take the form of fake postings for items that don't exist, but more commonly this is messages directed at WTB posters.
A few tips - the people targeting you speak a different english. You'll notice grammatical inconsistencies, an overly polite diction, and words such as "regards and kindly". Any of this should be a huge red flag.
They will often seek to move the discussion off the platform, so usually in the first message you'll see a request to "contact me at x email." Many times this email address is a "privacy" provider, and outside the US, such as protonmail. Huge red flag.
They will often have photographs of the product you are looking for. These are commonly stolen from other firearm websites, and were likely found with a Google search. You can generally use a reverse-image search to determine where the photos originally came from. If you ask the "seller" to provide specific photos, they usually can't, same as with a photo using today's date.
You will usually be offered a sweet heart deal - 30 - 40% less than what you wanted to pay. This is merely a tactic to create a sense of urgency on your part. I'm not saying you can't find good deals, but I am saying the random guy who is offering you a pristine Sako Deluxe for half the going rate, or who is willing to negotiate the sale price down to mere pennies on the dollar, probably doesn't have your best interests in mind.
What they can't and won't do is get on the phone with you, because they speak with an obvious accent, and you're a red blooded American who knows better than thinking some call center lackey* actually has an AI chassis in the color you want. Talk to them on the phone before you send ANY money, and any suggestions that they can't or won't should be a huge red flag.
*This is not meant to demean any one of a specific race - most of these folks work as teams in call centers or Internet cafes. These are the same folks who try to tell you they will forgive your student loans for a one time payment of $2000. They are scum of the earth.