New here, how do I prevent scams?

[Kennn]

How do I prevent being scammed when I’m trying to buy or sell something? I’ve already dealt with some scammers here, one of which refused to facetime, but wanted to meet up in person, and gave me the identification of what I presume is not him (FFL license, was in army, CCW). I’m still not exactly sure what would have happened if I met up with him in person but he got banned just recently so I didn’t have to find out.

How do I pay or get paid? In person is nice but walking around with thousands of dollars of cash is questionable imo. And what do I do for online? In GAFS I would use a proxy service for pretty much any item over $500, and a payment method with buyer’s protection for any item below $500 for someone who’s new. This scammer had 14 positive reputation somehow.

The scammer who I dealt with initially wanted me to wire him the money but I said absolutely not. He also wanted to meet up in front of a walmart which I guess is nice because it’s public but how am I supposed to inspect the gun in front of a walmart… I asked him to meet up at an FFL and I’d pay any fees but he refused. Is that an unreasonable ask from me? What should I have done?

He also refused to do a timestamp picture but from what I understand some people on here aren’t willing to do that for some reason. That combined with refusing to facetime (and show the items to me on facetime) raised some serious red flags to me though.

 

[Milf Dots]

Meet face to face in broad daylight at a police/sheriff's office, or an FFL, and pay cash. REFUSE to pay via PP's F&F, Zelle, or any other similar method. If not meeting in person, use a major CC or USPS money order via a method with buyer protection.

Never want something so much that you're not willing to walk away from the deal if any single, reasonable "scam reduction tactic" is refused.

 

[Kennn]

Meet face to face in broad daylight at a police/sheriff's office, or an FFL, and pay cash. REFUSE to pay via PP's F&F, Zelle, or any other similar method. If not meeting in person, use a major CC or USPS money order via a method with buyer protection.

Never want something so much that you're not willing to walk away from the deal if any single, reasonable "scam reduction tactic" is refused.

Thank you. So would a venmo payment with buyer’s protection, then the seller ships the item, be reasonable? If I’m buying a gun, I’d have to meet up at an FFL, not a police office, right? I can’t imagine they would take that kindly.

How would a money order be safe? Isn’t that essentially sending a check to someone? Non-refundable?

 

[Milf Dots]

Thank you. So would a venmo payment with buyer’s protection, then the seller ships the item, be reasonable?

Only you can answer that for you.

 

[Kennn]

Only you can answer that for you.

I mean, am I missing something that makes me vulnerable to a scam? Is this a scam tactic on here? It’s an upper and lower—upper shipped to house, and lower shipped to FFL.

It’s about $6500. How would you ensure that you aren’t scammed when purchasing? What payment method?

 

[Darayavaus]

trust no one. don't engage in business with any of these shady mother fers around here. don't try to buy or sell anything, and use your neighbors name and address when you register. you should be ok then.

 

[Makinchips208]

Meet face to face, but have a buddy on over watch. Then he can snipe him if he grabs you.

Practice with these.

 

[sirhrmechanic]

Especially this: Never trust anyone new.

Who did you say you were again?

Sirhr

 

[Haney]

If I had someone want to facetime me I would tell them to fuck off . Reading this makes me think the Sellers get a bad vibe and blew off the potential sale .

 

[Kennn]

Especially this: Never trust anyone new.

Who did you say you were again?

Sirhr

Fair enough. Gotta start from somewhere though, and unless the person in question is also newly born, they have some sort of credibility to show.

 

[Kennn]

If I had someone want to facetime me I would tell them to fuck off . Reading this makes me think the Sellers get a bad vibe and blew off the potential sale .

You would tell someone to fuck off for making a reasonable request due to fear of being scammed? $6500 is a lot of money for most people and as a seller in other communities I completely understand that many people are very careful about getting scammed and try to ease their concerns. Losing that amount of money is very detrimental to most people and being rude is ridiculous in that situation. Just explain why you won’t do that and suggest another option.

 

[HeavyAssault]

Meet face to face, but have a buddy on over watch. Then he can snipe him if he grabs you.

Practice with these.

View attachment 8306647

Look at her eyes/face...she's not a hostage.

 

[Charmingmander]

You would tell someone to fuck off for making a reasonable request due to fear of being scammed? $6500 is a lot of money for most people and as a seller in other communities I completely understand that many people are very careful about getting scammed and try to ease their concerns. Losing that amount of money is very detrimental to most people and being rude is ridiculous in that situation. Just explain why you won’t do that and suggest another option.

I don't know how old you are or how much of the online/through the net selling and buying you've done for these kinds of items, but I can tell you as someone who has been around the block a few times doing it (I had a bunch of 100% feedback on Arfcom, eBay and GunBroker), I have NEVER heard of someone doing facetime.

Trust your instincts, meet in a public place, take a friend if you can, avoid payment systems like PayPal/Venmo who are very hostile to certain sales (PayPal/Venmo is also a bad idea anyway recently since they have been stealing peoples money), check their ID but don't insult them over it just be polite, and don't give them any more information about you or what you own than you have to.

 

[trob]

I use Venmo a lot. But I have a process to verify sellers. Never had a problem

If I was selling something, I would have no problem doing FaceTime to make the buyer comfortable. Haven’t done it, but I would.

 

[Doc68]

Bet OP is a scammer trying to tweak the scamming methods......

Doc

 

[hkguns]

Don't buy and sell shit on forums. Problem solved.

 

[MarshallDodge]

A WTB ad is a good way to get scammed

WTB - WTB: Knight’s Armament SR-25 ACC 14.5”

$4500 for the upper $1500 for the lower Willing to negotiate. Message me and we can work something out.

www.snipershide.com

 

[Darryle]

Especially this: Never trust anyone new.

Who did you say you were again?

Sirhr

He's from the government, to help of course

 

[37L1]

 

[wade2big]

Meet face to face in broad daylight at a police/sheriff's office, or an FFL, and pay cash. REFUSE to pay via PP's F&F, Zelle, or any other similar method. If not meeting in person, use a major CC or USPS money order via a method with buyer protection.

Never want something so much that you're not willing to walk away from the deal if any single, reasonable "scam reduction tactic" is refused.

I take it you don’t trade here as what you described doesn’t work in an online forum setting. I would check your feedback but your profile is blocked. Probably says “0” anyhow.

As for meeting at the police station.
That place is full of gov’t backed criminals.

 

[msstate56]

How long are we going to keep giving this person the time of day?

 

[Kennn]

I use Venmo a lot. But I have a process to verify sellers. Never had a problem

If I was selling something, I would have no problem doing FaceTime to make the buyer comfortable. Haven’t done it, but I would.

What is your process?

 

[Kennn]

A WTB ad is a good way to get scammed

WTB - WTB: Knight’s Armament SR-25 ACC 14.5”

$4500 for the upper $1500 for the lower Willing to negotiate. Message me and we can work something out.

www.snipershide.com

I realize but I don’t know of another way to show my interest in a product. In GAFS, WTB ads were fine.

 

[Kennn]

Bet OP is a scammer trying to tweak the scamming methods......

Doc

I hate scammers with a passion. We are all people and should treat each other with respect. You never know how much the money you steal will effect someone. A friend of mine killed himself after losing his savings at the casino.

 

[Kennn]

I don't know how old you are or how much of the online/through the net selling and buying you've done for these kinds of items, but I can tell you as someone who has been around the block a few times doing it (I had a bunch of 100% feedback on Arfcom, eBay and GunBroker), I have NEVER heard of someone doing facetime.

Trust your instincts, meet in a public place, take a friend if you can, avoid payment systems like PayPal/Venmo who are very hostile to certain sales (PayPal/Venmo is also a bad idea anyway recently since they have been stealing peoples money), check their ID but don't insult them over it just be polite, and don't give them any more information about you or what you own than you have to.

I personally have never done facetime with a buyer because none have asked, but I asked the scammer because I was already suspicious of him but he wanted to meet face to face—I don’t want to get robbed, just wanted to know it wasn’t some crazy guy who’s already selling me a gun and knows I have thousands of cash on me.

 

[Maggot]

I hate scammers with a passion. We are all people and should treat each other with respect. You never know how much the money you steal will effect someone. A friend of mine killed himself after losing his savings at the casino.

Your friend has no one to blame himself if he gambled his money away at a casino.

 

[Maggot]

I personally have never done facetime with a buyer because none have asked, but I asked the scammer because I was already suspicious of him but he wanted to meet face to face—I don’t want to get robbed, just wanted to know it wasn’t some crazy guy who’s already selling me a gun and knows I have thousands of cash on me.

Meet at a store like Cabella's who sells guns so no one will think anything, I've doe that several times. Then meet him inside before showing anything to make sure the 'vibe' is right. and if possible have a buddy along if its that much $$$.

 

[Kennn]

Your friend has no one to blame himself if he gambled his money away at a casino.

That was not my point. My point was that losing money can have a profound impact on certain people and you just don’t know what you’re doing to them. You have to be a psychopath with zero regard for the consequences of your actions to steal from someone.

 

[Maggot]

That was not my point. My point was that losing money can have a profound impact on certain people and you just don’t know what you’re doing to them. You have to be a psychopath with zero regard for the consequences of your actions to steal from someone.

Yes, it can. I was scammed out of a bunch (non gun related) by somone I thought a friend. He's still breathing, but it was tenuous for a bit whether or not I'd allow that. Psychopath, is a bit strong, but I can go with sociopath. Or just 'scumbag'.

 

[Kennn]

Yes, it can. I was scammed out of a bunch (non gun related) by somone I thought a friend. He's still breathing, but it was tenuous for a bit whether or not I'd allow that. Psychopath, is a bit strong, but I can go with sociopath. Or just 'scumbag'.

My aunt has been addicted to drugs for a majority of her life, on and off. She has money and these people know it—they will do anything, and I mean anything, to extort as much money as possible from her. She’s ruined her life with drugs and these people do not care. They find her the moment she is out of rehab to get her addicted again. No matter how hard she tries to get sober, they find her and prevent it. Follow her around and convince her of crazy things (her mind is not what it used to be). All they care about is their money and they would be happy to kill her for some quick cash but that would prevent any more money to be made in the future. Keep her suffering for as long as possible for the most cash. It’s impossible to get rid of them. Destroyed everything in her house with baseball bats while her kids and I (when I was younger) were hiding in the closet. They are psychopaths. When there is money to be made, people show their true colors.

Which is why you can never be too careful when money is involved. It’s absurd to respond with “fuck off” when someone is rightfully cautious. Be kind to people.

 

[TheBigCountry]

Meet face to face, but have a buddy on over watch. Then he can snipe him if he grabs you.

Practice with these.

View attachment 8306647

No the actual target is this

 

[Maggot]

My aunt has been addicted to drugs for a majority of her life, on and off. She has money and these people know it—they will do anything, and I mean anything, to extort as much money as possible from her. She’s ruined her life with drugs and these people do not care. They find her the moment she is out of rehab to get her addicted again. No matter how hard she tries to get sober, they find her and prevent it. Follow her around and convince her of crazy things (her mind is not what it used to be). All they care about is their money and they would be happy to kill her for some quick cash but that would prevent any more money to be made in the future. Keep her suffering for as long as possible for the most cash. It’s impossible to get rid of them. Destroyed everything in her house with baseball bats while her kids and I (when I was younger) were hiding in the closet. They are psychopaths. When there is money to be made, people show their true colors.

Which is why you can never be too careful when money is involved. It’s absurd to respond with “fuck off” when someone is rightfully cautious. Be nice.

Yep, thats at least approaching psychopath.

 

[BufordTJustice]

insist on a secret handshake...

 

[whatsupdoc]

Buy your stuff at a gun store, that is the only way to be sure.

 

[Doc68]

I hate scammers with a passion. We are all people and should treat each other with respect. You never know how much the money you steal will effect someone. A friend of mine killed himself after losing his savings at the casino.

Dude, you're in the Bear Pit....secondly I guess your sarcasm meter is broken. Third, jfc.....

Doc

 

[nikerret]

Thank you. So would a venmo payment with buyer’s protection, then the seller ships the item, be reasonable? If I’m buying a gun, I’d have to meet up at an FFL, not a police office, right? I can’t imagine they would take that kindly.

How would a money order be safe? Isn’t that essentially sending a check to someone? Non-refundable?

There is no Venmo buyer protection for firearms. You’ll just lose your money and get your account locked, if you turn it in to them.

 

[Haney]

You would tell someone to fuck off for making a reasonable request due to fear of being scammed? $6500 is a lot of money for most people and as a seller in other communities I completely understand that many people are very careful about getting scammed and try to ease their concerns. Losing that amount of money is very detrimental to most people and being rude is ridiculous in that situation. Just explain why you won’t do that and suggest another option.

I would not facetime because I think checking someone's nose hairs for boogers is better done in person . If I had a 6500 dollar item for sale I would kiss no potential buyer's ass . My solution, if you are that paranoid take a road trip .

 

[Ichi]

 

[Redmanss]

I haven't bought or sold anything in the PX for years, pre-feedback era when we had nothing but the "Good Guys" thread, but when I was active in it I had a hard rule of minimum one year Hide activity and 100 posts. I put it in my OP of the FS thread as one of the terms of sale, and I treated it the same way when I was the buyer. I never did business with a new member, not once. If I don't know you, I don't trust you, therefore I don't do business with you.

OP, this is a forum with a PX, not a PX with a forum. I had to google GAFS, holy shit it's Reddit, fucking lolz...

Be active here, get to know people, let them get to know you as well, then start doing business.

 

[W54/XM-388]

Right now (until technology gets way better), a video chat is one of the best things you can do.

Regardless of if you are the buyer or the seller, insist on a video chat before the deal is made and go over the actual item and payment methods and such on the video call.

If the other party doesn't want to do the video chat, well just walk away.
Eventually all the "I'll never do a video chat" folks will stop being asses and wake up to the new world and pull up their phone they already have and do a quick chat when they want to make a deal.

All the other take a fancy picture stuff is just a waste of time for the most part.

If everyone started insisting on that or no deal, most of the scams here would vanish overnight and the scammers would move on to another site.

 

[WaltHer]

Hey OP, weren't you originally posting as Ken Mueller? Now you're Kenn? What scam you running? GTFO outta here with your shit. "New guy" lining up "large purchase" and asking 10th grade questions. For the record- Suck it glowniggah.

 

[cas6969]

If you send me $29.95 I'll send you my new "How to avoid online scams" guide which will point out one of the biggest scams that plagues this web forum.

But if you act now, I'll send you two guides for the price of one. (just pay separate shipping and processing fees.)

 

[AmmoFort]

Bet OP is a scammer trying to tweak the scamming methods......

Doc

How long are we going to keep giving this person the time of day?

 

[Makinchips208]

Pm sent

 

[Kennn]

Hey OP, weren't you originally posting as Ken Mueller? Now you're Kenn? What scam you running? GTFO outta here with your shit. "New guy" lining up "large purchase" and asking 10th grade questions. For the record- Suck it glowniggah.View attachment 8307497

After dealing with some of these scammers I don’t want them to fuck me over somehow if they know who I am. None of you have your last name in your username so I got rid of mine.

 

[supercorndogs]

Bet OP is a scammer trying to tweak the scamming methods......

Doc

Is this still available? Kindest regards.

 

[Threadcutter308]

You would tell someone to fuck off for making a reasonable request due to fear of being scammed? $6500 is a lot of money for most people and as a seller in other communities I completely understand that many people are very careful about getting scammed and try to ease their concerns. Losing that amount of money is very detrimental to most people and being rude is ridiculous in that situation. Just explain why you won’t do that and suggest another option.

Don't worry, no one's going to buy anything from haney anyway...........

 

[chevy_man]

I personally have never done facetime with a buyer because none have asked, but I asked the scammer because I was already suspicious of him but he wanted to meet face to face—I don’t want to get robbed, just wanted to know it wasn’t some crazy guy who’s already selling me a gun and knows I have thousands of cash on me.

I've never done FaceTime with anyone because I don't own Apple devices.

Pretty good chance he just wasn't going to find an iPhone just for you.

 

[Kennn]

I've never done FaceTime with anyone because I don't own Apple devices.

Pretty good chance he just wasn't going to find an iPhone just for you.

The guy got banned due to scamming someone else. But as a seller if you don’t have an iPhone to FaceTime there are many different ways to video call.

 

[Docsherm]

I realize but I don’t know of another way to show my interest in a product. In GAFS, WTB ads were fine.

To pay that amount for a KAC, even if you get it, you are getting scammed...... So just quit now..... You have already lost.