Heads up on scammers. Please be careful with communication details!

[clockwork_7mm_gator]

Gents,

I know there's a thread pinned to the top of the Classifieds for reporting scams, but I don't know how often people think to click that. So apologies in advance if I shouldn't have posted this separately.

What I wanted to say is please verify who you are sending money to BEFORE it's too late!

Recently, scammers have been watching the forum -- this is happening on other forums, too -- and when someone posts a public "I'll take it," they've been emailing that person posing as the seller, hoping to intercept payment through a digital platform that would leave the buyer with no recourse. Thankfully, the buyer I'm working with on a rifle and I figured this out before anything bad happened, but because members here have personal details as part of their public profiles, it can be very confusing and the scammers can make very realistic efforts at impersonation. If you're ever in doubt, ask for verification in the form of a photo of the rifle with a custom handwritten/dated note that only the real seller could provide!

Be careful gents!

 

[Wishfulthinker580]

Gents,

I know there's a thread pinned to the top of the Classifieds for reporting scams, but I don't know how often people think to click that. So apologies in advance if I shouldn't have posted this separately.

What I wanted to say is please verify who you are sending money to BEFORE it's too late!

Recently, scammers have been watching the forum -- this is happening on other forums, too -- and when someone posts a public "I'll take it," they've been emailing that person posing as the seller, hoping to intercept payment through a digital platform that would leave the buyer with no recourse. Thankfully, the buyer I'm working with on a rifle and I figured this out before anything bad happened, but because members here have personal details as part of their public profiles, it can be very confusing and the scammers can make very realistic efforts at impersonation. If you're ever in doubt, ask for verification in the form of a photo of the rifle with a custom handwritten/dated note that only the real seller could provide!

Be careful gents!

Can’t be too careful! Another forum I’m on is absolutely rife with this type of stuff and yet people STILL post their personal information (phone numbers and email) and then wonder what happened when they get taken. Thankfully AH doesn’t allow the posting of personal information (thankfully our classifieds section isn’t as busy as some and therefore Brickburn and Jerome are generally able to take down personal information quickly). Of course that doesn’t stop the scammers from creating a profile and PMing someone and trying to take it to email. Always make sure and cover ALL bases!

 

[roklok]

This was just attempted on me. When I posted that I would purchase a rifle scope from a member, I immediately received a message with an email to complete the transaction. I recognized it as a scammer and ignored it. I was going to report it but then the message disappeared, apparently deleted by the scammer after I didn't take the bait. Maybe the admins can still see who it was and delete their account.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

This was just attempted on me. When I posted that I would purchase a rifle scope from a member, I immediately received a message with an email to complete the transaction. I recognized it as a scammer and ignored it. I was going to report it but then the message disappeared, apparently deleted by the scammer after I didn't take the bait. Maybe the admins can still see who it was and delete their account.

Interesting. We only have a half hour after posting before message is locked and author can't change it. Not sure how that scammer was able to remove his post if the "bait" was up longer than that. Perhaps a moderator can weigh in?

Edit: Or are PMs treated differently re editing time limit?

 

[clockwork_7mm_gator]

Can’t be too careful! Another forum I’m on is absolutely rife with this type of stuff and yet people STILL post their personal information (phone numbers and email) and then wonder what happened when they get taken. Thankfully AH doesn’t allow the posting of personal information (thankfully our classifieds section isn’t as busy as some and therefore Brickburn and Jerome are generally able to take down personal information quickly). Of course that doesn’t stop the scammers from creating a profile and PMing someone and trying to take it to email. Always make sure and cover ALL bases!

I think the main thing right now is if you're someone who uses your real name or has your email available to the public on here (unavoidable for the outfitters, etc.) , make sure that the email you receive from a potential seller has "proof of authenticity." I just sent the buyer of my 223 a photo of the rifle with a note that has today's date, the details of the sale that we agreed to, and the correct address to send payment (along with my cell number that matches what we received via PM).

There are other scams going around right now where someone emails you and knows your name, address, and phone number and claims to have damaging information about you, etc., and demands payment. It's so easy to get personal info online, even from forum usernames, that you just have to be super careful.

 

[gbflyer]

Someone tried me, sent me a email address via PM. Reported to the boss man right away.

 

[clockwork_7mm_gator]

Moderators: AH user Gokis3 contacted my buyer and passed a fraudulent email address to them. (They pretended to be a helpful member assisting the buyer in getting in touch with me quicker.)

Additionally, if you receive any emails from "Kyraa Weston" at sweettigger500@gmail.com it's a scammer.

 

[roklok]

99% sure Gokis3 is who sent me the PM as well, that looks familiar. Same method, pretending to be helpful to get in touch with actual seller. That message has disappeared from my notifications however, either they deleted it or maybe a moderator did knowing it was a scam.

Edit: found username in my trash email folder, it was gokis3

 

[oscar1975]

In Spain there is a significant shortage of hunting ammunition, even for the 338 Winchester Magnum it was difficult to obtain ammunition and for the 35 Whelen I only found one box. Luckily I rarely hunt big game.

Oscar