I think I may be getting scammed drrrrrrrrrr

[timeisrelative]

Hello everyone. Im hoping Im wrong, but think i may have gotten scammed. I found a PS90 on armslist and it said it was 4hrs away. I messaged the guy and asked about shipping. Long story short, it was before Christmas and I figured maybe they just need some cash. Everything seemed ok, even supplied me with pics of the receiver and trigger pack and bolt. It was to be a gen 3 and the pack matched. So I went to the post office and sent a usps money order to the address on the drivers license he sent a picture of. A couple of days later I checked tracking and it said that it wasnt delivered due to no authorized recipient was available. I messaged the guy and he said he was out with his kids for boxing day but he would get it the next day. (Boxing day in America? Little flag) I said ok. Then I receive a call with a voice that doesn't seem to match the picture of the face on the dl saying I just want to assure you that you will get the PS90. I thought it odd that the number came in as "Chattanooga Tn" but know some people that have moved that kept their cell phones that show up wrong. He messaged me later and said he got the m/o but the post office didn't have cash to cash it an he should come back monday. He then messaged me monday and said they still didnt have enough. I said a bank should be able to cash it and he said ah ok. That monday was new years eve. I asked if he went to the bank on tues and he said yes, but they said the money wouldn't be available until fri (yesterday). I messaged yesterday and asked if he got the money. He said "no they said its not in my account yet. I really want to ship it out today, just a suggestion, do you have up to $300" I said what? He said "if you could send me that Ill pay you back when the money clears" I said "No way. Im not sending any more money until the gun is in my hand" he then called and said "hello Mr M. If you send me up to 300 I can ship today! If not 300 how much can you do?" I said "NO Im not sending anymore money until I have the gun in hand. I cant wait". I then checked the usps m/o number and it showed up as unavailable, which means its been cashed. I messaged him and said "the money order shows its been cashed so it should be in your bank" he said ok Ill go out and check. I said or you can call, or I can". He messaged back a little later and said "yes my account manager (he said it was a credit union) said it went through but it'll be a couple hours until its available" I said "good so it'll be able to ship either today or tomorrow" He said "yes should be, but it might be monday". That was yesterday. Im hoping Im wrong, but I have a bad feeling about it. I REALLY have a bad feeling about telling the wife I may have "lost" $900. Smh. Sorry for the long post, but I needed to get it out there

[Hodgie]

Take the receipt from the USPS money order call the post office and see if you can terminate it or how you file for fraud. I do believe there are some protections for you when using one.

You can also contact your local police and inquire with them as well as armslist, I certainly would not accept a $900.00 loss and walk away from it.

[littlefitz]

Yeah that sounds pretty bad. I would take any action I could to try to rectify the situation including calling the police.

[ExFlyinguy]

OP Best of luck to you. I hope you prevail.

Please keeps us updated, and thanks for the lesson. I've always steered clear of postal money order purchases because I did not know what protections I had as a buyer

[raxar]

Of course you got scammed. Why would you even consider doing a "will ship" deal on Armslist? That is one of the sleaziest websites on Earth.

[Gripsafety]

Take a look at the address on google street view. If it is 4 hours away, for $900 I'd already be there. Also, check with USPS to see if mail to that person/address is being forwarded to somewhere else. What state was the DL from?

[bug]

I could be wrong but I have a feeling you've been screwed. And it was so good, he tried ($300) again. There are no special protections on USPSMO other than if it is lost. If it was cashed, it's a done deal. I hope you get the gun. Save all of your receipts and correspondence, try to ascertain his location, keep hounding him and write everything down. Good luck.

Bob D

[57springer]

You got scammed. Hunt him down.

[unclejumbo]

The point of a USPS money order is that it's instantly verifiable (for the most part) and should result in instant shipping. On top of that, it's a lot different having a postal inspector coming after you than Jim from Podunk PD. I use USPS money orders for my sales. Too easy to get scammed as a seller with other methods.

Gather all you have and take it to your local PD. You have more than enough info to indicate it's a scam. The sooner they can get on it and coordinate with a postal inspector, the more likely you are to at least have the satisfaction of seeing someone arrested for stealing your money. And if, by some miracle, you're mistaken. The seller will know you've reached the end of your willingness to listen to excuses. I'd like to tell you it will work out but these folks are usually pretty good at concealing their identity and generally disappear at the first whiff of law enforcement.

As to Armslist, if you're not meeting the person face to face, chances are decent that you'll get ripped off. One of the methods for discovering if you're dealing with fraud is to do a Google image search on the photos. They usually just grab photos off of the internet and you'll find the same photo elsewhere. I saved a friend of mine from your same situation using that method.

[timeisrelative]

Yes unfortunately Im a fairly trusting guy, and have had several deals done including a couple of shipped in ones. The ad said Md, meadville, grove city,Pa. His DL is in Md and he said that he moved to Md from Pa, but visits family which is why he put both. I looked on maps at the address and saw the area, then asked about a couple of specific pictures which he provided. Yes i know you can find pics of whatever you want online, but it does help try to verify the gun. Of course my local PO that I bought the mo from closed at 11 today. So the earliest I can get in touch with them will be monday. I have been tempted to go for a ride, but just havent. I haven't even told the wife my thoughts yet.