SCAM ALERT

[Xringshooter]

Those of you that are selling guns on this and other forums. Beware of a scam, very similar to a Nigerian scam. The one we've seen on www.rugerforum.com is from a WilliamSherry42@yahoo.com. Here's what it looks like in case there are other email addresses:

1st email:

Good day,

I came across your advert online and am very much interested but will need to know some few and very necessary details before making the purchase.

I will kindly like to know the last offer you will accept for it and also be very happy to know if you can send me some current or updated pictures so i can know it present condition.

I will be looking forward to your mail. .

Thanks and Best Regards


After a reply (lowest price, pics, etc.) the 2nd email:

Thanks very much for the mail,

I have much interest and i trust it is in excellent condition, I am okay with the asking price and will pay $600 this is a kind offer. So kindly hold on and ignore all other parties wanting to buy it as i am highly interested.

For the payment, I will mail out a money order to you so as soon as you receive it and have it cashed then my assistant will come to you for all the necessary arrangements needed to be done to pick it up as well (or i will give u address for delivery if he cant make it).

To proceed, Kindly send me the name and address you want payment to be mailed out to you. I will also need a direct phone number so i can reach you, Please get back to me as soon as possible so i can forward payment to you for us to proceed and wrap up this transaction.

I will be looking forward to your mail.. .....

Thanks and Best Regards,

Here is MY reply to the 2nd email:
William,

You can send your USPS Money Order (made out to XXXX) to:

(my P.O. Box address)

Once the USPS money order has arrived I will ship the gun to your local firearms dealer, unless you wish to come to my shop to do the necessary state and federal paperwork and pick it up. I cannot deliver it to anyone other than you or a properly licensed firearms dealer. Delivery to anyone other than the purchaser or a federally licensed dealer is illegal. If you cannot personally take delivery of the gun, please provide me with the name, address and phone number (and email if available) and the federal license number of the licensed dealer who will accept delivery of the gun. The dealer you choose to have the gun sent to will then transfer the gun to you.

I will also need information from you, to include in the shipment, so that the receiving gun dealer knows who to contact upon receipt of the gun. I will need your name, address and a direct phone number.

To contact me directly, you can call (my shop phone w/answering machine on), If I am not available, you can leave a message.

Thank you for doing business with me.
Ron


Have not heard anything back

[Guns4Fun]

Thanks for the ALERT

But anyone who emails / writes to me like that is an automatic delete.

[MuzzleFlash]

I always wondered who fell for those cheesy emails.

[StraussiE WousiE]

I can just imagine hearing a British accent on the other end of that text. "Mmmmmmgood day kind sir." You did an excellent job though in detering a would be internet criminal. I can't stress enough the importance of internet awareness. Trust nothing. The other day, my boss got an email that read (non-verbatim)

"hello, so and so has passed on, and our records show you are his next of kin, please give us bank numbers so we can give you his inheritance."

I had to really talk him out of this, for he believed it was truth. UGH.

[FormerUser123]

You should have gone medieval on his ass and gotten some Mugu trophies.

[Xringshooter]

I played along to see where it was going to go. It's looks though that once they know you're not going to play their game they quit and look for another sucker.

I talked to a PD detective friend and gave him the info I had and copies of the emails, but he said that these types of scams are almost impossible to track or do anything with.

What typically happens is that you would get a "Money Order" or "Cashiers Check" that was 2 or 3 times the amount and a letter that said "Oops, I made a mistake, go ahead and cash it and send me the overage, but since it was my error keep a hundred for yourself because of my mistake and send the rest back". The naive seller thinks "great, some extra cash" and finishes the scam.

Believe it or not, there are many people that fall for this, especially those that are selling things that don't have the controls on them that firearms do. They get the MO/check, cash it, send the merchandise and the remainder of the money to some address and then, of course, the MO/check is either counterfeit or written on a non-existent bank, etc. and the person is out the merchandise and all the money.

These kind of scams happen every day, either because people are very trusting (the older generations, because of how things were back in the day), naive, or their greed clouds their thought processes.

Remember, if it sounds too good to be true.............it probably isn't.

[mrjam2jab]

I've gotten emails just like that....and wasnt even selling anything...

The fact that the email does not mention WHAT is advertised...is a good bet that it is a scam...

[Pukindog]

That scam was tried on me when I was selling some high grade Belgian Browning rifles on Guns America in 2005. Guns America notified me of the scam and to be wary of the transaction if i decided to even consider it.

Jeff

[ehidle]

I usually get at least 3-5 emails just like that within minutes of posting anything on Craigslist. Here are some things universal to these scams:

• Broken or Poor English
• Initial Email refers only to "your item," and doesn't call it by name
• Initial email arrives within minutes of placing your ad
• Name in "FROM" header of email does not use capitalization
• Person says they have their own shipper
• Person asks questions already answered in your ad posting

[ProTool]

Not to be cliché but..

IF IT'S TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, IT IS

now back to your regularly scheduled common sense.