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Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 545
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 545 |
i recall one fellow send me a picture of the item with a local newspaper with the date showing. Course he can still do that and take your money and keep the item. Post office boxes can be opened in closed in a heart beat. I recall one scammer having UPS deliver the item to a house that was vacant. He waited for confirmation that the item had been delivered and then drove over and picked it up off the front porch. I have not been scammed. Sadly my son was when he was younger and dumber.
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Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 8,539 Likes: 7
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 8,539 Likes: 7 |
Some people work pretty hard to get fooked.
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Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 173 Likes: 4
Campfire Member
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OP
Campfire Member
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 173 Likes: 4 |
Have an update. Seems both scams are related. Police are on it. The scammers basically reach out to someone vulnerable, convince them to help with getting money sent. They build a relationship with lonely or old folks, build trust, then prey on them. One of the scammers has been working the person for over 2 years and slowly bleeding them with sob stories. Then, the scammers see an ad like what I placed here, build a story and fake email addresses, then con the go between to "help" them.
The police and FBI are on this now and at least this scam will get shut down. However, the scammers will reboot and be back.
I did learn that there is no safe way to send money with protection unless something from Bay or an entity that offers protection. The problem is sites like 24hrcampfire and accuratereloading are not set up to do any "protecting", nor should they.
At the end of it all, buyer beware. Know who you are sending money to. Better to do face to face every time.
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Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 6,088 Likes: 5
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 6,088 Likes: 5 |
No. It is not a scam. I was scammed and am just trying to warn you all should you see what I saw. No other intent. I hate you were scammed and I appreciate your willingness to show others what can happen. You showed your own vulnerability and that takes courage. Best of luck going forward. Agreed. Don’t know why some of you guys feel the need to go out of your way to INSULT the guy. Yes, he messed up giving contact info in the open forum. That’s what PM’s are for. Obviously, scammers ARE looking the classifieds over pretty hard and trying to scam folks. USE PM’s. Check the seller’s post count. Check if the seller’s username has been inactive for some time, and all of the sudden is now looking to sell stuff (a sign that an account has been hacked and high-jacked). I had a seller get all pizzy with me a while back when I pointed out that their account had been inactive for the last 6-8 years. Buyers beware.
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Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 12,690 Likes: 11
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 12,690 Likes: 11 |
Have an update. Seems both scams are related. Police are on it. The scammers basically reach out to someone vulnerable, convince them to help with getting money sent. They build a relationship with lonely or old folks, build trust, then prey on them. One of the scammers has been working the person for over 2 years and slowly bleeding them with sob stories. Then, the scammers see an ad like what I placed here, build a story and fake email addresses, then con the go between to "help" them.
The police and FBI are on this now and at least this scam will get shut down. However, the scammers will reboot and be back.
I did learn that there is no safe way to send money with protection unless something from Bay or an entity that offers protection. The problem is sites like 24hrcampfire and accuratereloading are not set up to do any "protecting", nor should they.
At the end of it all, buyer beware. Know who you are sending money to. Better to do face to face every time. Good luck with the end result. It’d be good to see the FBI actually serve the shooting public. Think I’ve read enough of these threads to never post a WTB anywhere.
“When Tyranny becomes Law, Rebellion becomes Duty”
Colossians 3:17 (New King James Version) "And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him."
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Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 173 Likes: 4
Campfire Member
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OP
Campfire Member
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 173 Likes: 4 |
Another update -
I have located the scammers with the help of a friend and law enforcement. I have spoken to each and am getting my money back. I have receive partial payments and will get the rest.
I have done a lot of investigation on this type of scam.
In summary, a loner, a retiree, a person who answers "peronal" ads on the internet or someone that appears vulnerable via posts on Linkedin or other platforms are targeted by scammers.
The scammer reaches out to them, makes "friends" and cultivates a fake personal relationship. Over time, the scammer then asks the victim for a small amount of money or "help" in getting money. During this process, the scammer gets phone numbers and email addresses and home addresses. They then troll websites like AR or 24hrcampfire or others looking for "want to buy" ads, like the one I placed.
They then reach out to the "want to buy" person, posing as person they have befriended on the internet. They act like that person and post pics of what you are trying to buy.
Once the buyer agrees to buy, the scammer then calls their internet friend with a story about getting money and that they would give the "friend" a portion of money sent if that friend would forward the rest to them via bitcoin or moneygram.
So, money is sent, the "friend" picks it up, cashes the money order or cashiers check, keeps a portion, then forwards the rest to the scammer.
This leaves the "friend" with all of the legal problems as the money that is forwarded is lost to the internet scammers.
Police are aware and know how it works. I was very fortunate in that, with help, I tracked down the "friend" of the scammers. These "friends" are nice folks, usually in need of quick cash and very vulnerable. I threatened legal action to each and am getting repaid. Most of the time, according to police, this does not happen.
In talking to police, they said "if you buy on the internet outside of very protected sites, you will get scammed sooner or later".
They did not offer any advice to avoid getting scammed other than to know the seller and be sure of what you are doing. They said face to face is always better.
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Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 3,641
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 3,641 |
Do you know Vito the Legbreaker?
Imagine a corporate oligarchy so effective, so advanced and fine tuned that its citizens still call it a democracy.
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Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 1,296 Likes: 1
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 1,296 Likes: 1 |
I am glad you are getting your money back.
Please post if and when you receive the full amount.
Thank you for this thread.
NRA Endowment Member
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Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 3,148
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 3,148 |
long story short DO NOT ADVERTISE WTB period
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Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 18,970 Likes: 5
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 18,970 Likes: 5 |
long story short DO NOT ADVERTISE WTB period Do it all of the time. Had one that was a scam but easily sniffed out.
The last time that bear ate a lawyer he had the runs for 33 days!
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Joined: Jan 2019
Posts: 1,572
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Jan 2019
Posts: 1,572 |
WTB has been beneficial to me
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Joined: Dec 2019
Posts: 4,680
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Dec 2019
Posts: 4,680 |
I might not be understanding the situation correctly, but if you posted a WTB ad here, and then tried to buy things from people who aren't members... I don't think you got scammed here. You got scammed on the internet.
It would help a lot to clarify if the folks in question have usernames here or if you included your email in the WTB ad and they just reached out to you directly.
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Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 10,339 Likes: 4
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 10,339 Likes: 4 |
The FBI is on the case, they’ll take care of it.
Black Cows Matter!
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Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 3,557
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 3,557 |
Sorry to hear that. What were their usernames? Says in his post it was all through email. Anyone who would verify a hotel room and still send money doesn't get much sympathy from me. Some people are slow learners. Yep, call hotel and ask if person in room # is xxxx. Better yet ask to speak to room xxx. Yellow flags would have been enough for me. Why would you do anything once you confirmed it was a hotel room? Exactly what I was wondering. . .
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Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 152,297 Likes: 38
Campfire Savant
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Campfire Savant
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 152,297 Likes: 38 |
Sorry you were ripped off
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Joined: Aug 2015
Posts: 13,277 Likes: 4
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Aug 2015
Posts: 13,277 Likes: 4 |
Sorry to hear that. What were their usernames? Says in his post it was all through email. Anyone who would verify a hotel room and still send money doesn't get much sympathy from me. Some people are slow learners. If you want to get scammed, post a WTB add with your email and conduct business through email outside the forum and send payment to a motel room and trailer court. I mean seriously, WTF were you thinking? Let me guess, it was too good of a deal to pass up, twice. Yep, this. Sounds kind of naïve on OP's part
Let's Go Brandon! FJB
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Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 6,800
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 6,800 |
When I was working I did many deals on the campfire from hotels and Rv parks. That’s not that odd really there are a ton of people working a lifestyle to keep our energy flowing However if the guy wants to just email. And not do busyness on the campfire pm. You better shy away
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 30,949 Likes: 21
Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 30,949 Likes: 21 |
Some people work pretty hard to get fooked. some people work extra hard just to scam some one too
T R U M P W O N !
U L T R A M A G A !
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Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 1,722
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 1,722 |
Before I buy, I vette everyone unless I’ve done business with them.
1. Get their name and address and go online to the town or county real estate records. Find out if they own the property. I also like to know how much in property taxes they pay. Do they really live their, either rent or own.
2. Go to your state judicial website. Lookup any previous criminal activity, arrests, convictions, incarceration. THE LEO guys on this site can chime in and fine tune this thought.
3. Look them up on the white pages.
4. Google their names and addresses and see what comes up.
5. Tell them you live in the next town and will meet them. Likely they won’t.
6. How many posts. Ask if they are on other sites or advertising elsewhere.
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Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 665
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 665 |
Get there phone number and give them a call if you have a question. It’s super easy. Most scammers can’t hold a conversation about firearms stuff. Get on to fishing or camping or some other topic. You can tell guys that hunt and shoot in a matter of minutes normally. Figure out there location and google there area and pull up a couple of LGS that are in there area and ask them which shop they normally go to. It’s not fool proof but most scammers won’t talk on the phone.
Photos can be doctored pretty good these days. You can run a reverse image search by uploading a photo that they sent you. I have had photos come back from years ago that someone posted and a scammer used.
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