Ammo hacks & scams???

cmansguns · Jun 16, 2023

I hope I don't earn a infraction for this post but I'll try to only list part of the "business website" for these places. I'm only interested in whether these are real providers, or possibly scam sites that take your money and run.

I have a periodic search for 32-20 WCF pistol ammo. For a long time now all my reliable sources (midway, black dog, ammo seek, cheaper than dirt, etc.) have been out of stock and I see the same by other posters on the Forum.

My computer routinely pops up 2 sites every now and then: motor city gun shop, and lone wolf gun ammo...that both indicate in stock but will only accept bitcoin, cash via venmo or apple pay so I'm thinking no recourse if they never ship anything to you.

Has anyone on here ever dealt with either of these places and found them to be legitimate?

Again I'm not wanting to disparage any legitimate business, I'm just curious because I've personally never dealt with an on-line place that will not accept anything other than cash.

BabaBlueJay · Jun 16, 2023

As a general rule, I would only go through LGS or reputable online stores you mentioned such as Midway or companies found on Ammoseek. If they do not take card, that would be a red flag for me, personally. Not saying they are not legit, they could be, but why chance it?

I have started reloading for 38 special due to price and availability, if you are using an uncommon cartridge it may be worth it to invest in a book on loads for that round, a powder scale, and a single stage press.

murphydog · Jun 16, 2023

Nearly all legitimate businesses will take credit cards. It costs them a fee but customers demand it and have a recourse if the merchandise or service is not delivered as promised.

So if any company (selling ammo, or anything else) has something unavailable from other sources at an unusually low price, and only accepting non-refundable payments, that is almost a guaranteed scam. And you can take that to the bank.

s&wchad · Jun 16, 2023

Lone Wolf Gun Ammo is almost certainly a scam. They claim to be in Crowley County Kansas, but offer no specifics and their only contact method is by site messaging. See their "About Us" page:

About - Lone Wolf Gun Ammo

Motorcitygunshop.com is a scam. They list no physical address and the only contact methods are by email and a phone number out of Indiana. They copied their website logo from the legitimate Motor City Gun Works, which is near me in metro Detroit.

Here a link to the legitimate shop: Motor City Gun Works

Here's the scam site:
Buy Ammunition Online - Gun Shop Near Me | HK Sp5 | Ammo Seek 2022

motorcitygunshop.com Review - Scam Detector

NewLiberty · Jun 16, 2023

I've seen an increase in customers asking me about transfers from scam websites. Mist of the scam websites follow the same model. Most of them have a name that sounds legitimate until you think about it (often borrowing parts of their name from legitimate companies). The Lone Wolf Gun Ammo site is an example of that, since Lone Wolf is a legit company. They often advertise having really hard to find items at fair prices (I have also seen them offering class 3 machine guns they pull images from legitimate auctions for).

They often push for crypto payments, sometimes offering discounts for using them. They lack information about their physical location and contact info.

If a customer asked me about using either of the sites you mentioned, I'd suggest they buy from somewhere else.

For legit business selling firearms, it also tends not to be particularly hard to verify they have an FFL, and usually isn't too hard to find their FFL number to verify.

stansdds · Jun 17, 2023

cmansguns said:
but will only accept bitcoin, cash via venmo or apple pay so I'm thinking no recourse if they never ship anything to you.

If an online business does not accept major credit cards, but only accepts crypto-currency and direct pay services such as Venmo is pretty much guaranteed to be a scam. Why? Because credit card companies can trace and retract payments from the recipient's bank account whereas there is no tracking and no retraction possibility with crypto-currency or direct payment methods.

rockquarry · Jun 17, 2023

I stick with known reputable businesses for all component purchases. If I have to wait a while or even several months, I'll do it. I have enough handloading projects in the works at all times that I can stay busy with other things while I wait on the availability of something.

I have one credit card and have no idea what bitcoin, crypto currency, venmo, and apple pay are and have no desire to learn. In today's "instant" world, however, some have to have an item right now and are much too impatient to wait on anything. Scammers are very aware of these potential victims.

.455_Hunter · Jun 17, 2023

Never let desperation for a given item allow you to fall victim to a scam. For some reason, gun owners seem to have a particularly gullible sub-group of individuals who think "the nice man on the internet just happens to have what I need".

Ammo hacks & scams???

cmansguns

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BabaBlueJay

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murphydog

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s&wchad

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NewLiberty

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stansdds

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rockquarry

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.455_Hunter

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