Gunbroker asking for personal information

I recently tried to sell a gun on Gunbroker. I have sold a few guns there, but nothing recent. When I clicked on the "Sell you item" title, I was asked to answer four questions. The first question was related to which company held my mortgage back in 2009. Another question was related to which company I had a car loan with back in 2010. There were two other questions included, which related to the other two. Since the questions were dated, I didn't wasn't sure about the answer to one of the questions. Apparently I answered one of them incorrectly. The following message then appeared:

Your account has been flagged by the GunBroker.com security system as suspect. The information you entered could not be verified by our service.
In order to verify your identity send us a copy of your driver's license and a current utility bill. Please fax this information to 770-573-3671.
If you have further questions please contact customer support about your account.

I contacted customer support, and my message read as follows:
I would like to list a gun for sale but am being asked to verify my identity by answering questions regarding personal financial information. I am suspect when someone asks for any type of personal financial information. In addition, the information I am being asked to verify is several years old, and out of date. Please provide a phone number so that I can speak with a customer service representative.

Their reply:
We do not offer telephone support at this time. If you wish to list an item on the site, you will need to forward the required documnentation. Please review our standard response below:

The contact information you entered was run though a verification service and the information could not be verified. You will need to send us a copy of your driver’s license and a current utility bill in order to verify your identity.You can fax it to 770-573-3671.

My reply:
I have been a buyer and a seller here at Gunbroker for several years. In fact, I have recently bid on an auction within the last 4 to 6 weeks and was not asked to verify my identity. This is the first time I have ever been asked to supply personal information. As I noted in my previous e-mail, this request seems highly suspicious to me. I would like to continue to do business here at Gunbroker, but must insist on some personal contact before supplying the requested information.

Their reply:
Sir, we do not provide telephone support at this time. If you wish to list an item on the site you will need to provide the required documentation. You may fax the information or forward to: [email protected]

Sorry for being so long winded, but I wanted to lay some groundwork for my question. Has anyone else run into this same issue, and if so did you fax your drivers license and utility bill to the number listed? With identity theft being such a big issue these days, I am very concerned about faxing this type information.

This sounds like a phishing scam. I have never been asked for this type of information by GunBroker.com. This is highly suspect. I would NOT send anymore information to GunbBroker until you get to the bottom of this. Your DL and utility bill are exactly what an Identy Theft organization/person needs to get into your accounts. Pls read this from GunBroker website: GunBroker.com - Help Center

Gunbroker

Hi, I had the same problem a few weeks ago. Wanted the same info, I didn't provide the information they wanted. Shortly after that they billed me a $2 fee! They had my old Visa card info, so couldn't access my account. They still bill me for the $2, needless to say I can do without gunbroker. Dave

Front page at top of Gunbroker reads: * Warning! Email Phishing Scam: Click here for more information *

Click the link and it's a warning updated 8/5/2011 concerning Fradulent/Phishing emails.

I was wondering whey they asked me where my underwear was made...

I was also thinking that its a phishing scam, but I can't find a way to contact Gunbroker to report the problem. The only e-mail address I can find is their customer service people. The same people asking for the drivers license.

Seems odd, since GunBroker is only interested in their commission and not much else. They handle complaints about like e-bay. I quit doing business with outfits like that.

A familiar miasma is clogging up my sinuses. I also have not sold anything on BrokeGunner for some time. If it really is them asking these kinds of questions, then they are history for me. I run silent and deep when it comes to my personal information and it makes some store clerks very grumpy when I refuse Zip Code, telephone and email. If they are dumb enough to ask twice I give them " Do you want to make a sale or not?" with my special evil eye.

db is correct! It is a scam and there is a warning right at the top of the GB home page when you log on. This is not GB's fault, someone else has perpetrated the scam. GB is not alone here as these scams are very popular these days with all internet websites. I would bet there are MANY of us here that have had credit card numbers or identities stolen. The perpetrators keep reinventing themselves and are very resourceful.

Chief38

Phishing.

That link they gave you to send the information? It doesn't go to Gunbroker...

Good info. I will exclude Gunbroker from any future transactions.

I just got the same verification questions, didn't answer. I e-mailed customer service, I'll let you know what happens. I'm trying to sell one too.

From Gunbroker's website:
"Our email notifications will include the first and last name you registered with on your GunBroker.com account, and your GunBroker.com User Name"

Did the email you received contain your first and last name, and your user name? If not, it most likely did not come from Gunbroker.

Another thought - was the credit card you have registered with Gunbroker reported as lost or stolen, or has it expired?

johnsonl said:

I will exclude Gunbroker from any future transactions.

Click to expand...

It looks like wantmoresmiths may be communicating with someone pretending to be Gunbroker. You might want to wait for confirmation before making that decision.

FWIW, I just now logged in to Gunbroker and went through the motions of listing a gun for sale, and was not asked for any verification information.

One additional warning. There are now computer viruses that can take over your computer to the point where if you click on the email link at the Gunbroker web site you will get re-directed to the Phishing site.

I would advise that you use another computer to try and access your gunbroker account. If everything seems to work properly from the clean computer, you'll need to have your normal computer disinfected. BTW, some of these viruses are so nasty the best option may be to purchase a new hard drive and re-install everything from scratch on that clean empty hard drive.

Tip for the future. Install two hard drives and use drive "ghosting" software to make a duplicate of your primary hard drive that is an exact bootable copy of that clean primary hard drive. Then unplug that copy to keep it clean, nothing keeps a clean install clean like not having it connected. That way if something like this ever happens again you have a perfectly clean back up ready to go. Naturally, you could lose some data if you haven't been keeping backups of that data, however this can be avoided by keeping your data backed up. BTW, I like dated CD's for doing this because I can consider the potential for infected data by using the date of the backup.

The notice did not come in the form of an e-mail. It popped up as part of their site.

I found a mailing address for Gunbroker on their site, so today I sent a letter, by US mail, detailing the situation. I asked that they provide a specific contact person with whom I can discuss the situation. I also asked what prompted the request for identity verification. I'll let you know when and if I receive a reply.

wantmoresmiths said:

The notice did not come in the form of an e-mail. It popped up as part of their site.

I found a mailing address for Gunbroker on their site, so today I sent a letter, by US mail, detailing the situation. I asked that they provide a specific contact person with whom I can discuss the situation. I also asked what prompted the request for identity verification. I'll let you know when and if I receive a reply.

Click to expand...

I would not hold my breath if I were you. Information gatherers do not feel they have any need to justify their requests.

Edited to add:

There may be something real going on at GB. I just looked at an auction and the seller was described as "Verified" with a green check mark icon. Perhaps GB are fed up with getting abuse from ripped off buyers and sellers so they are trying to nail down where folk are. If you live in the boonies and have only a PO box address you may find you are SOL with them from now on.

Not too long ago at least one ripoff artist was operating here in Las Vegas. His address was a mailbox business with a low number box making it look like an apartment address. Simple and effective, at least for a while.

Three years ago I bought a pistol through Gunbroker that the seller misrepresented as being in new condition, possibly unfired, when in fact it was clearly used, and with dented magazines to boot.

The seller was uncooperative and evasive when I tried to resolve the problem, and when I contacted GunBroker, their position was that their only responsibility is to provide a forum for sellers and buyers to contact each other, and they would not get involved beyond that. I haven't bought anything through GunBroker since, nor will I.

Having said that, it sounds like this situation is a "phishing" scheme. It pays to be suspicious! I like to think of the Internet as an unknown neighborhood in a strange city: I always maintain high situational awareness.

What about Gunsamerica? I tried to register and received a notification that since I had a "free" email address (Yahoo) I needed to send a dollar. On my credit card, of course.

Nah, I'll pass.

Does anyone actually pay for an email addy anymore?

It would sure be nice if you could actually talk to a human being!