Scammer Victim

[jimmyj]

The first of October I put a "Want To Buy" ad in the Forum Classifieds for my "Grail Gun" a Ruger Stainless Security Six .357 Magnum Revolver with a 2 3/4" Barrel. Forum Member "Fanaticwesson" aka"[email protected]" answered My ad and sent photos of His Ruger and offered to sell it to me at a price within My budget. He requested a USPO Money Order which I sent with a copy of My dealer's FFL. He indicated that His FFL was open only on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. He notified me that He had received the Money Order and FFL copy. He said He would mail the Revolver on Friday and I should receive the Revolver the following Monday or Tuesday. I waited a week and attempted to contact Him with negative results. Since then I have attempted a number times and received negative reply. After I mailed the Money Order I checked His Forum profile and discovered He was a new member. I contacted the Forum Administrator and was told "Fanticwesson" was a SCAMMER !!

The Post Office checked and informed me that the Money Order was cashed on 10/20/2021

 

[billwill]

ouch, good luck working the system to get you $$ back and the guy arrested

 

[alwslate]

File a complaint with the Postal system. You mailed the MO to his address and he signed it. They know who he is.

 

[tomhenry]

Sorry for your troubles. I've seen several ads for guns I've wanted lately that were posted by members (of the respective forums, including this one) with old join dates but with very few posts.

It takes a lot of faith to mail a check/MO in those circumstances. I think that in the future I'm going to request they send me the gun first.

Why should the buyer be the only one that takes the risk?

Also, I doubt the post office will do anything to help the OP unless the perp is a serial scammer. At least, that's been the case with the cases with which I am familiar.

 

[jeffrefrig]

Internet shopping is a gamble, pure & simple. Darned shame. I hope you get your money back. I'd wish you "good luck" but then there would be less luck available for me! I'm kidding; you know that made you smile! (I hope.) I almost thought I was getting ripped off here but the seller was older, from Texas, and I'm in PA. My FFL told me I had a lot of (faith) in getting the two guns! I got them, sloppy paperwork, but it was all good.
Good luck to you.

 

[VictorLouis]

JJ, that just flat BITEs, sorry to read that.

 

[G-Mac]

jimmyj, I'm really sorry that this happened to you. I, too, got ripped off in the Classifieds here recently. $220 for a pair of J frame combat grips that got delivered with a pretty substantial crack on the inside of one of them. They were advertised as being in "stellar" condition. I sent them back but never got a refund and don't expect one. I paid by PayPal and don't have any recourse. You do. Contact the Postal Inspectors.

 

[alwslate]

Do what I did when I had doubts about a WTB post I made recently. The responder was and is a member here with no posts. I asked for a pic of what he claimed to have with a pic of his driver's license with the item and he refused. SCAMMER. So I didn't bite and send him money but he is still a member.

 

[kaaskop49]

Yes, make the attempts others have suggested, but I would speak to my tax preparer (or look into it yourself) and see if you can write it off as a loss on this year's taxes...

Don't let it prevent you from having a Happy Thanksgiving!

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103

 

[s&wchad]

The first of October I put a "Want To Buy" ad in the Forum Classifieds for my "Grail Gun" a Ruger Stainless Security Six .357 Magnum Revolver with a 2 3/4" Barrel. Forum Member "Fanaticwesson" aka "[email protected]" answered My ad…

After I mailed the Money Order I checked His Forum profile and discovered He was a new member. I contacted the Forum Administrator and was told "Fanticwesson" was a SCAMMER !!

I'm sorry you were conned. We do everything we can to weed out these scumbags and expose them as the crooks they are. As you can see from this screenshot, we've posted 154 scam alerts to date in the WTB section. Each contains detailed information.

We also change their user title. Instead of "Member", their status is listed as "Banned SCAMMER".

There are things you can do to protect yourself. Investigate someone, BEFORE doing business with them online. Check to see if they're a new or an established member. Search the Feedback Forum and the entire forum for their username.
If you receive a PM from a new member who just happens to have exactly what you're looking for, let us know.

REPORT suspicious PMs and Ads by using the at top right of all PM's and all posts! Your reports are often how we catch this scum!!. No harm is done if you are wrong!

Email addresses are also useful for investigating people. We list them in our scam alerts, so search the forum. You should also do a google search for their email.

It's critical that you correctly type their email address. Fanaticwesson's email is NOT "[email protected]", it's [email protected]. A Google search of his email shows that it was first listed on stopforumspam.com in mid July. We use that site regularly to investigate potential fraud.

 

[s&wchad]

Do what I did when I had doubts about a WTB post I made recently. The responder was and is a member here with no posts. I asked for a pic of what he claimed to have with a pic of his driver's license with the item and he refused. SCAMMER. So I didn't bite and send him money but he is still a member.

Please send me a PM with the username, or report the PM that you received. We can't view your PM's, so we have no way to catch them if you don't let us know.

 

[Hair Trigger]

File a complaint with the Postal system. You mailed the MO to his address and he signed it. They know who he is.

Shouldn't that constitute mail fraud? If so, that is a Federal rap, and USPS should investigate, along with FBI or Treasury.

I hope the scammer gets his just desserts.

 

[s&wchad]

Shouldn't that constitute mail fraud? If so, that is a Federal rap, and USPS should investigate, along with FBI or Treasury.

I hope the scammer gets his just desserts.

It is mail fraud, but unfortunately the crooks are rarely caught. US Postal Inspectors and the Fed's have bigger fish to fry.

 

[quikdraw67]

I have been hit up by scammers after posting WTB items here. They were recognized as such and reported.
OTOH I have bought and sold on this forum with no issues.
I did my due diligence and got some nice guns and parts from members.
I also sold guns and parts with no problems.
Sucks that you lost your money.
Why not send a package of dog or cat turds with no return address to the scammer?
It won't help you get your money back, but it would let the scammer know that you're still thinking about him.

 

[steelslaver]

Do what I did when I had doubts about a WTB post I made recently. The responder was and is a member here with no posts. I asked for a pic of what he claimed to have with a pic of his driver's license with the item and he refused. SCAMMER. So I didn't bite and send him money but he is still a member.

I did the same thing when I bought a model 69 off a new member.
I got a picture of the gun and DL and the DL had the correct address. Send money, got gun

 

[BigBoy99]

File a complaint with the Postal system. You mailed the MO to his address and he signed it. They know who he is.

File a mail fraud complaint with US Postal Inspectors.

I had a similar thing happen. USPS MO sent via first class mail but ordered items never shipped. Since they used the US postal System, he is guilty of mail fraud.

Two months after I filed the mail fraud complaint, I had the guy calling me wanting to know what he could do to make it right as he was being threatened with arrest and jail time. If he shipped the merchandise I ordered, I'd drop the charges. A week later I had my items and I dropped the mail fraud charges.

 

[TexasArmed]

When it comes to Guns I only buy guns from someone I know is
has the required license or Gun shop where I can actually examine the gun before I make the purchase. I am very apprehensive regarding buying any gun that might be stolen
etc. I have been targeted a number of times by scammers
sending me emails that they are charging my account for
3 year subscription to Norton or laptop service etc.

I may miss out on some good deals but so far I have not
fallen victim to a scam. Most of the ones lately seem to have
been phishing for information. I always wanted a Smith &
Wesson 696 but never ran onto one in a gun shop so I still
have never gotten one yet. I have gotten to where I leave
my landline off the hook due to large number of scam callers
and telemarketers. Cell phones seem to have better call blockers.

 

[H Richard]

I only buy from members that have about 500 or more posts. Then only after a couple communications back and forth with them. So far I haven't been burned.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

Sorry this happened to you Jimmy.

 

[Xfuzz]

Sorry you took a hit....

The Feedback section here is a great way
to "check out" sellers and buyers..
Do a search under that section...Punch a user name and bingo.