• This Forum is for adults 18 years of age or over. By continuing to use this Forum you are confirming that you are 18 or older. No content shall be viewed by any person under 18 in California.

FORUM NOTICE URGENT -- ALL MEMBERS READ THIS NOW!!

Forum Boss

Forum Boss

Administrator
Folks,
I found another case today of an older account, Sv650neo, that was hacked -- probably with a shared password from another Forum.

The bad guy responded to WTB ads, and has purported to sell brass and/or bullets.

It looks like at least one member was scammed. He apparently made a payment via ZELLE.

Guys, in the strongest terms possible I URGE all of you to NOT do any sales right now without a VOICE CALL, custom photos, and tell the seller you DEMAND a reference, phone number, full name, full residential address, and age.

To protect yourself, use ONLY a bank check, money order, or PayPal GOODS and SERVICES with FEES. For Gun sales (NOT allowed by PayPal G&S), consider using GunTab escrow service.

Repeat GOODS and SERVICEs with FEES !!

NEVER ever use PayPal Friends and Family. Never Ever use Apple Cash. Never use Google Cash. NEVER ever use Zelle for Friends or Venmo for Friends.

Regarding Venmo, the Venmo site states: "Unless directly given the option by Venmo, DO NOT USE VENMO TO TRANSACT WITH PEOPLE YOU DON’T PERSONALLY KNOW, ESPECIALLY IF THE TRANSACTION INVOLVES THE PURCHASE OR SALE OF A GOOD OR SERVICE (for example, concert tickets, electronic equipment, sneakers, a watch, or other merchandise). These transactions are potentially high risk, are not allowed under Venmo’s User Agreement, and Venmo does not have a protection program for such transactions unless directly offered."

------------>>> I also urge ALL members to change their password immediately if there is any chance your password was used on another Forum, or has been stored in a smartphone App.

We are instituting a NEW RULE for Sellers -- You may not respond to ANY WTB advert without providing a voice phone number and full address to the seller. And you must wait 24 hours for verification by the purchaser. If you demand immediate payment via Apple Cash or Google Pay or Zelle you will have your account terminated.

Any seller who violates this rule will be permanently banned from this Forum.

And PEOPLE -- I'm sorry but with the hackers, you must start with the presumption that EVERY inquiry is fraudulent.
 
Last edited:
Thank you Paul! I have no problem with old fashioned telephone and actually prefer it!

It only takes a couple of minutes to know if the person you're talking to has any clue what they're talking about at all by phone. I do it for a different reason but it still works. In over 25 years now, doing business all over the country and the world, I think I've had 3 bad checks that were all made good fast, due to an honest mistake and one that never paid a measley $25 IIRC and he was in Canada. If he can live with it, so can I, but that still doesn't make it right. I had one other issue that I won't go into detail on that could've been my fault or that of usps but the paperwork said otherwise. Either way...fair or not, that's part of business sooner or later, so keep every piece of paper trail and even the most honest of people, on both ends, can make a mistake, even if it's their first one ever. Lol!

Document everything and it will almost always go well but you never know until payment clears. We're a small group as a whole, made up of 99.5% absolutely the best people anywhere but there are just a few that are just bad apples or have never been wrong. Either way, a paper trail carries weight in court. Even texts and email communications serve as contemporaneous notes in court, as do invoices with phone records and conversation in testimony. In print is best, so both won't hurt. Just have them confirm everything in text or email if it makes you feel better.

This place is mostly top shelf people but it's grown a lot, rapidly, over the last few years and Paul can only do what he can do.
 
Last edited:
We are seeing a situation where it looks like foreign guys are attempting to log into dozens of accounts in sequence on a given day. Then they are trying to bust a password or two, possibly with old passwords grabbed from other sites.

FOLKS, update your passwords NOW. If you have used your passwords on other sites it is vital that you get a UNIQUE password here.

And buyers, I'm sorry, but to protect yourself, you must assume that the seller is a CRIMINAL trying to defraud you. This is particularly true if they are trying to reach out via a PM.

DEMAND a voice Phone Call.
DEMAND a custom photo with the object in a completely different location, with something wrapped around it.

If the seller demands immediate payment via Cash App or Zelle or Apple Pay and refuses a custom photo, get his phone number and residential address. Do NOT send money, but contact Forum Boss Immediately.
 
Last edited:
Here are other ways you can protect yourself:

1. Get the seller's REAL Name. Then do a search with TruePeopleSearch.com .

Tell the seller you want his full legal name and full residential address. If he refuses, end the deal and report the seller to Forum Boss immediately.

2. Look at the seller's posting history. If you do not see any posts in the last 18 months, be vary wary -- hackers go after inactive accounts.

3. DO a VOICE CALL -- and listen to the voice. Foreign accent is dead give-away. If the person sounds young, that should be suspicious.

4. Ask Questions about the seller's shooting history. Ask what is his favorite caliber, what primers he prefers.

5. Do NOT rush -- it's better to lose a good deal than to be ripped off.

If the guy won't talk on the phone he's probably a scammer.
If the guy won't give you his real name he's probably a scammer.
If the guy will only use Zelle, F&F, Apple Cash without buyer's protection -- run away!

6. Remember that many guys share passwords with other Forums. If another Forum was hacked, the bad guys move around trying to use the same passwords.

That's why I want ALL Forum members to use a UNIQUE password here, and change it annually.

-------------------
The good news: I'm still not aware of a single person who was ripped off AFTER having a meaningful VOICE phone conversation with the seller.
 
Last edited:
If you are suspicious about a potential seller, contact me and I can run an IP search that can often expose unusual activity.

But you can do even more to protect yourself by asking for the seller‘s name and address and then do a web search, to confirm he’s not lying.
 
Last edited:
Actually if you think about it this would pretty much end online private party purchasing, Just easier to not have to work harder at a simple sale. I feel that way already

No I am not going to give up
 
I always check the address on google maps and street finder and if its a new business that I'm buying from I will see what business is next to them to verify that they are really there. I also search there name to see if it matches the address.
 
Have not purchased many items on here, but when I do, I always make phone contact and pay with a cashier's check. Bought a scope from Hoz53 last summer. My only problem was my ignorance in giving Hoz props for his excellent service.
 
After being dormat most of last year due to wife's illness, I tried to sign on to review this site. I got the message that my ip address had been banned. Having been a gold member for some time and with considerable trading feedback I was set back and had to connect with my tablet. I found this forum notice and it fit me perfectly. I had used a simple password only 5 lower case letters 15 years ago. I will change that now. Thanks Forum Boss..
 
bighorn06 said:
After being dormat most of last year due to wife's illness, I tried to sign on to review this site. I got the message that my ip address had been banned. Having been a gold member for some time and with considerable trading feedback I was set back and had to connect with my tablet. I found this forum notice and it fit me perfectly. I had used a simple password only 5 lower case letters 15 years ago. I will change that now. Thanks Forum Boss..
Click to expand...
Do you use a VPN?
I have and others as well, had the “your IP address has been banned” pop-up and even when not using it, as apparently my base IP is also on the list that the security features of this forum uses to screen “SPAM” sites and it has a broad Black List of them.
What a world! I understand the reasons for all the security stuff but I’m old enough to remember when flying was fun and you just walked through to the boarding gate and then out across to the boarding ramp.
I note that even as a “Gold Member” you have no avatar but perhaps you have had to reestablish a new ID for the site to allow you to start over again?
 
Bump back to the top so more members will see.

Forum Boss: Someone just attempted another scam, claiming to be the seller of a barrel. A search of the phone number of the text sender came up with this (I kid you not):

1737668507510.png

Bottom Line: NEVER EVER send a Zelle or F&F payment in response to an unsolicited text. In the above situation, the scammer got the member's phone number because he posted it in multiple threads.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Thank you for all the great info. Great advice with the phone call and texts with current requested pictures. But what is the best way to pay for items that is safe for both buyer and seller?
 
Recently purchased a sizing die in Snipers Hide forum’s. I PM the gentleman and said pm
Sent on the public post of the die. Scammers must have saw that and pm’d me claiming the email address they provided was the best way to contact said seller. Saying he isn’t in much but this is his email and best way to contact him. One of the guys even had the same profile picture of the member. Immediately i
Message the seller and call out the wierd messages. He said about the “PM sent” post is a red flag on the public post that scammers see these and try to get in that way. Long story short, I requested a phone conversation with the seller which he was more than willing to do. We talked about the item he was selling and also just shot the breeze about shooting in general. It’s was easy to determine the guy was legitimate and neither one of us got scammed. We both ended up reporting the scammers screen names.

Guys I used the suggestion of voice
call from this forum to sort out the truth. It is simple to and doesn’t really take a lot of time to do so. Also get to talk to like minded people and have nice chats about the things we all enjoy. Take the time to protect yourself and your bank accounts and do the suggestions mentioned.
Thanks
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Upgrades & Donations

This Forum's expenses are primarily paid by member contributions. You can upgrade your Forum membership in seconds. Gold and Silver members get unlimited FREE classifieds for one year. Gold members can upload custom avatars.


Click Upgrade Membership Button ABOVE to get Gold or Silver Status.

You can also donate any amount, large or small, with the button below. Include your Forum Name in the PayPal Notes field.


To DONATE by CHECK, or make a recurring donation, CLICK HERE to learn how.

Classified Ads

Forum statistics

Threads
166,275
Messages
2,214,917
Members
79,496
Latest member
Bie

Share This Page

Back
Top