Scam alert

[stevef]

Beware of a scam going on here, I purchased an item from a member here who was legitimate and we agreed on a check for payment, tha was not the problem, immediately a scamer posing as the seller emailed me requesting a PayPal payment of friends and family with asking of no mention what it was for on the sight, his email is pan.flip70@gmail.com, just thought I’d share this with my fellow members.

 

[stevef]

Oh I forgot his PayPal info is Brandonrose0715@gmail.com

 

[Brijake]

I wonder how he got your email? Did you use private messaging or put your email on the thread?

 

[david12601]

Thanks for posting

 

[Midger]

F'ing scammers.

 

[22LRaddict]

Yikes!! Thanks for the heads up!!

 

[NC/Br Shooter]

there's also this scam that sends you a request that says there's X amount of dollars in your account and they want you to claim it. And by that request, you click on the link and it takes your to a PayPal looking sight, and you start to put your info in.
That's how they once we're operating. Hope that scam got shut down

 

[benschott]

Never ever never use PayPal payment of friends and family.

 

[ballisticdaddy]

Never ever never use PayPal payment of friends and family.

Never ever share your private and personal information in a public forum, that is low hanging fruit for scammers and way too many users in this forum do that daily. Can't tell you how many times I have had to delete a users information they pasted on my wall trying to purchase wind wands and obviously unaware that scammers can search and find that info at a later date. I prefer a phone call on large purchases and have never had an issue with payment using any electronic service.

 

[sksshooter]

Never ever share your private and personal information in a public forum, that is low hanging fruit for scammers and way too many users in this forum do that daily. Can't tell you how many times I have had to delete a users information they pasted on my wall trying to purchase wind wands and obviously unaware that scammers can search and find that info at a later date. I prefer a phone call on large purchases and have never had an issue with payment using any electronic service.

Agree, i only use the private massage function on forums. Never post your phone number or personal email address to an add. A local forum i am a member of had a member a year or so back that was contacted through text on a pistol he had listed and arranged to meet. He had his phone number in the add so there was no assurance they were a member. The buyer apparently didnt intend to buy instead took the gun and jumped in their car and took off with it..

 

[gaintwist]

I had a similar scam here too. Beware of payment arrangemens made outside our forum pm's or phone. Also, I will never use paypal for anything. They facilitate fraud.

 

[stevef]

I have no idea how they got my email, maybe it’s someone who dealt with me before, scary!

FORUM BOSS: Unfortunately SteveF did list his email address in a sale thread in late 2024 and maybe others.

 

[ballisticdaddy]

I had one send a text this AM saying he was a AS member I agreed to buy something from. Some how he got my phone no. From the PM I sent to seller and wanted a PayPal payment sent to him.
Administration needs to figure this out.

If we don't post our personal info on the inter-web we won't have this issue....just sent you a PM

 

[hydrotherapy]

Had the same thing happen to me on a rifle buy,called PayPal and told them it was a scam ,got my money back ,got a hold of the guy with the rifle and sent it through site the guy that sent the PayPal account must be scanning the email and adds

 

[stevef]

I never posted my information on here, only through PM’s to the seller so that I can send them the payment

 

[Forum Boss]

Unfortunately SteveF actually DID post his email in at least one relatively recent sale thread. I have masked the details but I can just say this was found in a matter of seconds... OUTSIDE the Forum.



Folks, every guy I have traced who said they did not post their phone number and/or email address in a public thread did, in FACT, post such things. And I was able to find the information in a matter of seconds.

What this tells us is that if you have posted this information in the past, you have to assume that it is visible via search engines and/or internal Forum searches.

Assume your data is out there. Accordingly, if you receive an unsolicited text or email you should assume it is being sent by a scammer.

For security, I have removed the sale thread shown above. But trust me, it was live.

 

[stevef]

Thank you, I never realized that I did.

 

[Forum Boss]

We are considering blocking access to the classifieds to non-registered persons. But that would substantially reduce viewership. If we also limited Classifieds viewing to Gold and Silver members, that would limit viewership to under 4% of registered members.

Guys, you have to understand we have NO way to prevent a scammer from sending you a text or an email once the bad guy has found that information. And that info might be found with a search engine OUTSIDE the Forum. You have to assume that an unsolicited text/email is an attempted crime and you should NEVER EVER spend a penny without a voice phone call and additional custom photos.

If someone demands PayPal/Venmo F&F or CashApp or Zelle -- do two things -- demand their name and physical address, and then notify Forum Boss. Do NOT pay a penny.