Warning to be careful buying unseen

[frogboy]

As seen on guntrader, feel very sorry for the chap who has been defrauded, but sadly a small number of people are toe rags who can’t be trusted, but you don’t find out until it’s too late

https://www.guntrader.uk/guns/air-ri...20901172726435

[Speedmaster2]

That's terrible to see and I've heard of a few people scammed in that way with fishing tackle as well. Maybe the banks should start adding a small surcharge like paypal do when you pay as goods and service so that you stand a better chance of getting your money back or reimbursement by the bank it if they fail to retrieve it from the seller? Also about time the police took it more seriously than just logging it as a crime and not following it on.

[Mach 1.5]

Was done myself by a scammer on guntrader a few years ago. Police and bank not interested. Try to get Name and Address then at least you have contact details and try not to pay by bank transfer as you will not get your money back. If the deal is too good to be true then 9 times out of 10 it's a scammer. Mach 1.5

[Dodder]

I saw something on another site that suggested requesting that any distance seller sends you a photo of their driving license to verify their true identity and address Seemed like a good idea to me although not sure I'd want to send anyone a photo of my driving license.
Personally I like to see what I'm buying in person even if it means a lengthy drive...

[rockdrill]

I have in the past bought a couple of guns from both Guntrader and Gunstar, but always from the RFD members and never had any issues.

With the private sellers I would be more reticent unless I could go and view the item in question.

[10/10]

I purchased a scope off the other Forum before it went which never arrived. Via bank transfer
I contacted my bank, and explained to the lady who was very helpful
after 10 mins of tapping away on her computer i was told i would receive a full refund
which i did.
I asked what action they would take and was told they would contact his bank to try and recover the money.
And if found to be fraudulent his bank would freeze his account, and further action would be taken.
His name would then go on a database that insurance companies HP companies use for credit checks Etc Etc.
So it is possible to get back them.

[gunshop]

Obviously he didn't take notice of the warning that is next to all Guntrader Adverts

FRAUD WARNING - Beware when making payments via Bank Transfer. These payments are usually non-refundable and in the event of a dispute you will not be able to reclaim your money. Ensure you know exactly who you are paying before sending money. For the safest experience either use your local dealer, a credit card or pay cash on collection.

[nikonman]

Was done myself by a scammer on guntrader a few years ago. Police and bank not interested. Try to get Name and Address then at least you have contact details and try not to pay by bank transfer as you will not get your money back. If the deal is too good to be true then 9 times out of 10 it's a scammer. Mach 1.5

Just a couple of days ago, on this very site, I stated, "I'll take this please!" in response to a For Sale ad. for a Webley pistol. Having then noticed that just 3 days earlier (on the other forum) the seller had posted that he was delighted at having just bought this very pistol, I asked him why he was selling it on so quickly and also, would he please supply me with his address & contact phone number, prior to me making the bank transfer that he had just requested.

I had no response to this request for his details and within the hour, he both listed it for sale on that other forum and SOLD it to someone else, despite me having already 'bought' it on here barely an hour before! When I asked him just what was going on, he told me that he'd sold it on the other forum where people 'trusted' him!

That's the result I got for asking for an address & phone number before making a bank transfer! To be fair, this is the first time that such a request on my part has resulted in such a bizarre conclusion.

[Brano]

There's usually something smelly with both dodgy buyers and sellers.
I've had a couple of issues and both my own fault having not asked for better images. So far I've only been scammed recently selling something on the bay where the claims it didn't arrive. After 4 RM working days so clearly likes free stuff. The lack of communication and timing says it all along with finding how chatty they are on Faceache forums.

Advanced fee fraud is rife and anyone getting caught out should always report it to Action Fraud and their bank. It does cause these people issues even if you still lose out.

A friend of mine asked for driving licence details and more photos. They received them but they weren't the 'sellers' and he lost a few hundred pounds. The scammer had clearly already obtained the images from some other legitimate seller and recycled them.

These people have ads for allsorts. Pets, caravans, you name it they're pretending to sell it.
A good friend of mine spends hours interacting with Cameroonian fraudsters who mainly 'sell' endangered animals or dogs on pop up Internet sites. He wastes hours of their time saying he's sent the money and getting more details out of them as they become frustrated he's thick and not able to transfer money etc.

It's a sad state when you need to research phone numbers and other info just to buy something to try and check it's legitimate.

[Phil Russell]

I rarely buy expensive items 'by post'. But I did several years ago. As a precaution I did a bit of digging before I completed the deal and the seller was not known to me. It did not take me long to discover that the seller had been on a forum asking for advice on how to fix the very item I was going to buy. The item was described as 'excellent condition'. In the end I completed the deal because I considered that the price was good even if the fault had not been fixed (I don't think it had been fixed) and that I could mend it at little cost. This was the case. So ... caution was the word to use. I should add that if the seller had been a well known user of the BBS then I would have been happy to proceed from the word go. That's another key benefit of the forum ... it develops trust.
Cheers, Phil

[gizwaz]

Really sorry to hear about this, never good when someone in our community lets the side down in such a big way. Mr Marples is, or was, on some of the MeWe groups I frequented and was always asking the most basic of questions regarding his latest acquisitions ( I think he’s buy all the cheapy/non sold auction lots a lot of the time ). That’s fair enough as no one knows everything, but I would then see him advertising the same thing n a different group apparently ‘recently serviced’ or similar by him. That got my spider sense tingling straight away as he obviously had no clue really what he was buying, and seemingly even less of an idea of what he was doing to them prior to selling on….

Suffice to say I steered well clear. Hopefully you’ll get this sorted before too long somehow.