am I being SCAMMED?

[CoopsDad]

I don't have a gun to sell you but, if you just send the money to me, I'll at least give you a good i-Trader review. You'll still be out the money and still have no gun but your stats will be up (which is more than you'd get from the guy in Dallas). Win/win!

[Kansas Corey]

PM sent to both of you with requested information.

Before I make a decision if you are being scammed or not, I need you to send me your social security number,banking info and credit card numbers.

For good measure, I've attached a spreadsheet with most of my financial accounts and passwords for your verification.

I don't have a gun to sell you but, if you just send the money to me, I'll at least give you a good i-Trader review. You'll still be out the money and still have no gun but your stats will be up (which is more than you'd get from the guy in Dallas). Win/win!

That iTrader better be glowing - PayPal'd you the money as soon as I saw this. In fact, I rounded the dollar amount up a bit just to ensure a really good review!

You guys are the best! Thank you for the support!

[norcalAF]

Short answer...

Yes.

It is hard to buy from a friend of a frien who is out of state and has exactly what you want.

Long answer: yes

Report the username to the mods and move on. Wtb is like blood in the water for scammers

[Kansas Corey]

Report the username to the mods and move on. Wtb is like blood in the water for scammers

Lesson learned on my side

[operavoice]

Ask him if you can mail him cash.
Get an address.
Send Monopoly money, postage due.

[norcalAF]

Lesson learned on my side

Better to ask, than to go forward and be out anything more than a bit of time. Welcome to calguns!

[SkyHawk]

Thank you everyone for the input - especially the nice straightforward guys! I was asking to see if anyone knew the folks that I mentioned. This is the first I've heard of anyone using a forum classified WTB ad to scam someone. Most of my forum activities these days is more car/truck related and I haven't run into it there (or at least not yet).

The exact same 'Charles' guy with same email address is scamming WTB on this Ford forum

https://www.fordraptorforum.com/threads/scammer-alert.81847/#post-1597414

No one will know these folks because the names and email addresses are disposable, throw away burners. They can create email addresses and phone numbers for free with Gmail and Google voice. It is important to be able to spot the scam, not the scammer. The scammer is a chameleon, the scam is not.

[Snoopy47]

Since it was someone from CalGuns that sent me a private message, I mistakenly took it as just a good will gesture trying to help me find a specific gun.

There are no credential requirements to open up a CalGuns profile account.

The only protections you can start with are:
1) Age of the CalGuns profile
2) Number of posts of CalGuns profile
3) iTrader rating and counts of CalGuns profile

All those don't guaranty anything either.

Best you can really do is
1) Agree to meet at a neutral FFL you both feel comfortable with
2) Inspect the firearm in person at the FFL
3) complete the transfer

I'm not against importing a firearm from another state, but I'd only use an FFL I am familiar with and make sure they will accept and execute the transfer on my behalf based on all the information the seller has provided as to the make and model of the firearm.

I'm also not worried about being cheap on the FFL transfer fees. Being in CA comes at a premium and getting an FFL that is seamless in regards to transfers without a lot of drama is worth the additional service costs.

[divingin]

Wait for the photos tho, then do a Google image search.

One other thing you can do is request a photo of a part of the gun that nobody would ever look at (something like the bottom of the buttplate or the trigger to trigger guard gap) with a pencil pointing at a specific part. Something someone with the gun-in-hand would be able to do, but would be unable to find a similar image online.

[SonofWWIIDI]

If I’m asking myself if I’m getting scammed, that’s as far as I need to go. Pass.

JMHO

[norcalAF]

Yep, if there is any doubt, there is no doubt