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[Fortified Peasant]

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[Merc1138]

scammers aren't worth responding to.

[ckhb]

How does the scam work other than the check not being legit? If they sent you a check and you deposited it and waited for it to clear and it did then it should be OK right?

Minus the pick up of course. If the check passed then it should be OK for a transfer at a FFL correct?

[Merc1138]

How does the scam work other than the check not being legit? If they sent you a check and you deposited it and waited for it to clear and it did then it should be OK right?

Minus the pick up of course. If the check passed then it should be OK for a transfer at a FFL correct?

"Oops, my buddy sent you a cashier's check for too much, can you send me back the difference?"

Then 2 weeks later the amount from the cashier's check is gone from the sucker's bank account(including the difference already sent) because they didn't wait 10 business days for it to clear first. In some situations this just means money is gone(although that difference can be in the hundreds or even thousands), in others the money and merchandise is gone.

There are other variations as well that may involve requesting personal account info to be sent to a "third party agent" or some "escrow service" to handle the discrepancy between the purchase amount and the fake check.

[doctor_vals]

Wow, just wow. I just got this E mail (below) for an M&P 15 I'm selling.

I think Ill take the offer but only if they sent payment in american pennies shipped to me via UPS Next Day Air.

What do you think???


How are you doing? My name is Anna. I am interested in this item and would like to know if it is still available? please kindly get back to me asap! Im currently in Canada for a business right now and i will be back in about a month but i can pay upfront now and when i get back to town i can pick it up! I can mail you a check immediately( I just don't want to miss the offer, so no one else will buy it) Please if the kindly get back to me with the actual price and your full name and address so that i can issue out the payment. You can as well remove the listing off ARMSLIST so that no one else could buy it because im very interested i will be looking forward to hear from you.

Regards,
Anna.

Hi my dear Anna.
I also very interested to sell item to you. Please kindly sent to me money via Western Union, so I can send item right away. I will defenately remove that from listing as soon as I've got money.

[ckhb]

Yeah I've heard of that one before. Guess that's why it's always best to meet in person then instead of dealing with checks etc. So many hooligans these days it seems everyone wants to steal from you.

[Merc1138]

My thought is its a way to fish for info, tele #, address, email to spam you to death...

No, they want money. Enough suckers still fall for the scams(even those nigerian prince and other 419 style scams) that the scammers stay in business(it's not like they pay much for operating costs).

[naeco81]

DO NOT DEPOSIT CHECKS FROM ONLINE BUYERS. NOT EVEN CERTIFIED CHECKS.
Instead, insist upon a certified check from a major bank that you live near but do NOT bank with. Cash the check in person at the branch when you receive it. Then go deposit the cash at your bank. Even certified checks can be fraudulent and usually the banks won't catch on until several weeks after they have cleared the check. If you put it into your account your bank will simply withdraw the funds or hold you liable for it if you have insufficient funds to cover the fraud check. If you cash it instead, it is the cashing banks problem entirely. They may contact you for info which you can provide them to catch the scammer, but at least they won't have your money as hostage.

[Barnstormer]

Wow, just wow. I just got this E mail (below) for an M&P 15 I'm selling.

I think Ill take the offer but only if they sent payment in american pennies shipped to me via UPS Next Day Air.

What do you think???

I think the advice you're receiving here is worth its weight in gold. I can imagine them asking for your routing and bank account number to make a direct deposit too. Better safe than sorry fellow shooter.

[latesvak]

Nice. To me those are fun. I give them the name and address of someone(co worker) I'm not happy with and watch as they get a odd check and really seem perplexed as to what its for. The last one I did the check was sent dhl.

Latesvak