What are some common scams for sellers on Used.guns?

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What are some common scams for sellers on Used.guns?

Post by Jackaroo » 24 Jan 2023, 8:13 am

What are some common scams for sellers to be on the lookout for on Used.guns?
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Re: What are some common scams for sellers on Used.guns?

Post by Shootermick » 24 Jan 2023, 9:10 am

I’ve had a couple replying to my wanted ads.
They both used the same stolen license. They sent through pictures of the wanted gun that they had found on the internet. The license didn’t even have the correct category for the gun they were pretending to sell. A few simple questions was all it took to work them out, not exactly very hard to catch them out. I even tracked down the original owner of the license, he said it had been happening on and off for years.
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Re: What are some common scams for sellers on Used.guns?

Post by ob1 » 24 Jan 2023, 9:26 am

Variations on using payID and they are very keen to buy unseen. They want your payID account, but also ask for an email, which they then use to send a fake payment screenshot showing overpayment to you, then ask for a refund. Pretty lame, but they get enough suckers to keep doing it.

Or, they helpfully arrange their own courier for your sale item and send a link for you to pay for pickup. You receive a fake screenshot of their purchase payment and just have to pay the courier as agreed, via the link. Goodbye to your money, again.

For an item that is not a firearm they want to use PayPal. Then they tell PayPal that they never received the item and get a refund from your account.

The simplest solution for a seller is payment by BSB. When the funds clear in your account the item is sent. Of course, many of your potential buyers may think that your sale is a scam and may want to avoid this method. Also, any proof that you send to prove your bona fides such as licence images, etc could then be used by a scammer.
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Re: What are some common scams for sellers on Used.guns?

Post by straightshooter » 26 Jan 2023, 6:57 am

There is a very simple and safe method to avoid scams regarding firearms.
Since the firearm must be transferred via a dealer, the buyer pays the transferring dealer and then on completion the transferring dealer pays the seller.
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Re: What are some common scams for sellers on Used.guns?

Post by Oldbloke » 26 Jan 2023, 9:07 am

Couple of days ago I got a text and email from PayPal saying Louise Brown had requested $495.

NFI who she is.
Just deleted the request.
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Re: What are some common scams for sellers on Used.guns?

Post by ederlezi » 27 Jan 2023, 7:29 am

Oldbloke wrote:Couple of days ago I got a text and email from PayPal saying Louise Brown had requested $495.

NFI who she is.
Just deleted the request.


Reminder. I am of average intelligence, therefore 50% of people are dumber than me.

That's the difference between a median and a average. 100% of the people might have the exact same intelligence, you will still be of average intelligence.

Sorry, couldn't help.
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Re: What are some common scams for sellers on Used.guns?

Post by Lazarus » 27 Jan 2023, 7:53 am

I don't know whether it's tried on used guns, but I have items on gumtree and had papal listed.
Every enquiry wanted to pay the asking price, unseen, because they were " working away" and an agent would pick it up.
All I had to do was supply my paypal account information.

The fact that people actually fall for this sort of thing is amazing.

I have since removed the paypal option and voilá, no more scammers
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Re: What are some common scams for sellers on Used.guns?

Post by Jackaroo » 27 Jan 2023, 3:06 pm

PayPal is definitely a problem even if the buyer picks up in person and deposits into your Paypal account whilst your standing there.

Buyers paying with Paypal have six (6) months to lodge a nefarious claim.
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Re: What are some common scams for sellers on Used.guns?

Post by Lazarus » 27 Jan 2023, 4:38 pm

Jackaroo wrote:PayPal is definitely a problem even if the buyer picks up in person and deposits into your Paypal account whilst your standing there.

Buyers paying with Paypal have six (6) months to lodge a nefarious claim.


It's great for buying from a business on the web, but I sold a large astronomical telescope several years ago and because I was not a volume seller, on top of the 15% fee, they held the money for 6 weeks.

Not getting caught like that twice.
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Re: What are some common scams for sellers on Used.guns?

Post by JeremyShooter » 14 Dec 2023, 11:29 am

Hi all, first time poster here.

Also first time seller on the usedguns market in Aus and curious, had a few interested parties contact wanting to buy but they all want me to send my driver licence AND firearms licence before paying. Seems to be like definitely a identity theft ploy. Anyone else experienced this on usedguns? There's a clear reason addresses are not printed on firearms licence cards so it seems like a no-brainer but figured it's worth discussion. Cheers

I expected to see this in the FAQs over on usedguns site but it's not mentioned, surprisingly.
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