So I posted that I was looking for a Tikka, and got a text about a tikka at a fair price with a bunch of photos.
I was stoked, so I said yeah im interested. I tried calling the seller and it rang and got a "voice to text" voicemail.
I was wary, but I really wanted the rifle. Told him to ship it FFL to FFL in order to be safe, I didn't want to get scammed.
He agreed, and he said he was in Durango, Co, and gave me the name of a gun store there. I looked it up on Google maps and lo and behold it existed.
I got a call from a colorado number from loveland, co, (nowhere near durango) it was an African man saying he was from the gun store. I asked him the address, and he said it was in Colorado. (ok)
I then went on google maps got the number from the actual store and called them. Lets just say there were no african migrants working the phones there.
It was a scam. and they played it better than I thought they would.
Be wary, recheck with the FFLs its being sent through. Trust but verify.
There be Africans out there looking for cash. sonsofbitches.
Additionally, there is going to be scammers on any online source. Gun broker and arms list deal with it too and they are massive companies. At the end of the day it is up to you to do your own due diligence with people online. Especially on a forum that is free to use.
If people don’t report the scammers then we can’t ban and remove them.
They always ask you whether you are first. I'd you're in Denver, they're in Durango. If you say Durango, they say Denver. They'll always give you a distance to far to make it worth the drive.
Durango seems to be a common place for scammers to claim to reside. Probably because no one lives close enough to get involved face to face.
Be wary of people claiming to be from low population hard to reach places.
Zack and the mods try to filter them but like the op said, they're getting crafty and it's very difficult sometimes. I say general rule of thumb, if they aren't willing to meet ftf, walk away.
yeah this place kinda sucks. Are there any better forums for Colorado?
Nothing but scammers in this group and it seems like it's aloud to manifest here. Or people that never reply