I recently received a reply to an add I placed online ; the reply did not pass the sniff test. After replying to an initial inquiry asking if the item was still for sale I received the following -
"I am glad that you respond to my email, i am really interested in buying the gun, what is your bottom dollar? I am currently located in Colorado at the moment, i would like to have the gun shipped. Do not worry about shipping fee as I will cover that.
I know that you might not be willing to ship due to past experience or no experience about shipping but do not stress yourself as I have an ffl you will be shipping to and like I said earlier I will pay for the shipping. I will be making payment through certified cashier check which won't take more than 24-48hrs to clear in your account which only after that you will shipping to my ffl. Send me the name and address where you want me to mail the check to.
Attached is my ffl signed copy
Hope to read from you soon"
Attached was a legitimate looking image of an ffl.
There are a bunch of red flags there (strained language , lack of interest in details of item , etc. ...) , and I did not fall off the turnip truck yesterday. Maybe some of you can help me understand a few things...
One obvious point is , how is a scammer able to post an ffl? I did not contact the ffl as I did not want to respond any further in any way , but the address appears to be a residence in a small town in Colorado. Then the part I really don't get is the cashiers check offer - how would a scammer "buyer" be at an advantage by sending a cashiers check and waiting for it to clear? How would the seller then get stuck , given the fact that the funds would be in his hands? I don't get it.
To clarify - I have no intention of participating in this obvious ploy ; I am curious as to how it works.
"I am glad that you respond to my email, i am really interested in buying the gun, what is your bottom dollar? I am currently located in Colorado at the moment, i would like to have the gun shipped. Do not worry about shipping fee as I will cover that.
I know that you might not be willing to ship due to past experience or no experience about shipping but do not stress yourself as I have an ffl you will be shipping to and like I said earlier I will pay for the shipping. I will be making payment through certified cashier check which won't take more than 24-48hrs to clear in your account which only after that you will shipping to my ffl. Send me the name and address where you want me to mail the check to.
Attached is my ffl signed copy
Hope to read from you soon"
Attached was a legitimate looking image of an ffl.
There are a bunch of red flags there (strained language , lack of interest in details of item , etc. ...) , and I did not fall off the turnip truck yesterday. Maybe some of you can help me understand a few things...
One obvious point is , how is a scammer able to post an ffl? I did not contact the ffl as I did not want to respond any further in any way , but the address appears to be a residence in a small town in Colorado. Then the part I really don't get is the cashiers check offer - how would a scammer "buyer" be at an advantage by sending a cashiers check and waiting for it to clear? How would the seller then get stuck , given the fact that the funds would be in his hands? I don't get it.
To clarify - I have no intention of participating in this obvious ploy ; I am curious as to how it works.