Nigerian scammer trying to buy my gun?

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PILMAN

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I received an email from someone who wanted to buy my gun on armslist and he said he was interested in my gun and wanted pictures. I received a reply from him, does this payment method look shady or what?

Hello,

Thanks for your response,I am FFL holder already,So you dont have any problem with that,I am okay with the price that you want for the Gun,And i have receive your information where the payment will be issued out to you,So the payment will be mail out and i will let you know. And also i am okay with the price and i will issue out the payment out today probably,I will like to make it clear to you that the payment that i will issueing out to you it will be check of an excess Money you will deduct ur sale fees in the payment and u send the excess funds of the remaining money through Western Union Money Transfer to my client shipping Company,The excess money will be use for the shipping company that will come for the pick up of the Products,I will like the CHEQUE to be deposit to your checking bank account same day as u receive it,And get it cashed,So would you be able to wire transfer the remaining balance to the shipping company via Western Union Money Transfer after the check might have cleared in your bank and after you might have deducted your own part of the money which is the Item money ? So you dont need to arrange for the shipping since my shipping company will be taking care of the shipment that will come for the pick up of the Items from your base.

I will want you to response back to me now so that the payment will be on its way to be deliver to you today.

I will be waiting.

Thanks.
Mike.
 
Scam.

The funding sent to you will be bogus and will eventually bounce. Meanwhile, you will have sent good funds to them. They don't want the gun - they want the money.
 
WEll you answered the shady question in the thread title...seems like those craigslist scammers deal too. Tell him in the most unpleasant way to stop talking to you.
 
Yep, total scam. Whenever someone is going to send you a check and then have you forward part of the money to someone else, it's a scam. The check will bounce, and you will be out the money you sent. There is no reason for this arrangement, except to separate you from your money. The alleged "shipping company" will never show up to pick up the gun.
 
So..........when is he going to mail payment?:D


I love how he says he holds an FFL- so ask for a copy of his license.
Federal law REQUIRES that firearm shipments be sent ONLY to the address on the license.

Have some fun and string him along. Frame that fake money order while you are at it.:evil:
 
Likely a scam BUT it may also be a money laundering scheme. I heard a federal agent(don't remember which alphabet agency he was with) discuss this very type deal with a radio financial expert. The MO could be real and after it goes through your bank account, the feds will be knocking down your door. Either way it's not legit.
 
Wow those guys suck at everything. You would have to be a complete moron to fall for this one. I cant believe they are still trying this crap.
 
I'm not going to go through with the sale, I was suspicious at first because armslist told me the email was flagged, he sounded legitimate when he asked for pictures of the gun and what not. When I replied and he stated how he was going to send payment, that made me suspicious. While I have no intentions of going through with the transfer, I emailed him asking for a scanned copy of his FFL license out of curiosity.
 
I've never completed a Western Union transfer. How is the recipient signified (address, ID number, etc)?

I'm almost tempted to say string him along until he gives you info on where to send the money. Contact the ATF/FBI/whatever and let them handle it from there. These scammers usually don't get pursued, but they might be more willing to do so since the scam involves a firearm.

I cant believe they are still trying this crap.
Click to expand...

The reason they keep trying it is b/c it works. When it stops working, it'll stop being tried. It only takes one person falling for it to make some money.
 
I don't know if he's Nigerian, but the scammers are usually located in Nigeria and the way the letter was worded reminds me of a 419 scam. I'd be interested where he actually wants the item "shipped".
 
I'm almost tempted to say string him along until he gives you info on where to send the money.
Click to expand...

That wouldn't do a thing. Even if the scammers were based in the US (which I can almost guarantee you they're not) they're not dumb enough to have the profits of their schemes dropped right at their own doorsteps.

Usually what they'll do is give you an address they pulled out of the phonebook, and then pay someone at UPS or FEDEX or whatever to let them know when the package arrives, and then go scoop it up before the person who really lives there gets home and recieves the package.

That way, when the cops or feds or postal inspectors or whoever come to investigate, they're left with a dead end and confused homeowners.

Likewise with money orders - they'll have it sent to a random town or city that they have friends or family living in, and pay them a few bucks to go pick it up for them. Pretty much untraceable.

Would he even be able to have an ffl if he is in Nigeria?
Click to expand...

No.
 
Nigerian scammer nah, more like 5-year old scammer. I mean come on the writing is repetive, the punctuation is all wrong, the spelling is bloody terrible, and after reading it twice I still don't understand what the person wanted. If your gonna scam someone at least try to make it readable. Geez!;)
 
ATF Guys

It might be fun to involve the FBI and/or ATF.

While you don't have the resources to chase these guys, the Feds will occasionally have someone on their payroll who takes his job way too seriously.

The FBI will be more interested in the money laundering part, the ATF will be more interested in the counterfeit FFL angle.

Could be interesting.

 
"the writing is repetive, the punctuation is all wrong, the spelling is bloody terrible, and after reading it twice I still don't understand what the person wanted" - or a product of our public school system.
 
Its fun to mess with those people. You can tell him to call you and start hitting on him/her or just talk about the dump you took that morning. Anything to waste time and annoy.

I like to tell them that I would like to invest in their company and promise to send them more money and then make them jump through all sorts of hoops just to keep me happy.

Ask the guy for pictures of his wife or something like that once you've got him hooked. Tell him you want help finding a Nigerian bride, anything really just to mess with them. If you can make them believe that you are really buying their line of crap then they will do all kinds of things for you.

Check out 419eater.com, these guys bait the Nigerian scammers and play with them.
 
I get this type of wording 2 or 3 times EVERY time I list an apartment on Craigslist. I have when I've been bored done things like offer to rent them a 2 BR apartment for 15,000/month. But over all I just delete them. Don't waste your time with these bozos, go to the range instead.
 
It ain't gonna work. The cable going down the African coast was recently damaged and the email service to Nigeria is on the frammitz.
 
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