heypete
Member
I recently put a firearm up for sale on GunsAmerica, and mentioned it on THR and a few other gun-related sites.
I received several inquiries from potential buyers and have concluded the sale satisfactorily. There are no irregularities with the actual buyer, and he has presented me with a copy of his dealer's FFL which verifies with the ATF FFL EZ Check.
However, there is another potential buyer who has made several highly suspicious inquiries, and I believe them to be highly irregular and possibly indicative of illegal activity.
A small snippet of one of the messages follows:
I composed a brief list of the things which seemed suspicious:
1. Buyer does not mention what state he lives in.
2. Buyer wishes to pay by cashiers check (forged cashier's checks are
becoming more common for online transactions, unfortunately).
3. Buyer seems to have difficulty writing proper English. (While I
hardly expect the Queen's English to be used in email, this
nonetheless raised a flag.)
4. Buyer does not seem to be interested in the type of gun, and makes
no reference to the make or model being sold, nor asks any specific questions. He asks for details on the condition of the gun, when the condition is listed in great detail on the auction page. (I replied to him and said that everything was on the auction page, and that if he desired any specific details not listed, he need but ask I would be glad to provide them.)
5. Buyer does not address me by name, even though my name is listed on
the auction page. Rather his "dear seller" salutation and lack of
details about the item being listed suggest that the buyer is using a
template.
6. The buyer mentions that he would be sending a shipping company
directly to my location to collect the firearm, and that the shipping
company would have a copy of the FFL for the buyer's dealer.
Any comments? Would I be justified in contacting the ATF by email and inquiring if I could submit the emailed conversations for them to examine?
I generally dislike the ATF and their heavy-handed behavior in relation to legitimate gun owners, but I fear that this individual may not be completely legitimate.
I received several inquiries from potential buyers and have concluded the sale satisfactorily. There are no irregularities with the actual buyer, and he has presented me with a copy of his dealer's FFL which verifies with the ATF FFL EZ Check.
However, there is another potential buyer who has made several highly suspicious inquiries, and I believe them to be highly irregular and possibly indicative of illegal activity.
A small snippet of one of the messages follows:
thanks for the reply. i will like you to know that i have a shipping company that is coming to your place to pick up the gun and dey have the licence of ffl.so i will like you to give me your full name,contact address including your phone number.so that the payment can be send to you place in time.
I composed a brief list of the things which seemed suspicious:
1. Buyer does not mention what state he lives in.
2. Buyer wishes to pay by cashiers check (forged cashier's checks are
becoming more common for online transactions, unfortunately).
3. Buyer seems to have difficulty writing proper English. (While I
hardly expect the Queen's English to be used in email, this
nonetheless raised a flag.)
4. Buyer does not seem to be interested in the type of gun, and makes
no reference to the make or model being sold, nor asks any specific questions. He asks for details on the condition of the gun, when the condition is listed in great detail on the auction page. (I replied to him and said that everything was on the auction page, and that if he desired any specific details not listed, he need but ask I would be glad to provide them.)
5. Buyer does not address me by name, even though my name is listed on
the auction page. Rather his "dear seller" salutation and lack of
details about the item being listed suggest that the buyer is using a
template.
6. The buyer mentions that he would be sending a shipping company
directly to my location to collect the firearm, and that the shipping
company would have a copy of the FFL for the buyer's dealer.
Any comments? Would I be justified in contacting the ATF by email and inquiring if I could submit the emailed conversations for them to examine?
I generally dislike the ATF and their heavy-handed behavior in relation to legitimate gun owners, but I fear that this individual may not be completely legitimate.