The old saying “buyer beware” has now been extended to the Internet age. There has been an epidemic of scams proliferating the World Wide Web, and the firearms community is not immune from criminals trying to separate people from their hard-earned dollars.
These scammers target their victims with incredible deals that are hard to pass up. When it comes to the firearms community, these deals are usually for ammunition. You might see deals that proclaim to save the buyer over 50%. These deals litter the pages of social media sites like Instagram with messages like “DM for orders.”
These scammers have also launched websites with names similar to legitimate ones, including AmmoLand News. We recently received reports of a website named Ammolandusa.com selling ammunition at massive discounts. Once a user places an order, they will receive an email asking the buyer to send money through Cash App, PayPal, Venmo, or Zelle.
Click the link to Ammo Land blog to read the whole article: Ammunition Scam Sites Are Infesting The Internet
And speaking of gunnie stuff, Sam Jacobs over at Ammo.com has a new and well researched article up on the most gun friendly states!
How does your state rank in gun ownership when compared to the rest? Our results are surprising! We took into account the current gun laws, current legislators’ past voting history, taxes, and more to bring you this comprehensive list for 2023.
The full article link is HERE!
If someone has an email contact to someone at ammoland I can probably provide some advice and assistance.
At least in terms of detecting and blocking the websites. Won’t work for everyone but I can probably helps some people
Email – ammo AT devtru.st
I’d day “caveat emptor” has been with us for thirty centuries if not longer, and there was no internet back then, eh?
No legitimate gun or ammo site will use PayPal because PP is violently anti gun.
Also, look for other clues like ridiculously low shipping without advertising it, no hazmat fee for powder or primers, no contact information, etc.
This. In fact, I believe Paypal does not allow transactions involving firearms.
That’s why I stopped using PayPal.
Sad because until about five or six years ago, Washington would have ranked in the top 50%. Every time the D party tried to restrict our gun rights, the people would throw it out by initiative. In the past few years, however, an initiative was passed with millions of dollars spent by outside groups that restricted rights, then the D party (who controls all three branches of government) recently passed a very restrictive ban on various firearms. It has been one of the bright spots in our legislative and political scene, but no longer. Washington has gone full progressive.
All- Good points. Hereso- Oh so true… dammit!
Had an experience not long ago.
I commented on a you-tube video from a well-known person in the firearms instruction business. I received an answering comment, posted under the name of the business, stating that my comment had won a prize, and would I contact him via Telegram.
Ok, did that, but things started to get “odd”. Firstly, the prize was far too big for a random youtube comment. Then I was asked for money to cover postage….. and asked to use a gift card from an entirely unconnected business.
In the conversation, this “expert” revealed a lack of knowledge and interest in things I’d expect him to know – particularly firearms law.
Too many red flags.
If you have to send us money to cover costs to get your prize delivered/sent to you, that’s a guaranteed scam right there, each and every time.
Also, there’s a new scam being run that’s the variant of the phone call claiming a relative is injured and they need money wired to them fast. They’re using software to sample the voice of the person and then they impersonate them to make it sound credible to the scam victim. Counter: prearranged and agreed upon codewords for emergency situations.
“It’s your granddaughter, Amy!” (in Amy’s voice)
‘Well hello dear, you sound upset, what’s wrong?’
“Grandma, I’m in trouble, I’m out of state and we got in an accident and I’m at the hospital, and I don’t have any cash to cover the bill, can you wire me $5,000? I’ll pay you back!”
‘… Well sure honey, if that’s what you need. Just one small thing first. What’s the codeword?’
“The what?”
‘The codeword. Tell me the codeword.’
“Grandma, I don’t remember, and I’m really in trouble here and it hurrrrrrts, please just wire the money!”
‘Give me the codeword or you’re talking to yourself.’
“But Grandma!”
*CLICK*
And somewhere James Earl Jones on an E-4B is smiling. (“By Dawn’s Early Light.”)
Peter- Yep, that’s another version of the scams called phishing!
Ag- Good idea!
On the website scams:
1. Know the market. If the Big Names don’t have Item X, the little ones probably don’t either. When Brownells, Graf’s, or Midway can’t get primers, likely nobody has them. Likewise, look at what Item X is selling for elsewhere (when available). We all want pre-Obama pricing, but it ain’t happening. Sweetheart deals are sour, nearly 100%< these days.
2. Look the site over for various red flags. Odd item categorizations, misspellings, Engrish, etc. A LOT of these scam sites – most in fact – are setup and run overseas, and their designers do not actually speak English. 24 hour "chat functions" are another flag; most American businesses, even the big ones, shut down during nighttime hours.
3. Know your laws. Any place that offers primers and powder without hazmat fees is a scam. Any site that allows firearm orders to be placed without FFL (or offers to multiple countries in the shipping section) is a scam. Any place that claims to sell and ship firearms without an FFL of their own is a scam. Any place that claims to ship certain items and firearms to certain states is a scam.
4. Verify information provided by the site. Check FFL numbers against the ATF website; some scammers have harvested real FFL info to put up. Check FFL address against the business address (if you can find it); any discrepancy is a neon sign to stay away. Check the business address on Google maps; many scammers will pick something that "looks good," but upon investigation proves to be a house, or a warehouse, or a factory. Run a search on the address as a standalone; if it doesn't return the business name, avoid it.
5. Don't be taken in by glitz and sales push. While the Big Names' sites have indeed gotten slicker, scammers overdo it often in an attempt to distract from the reg flags. If it seems to be a spiffy site, but there's blatant misspellings and obvious miscategorizations of merchandise, investigate further.
6. Run a /whois on the web site. You're looking for site registrant information, registration duration, and time online. If the site registrant info is hidden (like via NameCheap among others), the site is registered overseas (Iceland is popular, but there are others), the site is registered for only one year, or the site has only been up for a year or less, run away. I have found dozens of scammer sites, and nearly all tick every box here. Overseas site registry is cheaper, they can rent the domain for short periods, they don't want anyone looking them up, and they're staying outside US law.
. And finally, DO NOT EVER USE MONEY TRANSFER GIFTING SERVICES TO BUY FROM A WEBSITE. Absolutely every scammer site I have found, bar none, had no way to use a credit card or other secured transaction. Instead, they demand recourse-less options such as Bitcoin, Zelle, Apple pay, PayPal Friends and Family, gift cards, and the like. Credit card companies have options to claw backoney from scams (even if they don't always use them). Money transfer services, however, do not: once the transfer has happened, it's gone, and up to the good will of the recipient to return it if there's a problem.
In short, if the deal is too good to be true, it isn't true.
(However, I HAVE had TREMENDOUS fun pretending to be an African warlord that got suckered, expected his shipment of arms, and was sending his Boys over to Talk To The Scammers in the past. It's especially fun when you actually can track down where they are, and spook the hell out of them)
A good place to start looking for ammunition and reloading supplies is called Ammoseek.com. They are a listing of sellers. I usually select lowest to highest price. Then you pick the dealer you want. and buy the ammunition. It also gives you a shipping estimate as well.
I agree with not using the scam sites. If I am looking for a powder. If the website has an chat icon in the the ad I immediately leave and look some where else. They also use Vemeo in addition to paypal.