How does a Firearm Scam work?

You may ask your self, how does a firearm scam work? A Gun scam or Firearm scam is simply a “Non Delivery Scam”.
Scammers will look for expensive, in demand goods and then create an ecommerce website and shipping website to pretend to sell and ship those goods. You can see the latest gun scam websites here

Firearms scam websites usually ask for payment by insecure methods such as Zelle, Cashapp, Bitcoin or Paypal (Friends and Family).

The online Firearm Scam involves criminals pretending to be legitimate online sellers, either with a fake website or a fake ad on a genuine retailer site.

How this scam works

Warning signs

Protect yourself

Have you been scammed?

How the Firearm scam works

While many online sellers are legitimate, unfortunately scammers can use the anonymous nature of the internet to rip off unsuspecting shoppers.

Scammers use the latest technology to set up fake retailer websites that look like genuine online retail stores. They may use sophisticated designs and layouts, possibly stolen logos, and even a ‘.com’ domain name and stolen Federal Firearms License (FFL).

Many of these websites offer Firearms, ammunition and primers at very low prices. Items being sold are often in high demand. The criminals will not send you a substandard product, they will not refund you if you complain, they are criminals and will just keep your money and send you nothing.

The biggest tip-off that a retail website is a scam is the method of payment. Scammers will often ask you to pay using insecure payment types such as:

• Zelle
• CashApp
• Paypal (Friends and Family)
• Bitcoin
• Money orders
• Pre-loaded money card
• Wire transfer

but if you send your money this way, you will lose it and will not receive your purchased item.

A Gun scam or Firearm scam is simply a “Non Delivery Scam”.
Scammers will look for expensive, in demand goods and then create an ecommerce website and shipping website to pretend to sell and ship those goods. You can see the latest gun scam websites here

Firearms scam websites usually ask for payment by insecure methods such as Zelle, Cashapp, Bitcoin or Paypal (Friends and Family).

Warning signs

A product is advertised at an unbelievably low price, or advertised to have amazing benefits or features that sound too good to be true.

The other party insists on immediate payment, or payment by electronic funds transfer or a wire service. They may insist that you pay up-front for vouchers before you can access a cheap deal or a give-away.

The social media based store is very new and selling products at very low prices. The store may have limited information about delivery and other policies.

An online retailer does not provide adequate information about privacy, terms and conditions of use, dispute resolution or contact details. The seller may be based overseas, or the seller does not allow payment through a secure payment service such as PayPal or a credit card transaction.

Protect yourself

Check the website. Does it offer unlimited stock for a very good price? Does it promote a social media presence? Check the contact page. Is there adequate contact information in case you have a dispute?If there is a phone number, call it. A quick chat should tell you if the seller knows guns or if they are reading from a script.

Check the WHOIS of the website to see when it was registered. Scammers websites get shut down regularly so their websites rarely last longer than one year. You can check the whois here:WHO.IS

Check the payment methods. Scammers ask for payment using everything from Bitcoin to Zelle to Western Union. If a website offers any of these methods you can assume it is a scam.
Some offer credit card payments as well as Zelle etc but this is just so they can steal your credit card information.
Consider using a gun-friendly escrow service

Avoid any arrangement with a stranger that asks for up-front payment via money order, wire transfer, international funds transfer, pre-loaded card or electronic currency, like Bitcoin. It is rare to recover money sent this way. Never send money or give credit card or online account details to anyone you don’t know or trust.

Have you been scammed?

If you fall victim to a Firearm scam the scammer will continue to try to demand money form you. They will never admit that they are a scammer.

If you have paid by Credit Card you can file a dispute with your Credit card company however scammers, as a rule, will ask for payment through insecure and untraceable payment systems.

You can help others by reporting the scam website to us so we can publish a report on it.

Report a gun scam here