Internet scamming is on the rise on the internet and this site is no different. Both scam sellers and buyers troll all forms of internet classified ad pages and auction sites. Most all internet sales type sites have been experiencing these issues.

To help protect yourself from these scammers, American Airguns is recommending that all buyers and sellers use a United States Postal Service Money Orders for payment of items bought and sold on the internet from unknown private individuals and only send the payments using the United States Postal Service.

Find a USPS Inspector Office Near You.
File a Mail Fraud Complaint Online.

The following information was taken from the GunsAmerica website:

Internet scammers fear the United States Postal Service Inspectors. Scammers may ask you to Fedex or UPS a bank issued cashier’s check to them. This method of payment is unsafe and can cost you the hard earned money you thought you were sending to a legitimate seller. The same is true for any sort of bank transfer or Western Union. The only law enforcement body who will stand up for you across the entire United States are the United States Postal Service Inspectors. If you use USPS money orders and mail them USPS, you generate what they call a “nexus” and if you are scammed online, they will respond to your complaint.

Paypal may not be a good option. Has been hostile in the past to gun sales and there is no garuantee that they will help you in the event of a bad deal. That said, PayPal may be better than sending a personal check.

That leaves the option of mailing your payment to the seller, and this is by far where the majority of online fraud occurs. Unfortunately, law enforcement across state lines is a hole in our justice system. The FBI is supposed to handle it, but they have been focused on Homeland Security since 911. To get FBI involved generally takes over $100,000 in losses. You might think BATFE would be interested in fraud cases involving any type of guns, but in much of the fraud, there are no actual airguns for sale. The pictures in the ads are taken from overseas internet sites. BATFE has little if any jurisdiction.

At the state and local level, in some places there is a huge support network of law enforcement for internet fraud. Some states and cities even have internet, or cyber, task forces. But in the wake of budget cuts, many of these are falling away. And in much of the country, this type of law enforcement doesn’t exist whatsoever. If you call the PD where you sent your money, they will simply tell you to file a complaint with your local PD and that will be the last you hear of it.

There is only one body of law enforcement reliably watching the internet crime ship, and that is the United States Postal Service. Postal Inspectors have been extremely responsive to calls and emails, and they have ended at least three fraud rings where the scammers were focusing on many gun buying and selling websites.

Most of this fraud originates from outside the country, however some of it is from the US. The scams will either state that they want to buy your item for more than the advertised amount and have you refund the difference to them or they will advertise items using pictures and descriptions taked from overseas sales websites like GunStar. knowing full well that most American buyers wouldn't have checked those sites.

Internet fraud is an ever changing picture. There are many scammers all over the internet and they change their tactics freqently. No matter what the scammers come up with next, rest assured that the United States Postal Service will be on the job as your own personal interstate police force fighting internet crime on your behalf. Please do not deviate from this suggestion. Use USPS Money Orders, mailed via USPS to give yourself the most protection possible.