WARNING - Scammers and banned users on the sales forum

otmmyboy2

Hi folks,
We've had an uptick in scammers on this forum so @Cass and I thought it'd be opportune to put a few tips to avoid getting scammed here.
Bear in mind these are in no way exhaustive or definitive as far as how scammers operate, but it is based on trends we have seen recently:

• Recently made accounts,
• Accounts which have been around a while but do not post in the shooting forum(potentially hacked),
• Low/no post counts,
• No posts/discussions within the shooting forums(the vast majority of buyers and sellers are longtime posters in the shooting forums, and this is an excellent way to check someone out, every logged in user can check out other user's posts and discussions via their profile),
• Asking for payment via an unsecured method whether that is friends and family, or whatever other methods leave the buyer with no recourse. Use an escrow type account or any method which holds the money as a third party until the goods are received and only releases the money then. PayPal or similar do this,
• Contact by PM only, most lads will ask a few questions or make an offer on thread before heading to PMs,
• Using social media apps as a form of communication which are easily blocked and ignored. Stick to verified methods of contact,
• "Disposable" emails or contact methods. Not easy to spot but sometimes an email looks dodgy,
• Emails which would be unusual to have from an Irish perspective, ie aol.com, yandex.ru, 126.com, 163.com, etc,
• Language. If they use broken English or sufficiently bad grammar that you know the person is most likely outside the state. Also if they use terms such as "zip code", price in other currencies, or similar that suggests they are "non native".
• If the scammer demands payment or contact via means they want rather than what makes the buyer feel secure to cancel the transaction and risk losing the item. Better safe than sorry,
• Report any and all suspicious contact or accounts to myself(@otmmyboy2) or @Cass. Don't feel embarrassed as all reports are strictly confidential and no one will be exposed as having reported it. Again better safe than sorry and you may well keep another user from being scammed.
• Similar usernames to the banned ones below(people are habitual creatures and often use similar usernames even unintentionally),
• A quick google search of a username or an email can also often yield information on potential scammers,
• A search here for either usernames or emails can also be very helpful: https://www.stopforumspam.com/search
• Stock images(easy way of checking this, save the image and upload it to https://images.google.com/ (the middle icon below) which will do a search for that image on the internet and you'll be able to see any that match
  

Now none of these are necessarily a red flag but a combination can help to form a better background of a potential buyer/seller.

Do bear in mind also that people who are banned from the shooting forum can still read the forum's threads and PM users about adverts, so if you have any doubts about an individual do please contact either myself or @Cass and we can check the user out.

And in general if you have any concerns about a user, thread or post you can either PM myself or Cass, or hit the "Flag" button on any post and "Report" and type out what is the problem and that sends both of us mods a notification.

Users banned from Boards or the shooting forums for violating shooting forum's rules(being banned from the shooting forums also means they are not supposed to message people about things for sale in the shooting for sale/wanted forum, please report any who try and circumvent a ban by messaging buyers/sellers):

@glennpriest

@paulipo

@mcclaffs

@TrappedFox

@Fox in a hole

@Rows Grower

@tikka225

@curleyman

@Al_Bundy

@douglascarls

Any combinations of the name "HolyJames", "Exantusjurge", "matogqetajy", "mriches", MichaelRiches" in usernames, exchanged emails, paypal emails, etc should also be treated as highly suspect since they have been linked to known scammers.

otmmyboy2

Another scammer gone gents, and I wanted to call out one site specifically, allows you to search by username or email to check up on a suspect scammer:

https://www.stopforumspam.com/search

otmmyboy2

Bump here folks, another scammer today, it'll pay to be vigilant especially with wanted adverts being responded to in the run up to Christmas.