So I have a scammer on the hook pretty hard and I’m curious if it’s worth turning them over to the authorities or not.
I posted a WTB ad on another forum for a Leupold 1.5-5x20 (I’ll put an ad up here soon too lol), and this guy responded with an illuminated version. He sent me photos in my email that to the untrained eye looked pretty good, though something about them felt off a bit. I chalked it up to bad lighting, and since I’d never seen the illuminated duplex in that model, I did some googling to see if I could find a pic of one. I did, and it happened to be in an old GunsInternational.com ad for a scope that sold. That scope bore an uncanny resemblance to the one this guy sent me, so I looked deeper.
Turns out, it’s the exact same scope/exact same photos, with two small differences: the floor/background was changed, and one digit in the serial number was changed (last two digits of the scammer are “88,” last two of the real one are “98”). Everything else is exactly the same. Same fibers in the same places, same wear on the caps, same scratches, the levers on the QD rings are in the same positions, etc. He took the real photos, changed the serial by one digit, and then changed the backgrounds and shadows (which was the part that seemed a little off to me, because it was).
I confirmed the scam by asking for a pic of the reticle, and he simply pulled the same exact reticle photo from the ad and sent it to me.
He’s asking $375, which is about $125 or so less than I’d expect an illuminated VX-III 1.5-5x20 to cost. He wants payment using a USPS money order, so I’d get either an address or a PO box or something I could direct law enforcement to. Is this worth forwarding to authorities, or should I just tell him I’m keen to his scam and to go fornicate with himself? Since he wants to use the post office to both receive payment and “send the scope,” that would be a federal offense, no? I know $375 isn’t much, but if he’s taking numerous people for that, it adds up (and he may be trying to take others for much more). Thoughts?
I posted a WTB ad on another forum for a Leupold 1.5-5x20 (I’ll put an ad up here soon too lol), and this guy responded with an illuminated version. He sent me photos in my email that to the untrained eye looked pretty good, though something about them felt off a bit. I chalked it up to bad lighting, and since I’d never seen the illuminated duplex in that model, I did some googling to see if I could find a pic of one. I did, and it happened to be in an old GunsInternational.com ad for a scope that sold. That scope bore an uncanny resemblance to the one this guy sent me, so I looked deeper.
Turns out, it’s the exact same scope/exact same photos, with two small differences: the floor/background was changed, and one digit in the serial number was changed (last two digits of the scammer are “88,” last two of the real one are “98”). Everything else is exactly the same. Same fibers in the same places, same wear on the caps, same scratches, the levers on the QD rings are in the same positions, etc. He took the real photos, changed the serial by one digit, and then changed the backgrounds and shadows (which was the part that seemed a little off to me, because it was).
I confirmed the scam by asking for a pic of the reticle, and he simply pulled the same exact reticle photo from the ad and sent it to me.
He’s asking $375, which is about $125 or so less than I’d expect an illuminated VX-III 1.5-5x20 to cost. He wants payment using a USPS money order, so I’d get either an address or a PO box or something I could direct law enforcement to. Is this worth forwarding to authorities, or should I just tell him I’m keen to his scam and to go fornicate with himself? Since he wants to use the post office to both receive payment and “send the scope,” that would be a federal offense, no? I know $375 isn’t much, but if he’s taking numerous people for that, it adds up (and he may be trying to take others for much more). Thoughts?
's about fraud, whether or not it's federal.
