I had heard some people saying that there were lots of scam websites with firearm brand names in the urls scamming people. Especially with the pandemic buying and the limited supply more people were taking a chance with paying a site that they had never bought from before. I looked at some of the examples that were mentioned on ar15.com board and reddit scams and started to see some patterns.

I decided to use my internet skills and website experience to see if I could find more, identify them, help others avoid getting taken and maybe getting these jokers pushed off the internet and maybe convince them to get a real job.

Long Story Short: I found 358 Now 407 - April Fools 635 scam sites that I am 99% certain are scams and online now or recently!


Here is the first page of the list not linked and not in plaintext.



I suggest not giving them free links and even placing their url in plain text might alert them to this post.

Here are some patterns I see in them you should avoid any website or person that:

Payment Patterns They don't want:
Credit Card - Not always true. I think some sites take it then email you saying it failed for an alternate. There are also now offshore credit card processors that resist chargebacks!
In Person Local Pickup
Mailing a Check to a Location

They want to be Paid Only by:
Zelle - this is supposed to be for friends and has NO Refunds. Not supposed to pay for firearms or parts
Apple Pay - Not sure about refunds here. Not supposed to Pay for Firearms or Parts
Paypal Friends and Family - No Refunds and can get your account banned buying firearms or Parts
Crypto of any Form - No Refund
Venmo - No Refund and Not supposed to be used for firearms or ammo
Prepaid Debit Cards - No Refund
Bank Transfer to a strange name or country - Hard to get Refund
Gift Cards of Any Kind - No Refund

The site Has:
New Domain Registration  Check whois start date Free Whois Check Any Website
Anonymous domain registration
Spelling or Grammar Mistakes
Not Complete or shows "Lorem Ipsum" copy.
Hosted in a country that is not where they are located supposedly.
Strange Domain Name Server
Probably Wordpress with Nice Theme
Does not link their real social media accounts.
Does not have many (or any) blog posts
Does not have much in the footer
Not that companies main website that is probably decades old at this point.
They are not a authorized dealer listed on the main manufacturer site.
The address might be a real business, it might be fake or it might be just missing.
The phone number may be missing, in another state or even in the correct state.
Bad Reviews on BBB, Reseller Ratings, Google Reviews, or gun forums.

The Prices:
Are a little too good to be true  Create Urgency
But might now be realistic - Updated 4/1/2022
Are lower than current market pricing.
You get discounts if you use Crypto. How can they do that?

Their Inventory:
Everything seems to be in stock
Even old, discontinued and antique models.
Even rare models that you never see at shops and are only in high-end collections.

Their Shipping:
Often they do not ask about shipping to a FFL
They seem to ship ANYTHING to Cali, Mass, Chicago, and New York
Might offer free or really cheap shipping for rifles and heavy items.
Seems to not have anything to do with size or weight but is a standard cost like $20.
Might offer free shipping for large orders that are really heavy and bulky even with low product prices.

You might think other people are like you and honest. They are not. If you see even some of the above is true DO NOT buy from them. DO NOT let them give you an excuse for anything. They have answers for everything. They are all lies. If you want to mess with them, offer them lower offers, ask for their email contacts for Google Pay, Paypal etc and report them. Mess with them on chat etc. Report them as a scam to their webhosting company. Have fun. A lot of them have chat on their sites and they will answer all hours of the day or night. What real company answers chat at 3am US time?

Here are some important links that I used to create this list:

Scam Detector

BBB

Reseller Ratings

More Reading:

Scam Warners

419 Eater

Report Fraud to FTC if in USA

This site ar15.com has authorized advertisers that can be found at the top of the page with links to them.

You can also go to your local gun store and hold or even try things before you buy. Pay Cash or Credit Card if you want. Things are coming back in stock, do not be desperate and get scammed.

While researching this story I found fake scams sites listing pistols, revolvers, rifles, shotguns, ammunition, primers, antiques, airsoft stuff and accessories. With real FFL and manufacturer names in the url. There really is no limit and they know how to research models and that there is limited supply in USA over past 2 years. They can use Wordpress.org code and standardized themes and plugins to have a working site done in a short amount of time. They are using standardized tools to make sites quickly and can just copy a database and move it to a new domain, host or folder on a server as needed. If one site gets bad reviews they move on.

Some of these sites are the names of real companies or FFL holders who are being impersonated. If you  know of any sites impersonating real people or using their FFL # on websites please let me know and I will put them at the top of my list to get them taken down.

I have removed 2 about 15 sites doing so while researching this story in the past month. They are in the list still as are some other sites that have been taken down by others.

Just because they are not listed here does not mean they are safe. Also I did not list real companies that just ship slow or don't have real-time inventory on their site.

If scammed most Gratifying is Taking Their Site Down
If you have been scammed or just want something taken down the best way to do that is to report them to their abuse department of the webhost. Usually [email protected]

Caveat Emptor!

Here are the last 4 pages of scammers alphabetized:

Good work. This might need a sticky.

I just ordered some ammo though a vender I found on Ammoseek....that I've never heard of...

Hope I get it.

Nice work. These assholes should keep their bullshit to whichever third world shitholes they hail from.

Done it a few times and never had a problem. What site was it?

Yeah I've stumbled upon quite a few searching for specific firearms. They're usually very obvious with prices too good to be true and the big red flag with not accepting credit cards.

That would only be useful if the images were turned to actual text, so the names would appear in searches.

.

https://www.shawarms.com/

Using the procedure I used for this list I don't see any redflags.

They take CC

They have good reviews on AMMOSEEK

No bad reviews on BBB. Well but no good either.

Their domain is almost 2 years old. Not great but not terrible.

Free Whois Lookup on Shaw Arms

But I think you can see that  when everyone is using premade themes and Wordpress the difference between a real site and a scam site is very small. At times I was not sure if a site was real or fake until I got to the checkout and the payment options were bad. The appearance of a few is so good.

I probably would not have but I am really careful and have very common caliber stuff.

I think you are probably ok.


PS I might change this list to plain text if some admin convinces me it should be if they want to sticky it.

Found one that had lots of powder and primers in stock at very good prices.  Added a couple of items, went to checkout, only crypto/zelle/venmo

Buh bye

I second this.

This

If I can't use my AmEx I ain't buying.

Great post OP.

I honestly had no idea how bad this was until a couple months ago when I started looking for powder and primers for a couple new projects and couldn't find what I wanted at the half dozen or so vendors I've used before.

It's gotten way out of control,

WOW..!!

Your time and efforts spent
on researching these, is most
appreciated..!!!

Oh you'll get it...either a lesson or a bunch of primers

Man, I wish I could remember the name of the site...

I was recently looking for a 308 bolt action.  I had narrowed it down to a couple of different models.  There was one that was out of stock everywhere.  I finally found it in stock at a pre-panic price.  I was instantly suspicious.  Oh yeah, the place was supposedly in Alaska and offered free shipping.  Big red flag.  I went ahead and added it to the cart using bogus info to see where it would go.  Came to the payment screen, crypto only.

I wonder how many people fell for it.

Edit to add - recently I have started checking Arfcom for any sites I'm suspicious of.  I go to google and search the website name adding 'site:ar15.com' at the end.  So far every site I have looked for has had at least one thread on Arfcom asking if the site was GTG or not.

A really good red flag is if you can set the country to something other than the US. No small online retailer is shipping guns to the UK or Japan.

I had someone message me a fake site that is impersonating their real site. They have told me I can add it to the list and make an instructional video about it.

Here is the video and how I walk through a website and determine if a site is real or fake:



Feel free to share or embed on other forums if you wish.

PS: I have been working on the scam firearm list and it is now up to 398 scam sites with some new footprints I found.

I was looking for primers, search sent me to a possible site which had stuff in stock....ON SALE! I went to the check site you referenced, seems to be a shaky type site, based out of Reykjavik but info on site says Kommifornia. Don't think I will chance it,  OP can you verify my fears?

@mike4eva

Attached File

Thank you.

Good work, OP. Thanks for posting.

What about heritage armory? I ordered 3k worth of ammo from them a week ago... No tracking, no customer service since I placed the order

They seem real, although their BBB is full of complaints. You'll probably get your stuff, eventually. You can always do a chargeback on your credit card.

Been looking on and off for a Kel Tec P17 to have around for fun. Pretty much sold out everywhere. So when I do find one in stock I'm real wary.
Today Dark Sky Armory showed one in stock. Like they have been for a while now. Kind of a warning sign when no one else has one. Chat popped up so I told chat they looked like a scam. I had put their "last" one in the basket but didn't check out.
Chat told me for sure they had one. When I said I put it in the basket and got an out of stock message chat assured me someone else had just bought it. Told chat they were scammers.
Checked their site a couple hours later, still have one in stock. Just went back and still one in stock.

I also checked a place in Tennessee called Royal Reload. Seemed like a scam but they put an address and city on their site. Went to the map of the city and saw a place called Arms and Ammo or some such at the address they had put up. Looked up their phone number so I called and asked if they were Royal Reload. Guy told me that was a scam site using their address.

I've got my FFL keeping an eye out for one.

OK.

Wife found a CMMG Banshee she liked at Discreet Firearms Plug. So we went through the order process.  

1. No credit card payment page.
2. No business phone number.  Contact only through email.
3. Payment only through "Money Wallet" (not sure what that is).  It had a bar code to take a screen shot and some sketchy links you could click on.

When we canceled the order, we could not copy or print the page so we took a photo.

Hey @floater33

They appear real. I think it’s a small shop that got slammed all at once with Russian ammo panic buying. He actually stopped people from placing orders on the 25th and marked the items out of stock.

A scam site would have kept taking money/orders.

impressive.

asking GD will surely add another 87 to that from those with personal experience.

10-4

Sorry Everyone My messaging does not seem to be working. I will look into that.

Here are responses to everyone. Good to see it does not appear any of you got taken (or at least are admitting to it)

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

@MTShooter
Good Call that is a scam site. I added it to my list and will see if I can identify any fingerprints to find more of that scam. I do not reload so I have not been seeing as many of these scams.

Any reloaders have a list or some examples that are not in my first post in this thread?

That has a lot of scam warnings:
New Domain
Site says they were founded in 1997 but just started a domain 25 years later?
Located in West Hollywood but no address
Only Take Zelle, Apple Pay, BitCoin Cash App (Kiss of Death)
Must order at least $200? WTF
Spelling Mistakes on site

<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>

@floater33
Heritage Armory seems to be legit. Lots of people on reddit are saying they changed procedures recently and only deal with dealers now:
https://www.reddit.com/r/gundealsFU/comments/t5k19i/reviewpositive_heritagearmorycom/

Reasons Why I think Legit:
Don’t let just people put stuff in cart and pay
Have to be Approved
Domain is several years old
Several good reviews on Reddit
Not a lot of bad reviews
Seems good on Scam Detector:
https://www.scam-detector.com/validator/heritagearmory-com-review/

Like said above see if you can get in touch and need to change or cancel order. You have 60 days to dispute a Credit Card Charge from the date you get the bill. Debit Card shorter time.

<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

@15jonshoot
Dark Sky Armory
Scam Site IMHO
Why Scam
Spelling Mistakes
Only Take Zelle, Cash App, Bitcoin, Paypal Venmo
No Address
No Phone Number
4 Months Old

Better than most
Seems like some inventory Control
Checkout asks for FFL Upload
These sites are getting better. Be Careful!

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
@slowboogie

discreet firearms plug site
Yep your instincts were correct. I hope you did not pay them. It was not clear from your post.
That is a scam Why:
Notice it is a Standard Wordpress theme and uses same logo as Dark Sky Armory above
1 Year Old site but footer says 15 years old
Crypto Or Zelle Only

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

And now we are over 400 scam firearm sites… Bingo?

Well done OP. Thank you for your efforts.

Really useful info that reminds us just how cautious one needs to be. Thanks.

I just stick to site sponsors Gunbroker or local shops.

If it’s too good to be true it probably is.

Not just firearms, these are all great tips that apply to pretty many other product types as well.

Wonder how many of them are run by the atf, or fbi ?

I like this one, now I can protect my Mail order marijuana…

Attached File

Wow that one of the worst looking firearms sites I have seen.

I like how the left side of the page says 30 day returns and the right side says 90 days to return. LOL.

But it is nice of them to link all their scam sites from one location. So people like me can search and destroy.

It seems like they like doing things that are slightly illegal so people think they cannot complain to their payment processor or the authorities.

That one site gave me leads on 4 other sites.

I need to really figure out an automated way to find these and get them knocked down. Any web scrapers or programmers (probably Python) on the forum who want to volunteer?

With experience searching through pages of a website looking for patterns?

Or search all the domains registered looking for patterns? I am doing it in a somewhat automated fashion that is probably missing things.

Update to First Post. I checked the new sites I was seeing and the ones mentioned above and we are now up to 407 scam firearm sites not 358 that it was 2 weeks ago.

Awesome info and really appreciate your efforts my man

Ammo showed up a few days after my previous post.  

Just got an email from heritage. They refunded my 3k. I'd rather have the ammo but whatever

Any issues with The Castle Arms?

https://gatewayammunition.com/

https://ammunitionstoreonline.com/

https://hornadyarmory.com/

https://dukesfirearms.com/

     Learned a few things here. Thanks OP.

Hi @Nate19,
I have not shopped there but looked at it using my criteria and it seems legit but on the questionable side.

They seem to be a pawn shop chain that also sells firearms and ammo.

They take Credit Cards so that is good but I not all sites that do are legit.

They were banned from reddit posting for spamming:
https://www.reddit.com/r/gundealsFU/comments/j72kuo/question_has_anyone_heard_of_thecastlearmscom/

When I search their locations there are pawnshops at those locations with similar names presumably same company.

the castle jewelry dut com

Notice same theme as site design as their gun site.

They were charging high prices during the pandemic and people took offense to it.

If I could visit in person I would not have a problem with doing that and looking at what I was buying before purchase.

Their prices are a little on the low side. I would beware. Also they say they take up to 14 days to ship.

I think they are a real company (chain of pawn shops) that are doing guns as well and do not have real time inventory. Maybe they try to get something once an order is placed.

Your choice if you buy from them or not as you know your level of risk you accept.

Thanks @ENGCPT Most are scams but last one seems legit. Is there something you saw that I missed?

<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>
gateway ammunition
16 months old
privacy on
homepage claim "The Greatest Ammo Shop Ever"
slow loading like host overseas
EVERYTHING in stock
zelle,bitcoin,venmo,cash app
no credit cards
scam

<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>
ammunition store online
9 months old
privacy on
zelle,bitcoin,apple pay, google pay, pp ff, cash app,venmo
scam

<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>

hornady armory
6 months old
privacy on
crypto only
scam

<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>

dukes firearms
6 months old
privacy on
zelle, venmo only
scam

<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>

panhandle precision
7 Year old site
Does not have ecommerce function or seem to ask for money.
Lots of social media history
Seems like legit fan site - Not a scam

<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>

I added those first 4 to the list and will update list images as soon as I get a chance.

Might want to add handloadingsupply.com to your list - looks like a clone of primerssupply.com (which is on your list.)   They have an FFL listed as well. No CCs. 3-5 day ship delay.  Site up for 1 year.

@Senator16
Yes that has been added to the list. And a little birdie told me that this site has been suspended

Bumping For April Fools! Don't get tricked and don't trust any of these Fools.

I found some new tools and tricks for finding fingerprints for these scam websites.

The list has been updated from 407 to 635 scam domains that are online or have been recently. The new list images are in the first post. They are still only 5 pages but had to make it 3 columns not 2.

There are websites that are doing a few very shady things:

Writing Fake Reviews on Trust Pilot, Reseller Ratings and other Review sites.

Using wordpres plugins that look like lots of other people are buying. All of that data can be faked. :(

Using some form that looks like they take credit cards but then they will email you saying it failed and asking for Venmo payment.

Using some off-shore credit card processors that tend to refuse customer service contact and do not easily do refunds.

Credit Cards are no longer safe on these new sites.

I would only trust good sites that have positive reviews from people you trust and have actually received product not just some good price someone found online.

Doing SEO research some of these sites have literally hundreds of thousands of links and some of them look like they hacked the sites for a link.


I made about 11 videos of me walking through what I look for and some of the things I have seen. I would appreciate some video views, likes, subscribes etc:

Scam Reporter Youtube Channel

I think I added it on accident.  I edited my post.