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Ghaza at Texas Gun Traders is a Fraud

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  • jordanmills

    TGT Addict
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    Sep 29, 2009
    5,371
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    Pearland, TX
    A very handy tool on TX Gun Trader is the IP address location feature.
    When you open an ad look just under the sellers name. There will be a little red crosshair looking icon.
    Click on it. It will open up another page with the location of the ad owner IP address.
    Match that with any location in the actual ad.
    If the IP is shown as outside of Texas its a scam. Hell I see them on there from Lagos, Nigeria frequently.
    Many of the scammers somehow list Dallas so be careful.
    If the ad says For Sale in Houston and the IP locater says Kansas then you have a fraud.
    Only do live face to face deals. Never ever agree to shipping/sending money.
    Contact the seller thru the Trader website.
    IP geolocation is not very reliable. I deal with that kind of junk all the time for work.

    Edit: BenEnglish already said about the same. It's hard to get scammed if you meet FTF.
    Military Camp
     

    gunbubba

    Member
    Lifetime Member
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    0   0   0
    Jan 2, 2009
    118
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    Texas Gun Trader and Florida Gun Trader are both owned by the same guy. They are also both full of scams. I have notified the site about scams before, many times, the scam ads still remain up and active for days. Other sites have much better tools for flagging ads that actually mark the ad as having been flagged, or take the ad down. The 'flag' function on Texas Gun Trader doesn't appear to do anything. The admin/owner has never responded to contacts I've made asking about improving security on the site. The site is a black eye to online firearms transactions. When they start proposing legislation to shut down firearms sites, Texas Gun Trader will be an example they use as a reason to get rid of them. I'm a little surprised the owner of the site hasn't been sued. There have been several reports here on Texas Gun Talk of people getting scammed on Texas Gun Trader over the years, but it seems to be getting worse in the last several months. I've used the site before, but now the number of fake ads being posted drives legit ads down the page really quickly. I'm not sure it's worth it anymore.
     

    lightflyer1

    Well-Known
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    5   0   0
    May 2, 2015
    1,987
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    Not making an excuse for them but if you can't tell the fake ads or are willing to send money you have no idea who they are it is your fault, not the sites. I have bought and sold there for years with no issues at all. But everything is face to face and cash trades hands after ID's and a look at the gun. I also go armed and with another person in another car just in case. Never had an issue. I have also been known to drive distances to get the gun I want if the "conversation" with the seller feels right. It is always buyer beware on anything. Same thing happens on Craigslist and other free sites. Anyone can post anything for the most part. Do your own due diligence. Most can be spotted as obvious fakes.
     
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    TreyG-20

    TGT Addict
    Rating - 100%
    39   0   0
    Dec 16, 2011
    6,367
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    Central
    That member who just joined today and wants to you reply to his Gmail for the $500 MP5 and send him a check so can deliver it to you is not legit. If you think that it is, you deserve to lose your money.
     

    wbblazer90

    Active Member
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    0   0   0
    Nov 18, 2014
    402
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    Caveat Emptor, there are scams for everything. TGT and armslist is no different. Never had an issue with buying or selling on either site and I only do face to face transactions. If you can’t pick apart the giant red flags on scam ads, then you are better off buying from a big retailer.
     

    benenglish

    Just Another Boomer
    Staff member
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    7   0   0
    Nov 22, 2011
    23,933
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    Spring
    That member who just joined today and wants to you reply to his Gmail for the $500 MP5 and send him a check so can deliver it to you is not legit. If you think that it is, you deserve to lose your money.
    Please point me to this person. PM if you feel more comfortable that way.
     

    gunbubba

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    Jan 2, 2009
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    It's easier to flag a scam ad down on Armslist than it is on Texas Gun Trader. I agree that Armslist has scams, too, but not nearly the percentage that Texas Gun Trader does now. If the admin TxGunTrader would just provide the tools, the users could clean it up. I just did a search for "marlin" on TxGTrader. On the first page of results there are 3 ads for a "1951 JM Marlin 336 30-30" that all are using the same photo under 3 different names with 3 different prices. Over half of the ads on the first page are fakes. Armslist is nowhere near that bad. Craigslist runs a much higher volume of ads, and the amount of fake ads is much less, flagging them down is much easier. Texas Gun Trader has ceased to give a shit. For people to say "Oh, well, the fake ads are so easy to spot", is it your point that we should be OK with a website that provides a platform for criminals to screw over people who aren't as smart as you or me? The folks who are more likely to get screwed over are the elderly and those who are less tech savvy. Again, it wouldn't be hard to clean the site up.
     

    TreyG-20

    TGT Addict
    Rating - 100%
    39   0   0
    Dec 16, 2011
    6,367
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    Central
    It's easier to flag a scam ad down on Armslist than it is on Texas Gun Trader. I agree that Armslist has scams, too, but not nearly the percentage that Texas Gun Trader does now. If the admin TxGunTrader would just provide the tools, the users could clean it up. I just did a search for "marlin" on TxGTrader. On the first page of results there are 3 ads for a "1951 JM Marlin 336 30-30" that all are using the same photo under 3 different names with 3 different prices. Over half of the ads on the first page are fakes. Armslist is nowhere near that bad. Craigslist runs a much higher volume of ads, and the amount of fake ads is much less, flagging them down is much easier. Texas Gun Trader has ceased to give a shit. For people to say "Oh, well, the fake ads are so easy to spot", is it your point that we should be OK with a website that provides a platform for criminals to screw over people who aren't as smart as you or me? The folks who are more likely to get screwed over are the elderly and those who are less tech savvy. Again, it wouldn't be hard to clean the site up.
    I agree it sucks, but sometimes you can't govern everything. Texasguntrader use to be decent about removing scams/spam. Now not at all it seems. I stopped reporting things there when I realized nothing seemed to be done. There is more than ever now and if David Bradford is the only guy running it then he needs some help.

    At the same time it wouldn't hurt if people paid a little more attention and are self-aware. Of course it easy for me to say since my BS meter runs sky high most of the day.
     

    gunbubba

    Member
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    Jan 2, 2009
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    I agree it sucks, but sometimes you can't govern everything. Texasguntrader use to be decent about removing scams/spam. Now not at all it seems. I stopped reporting things there when I realized nothing seemed to be done. There is more than ever now and if David Bradford is the only guy running it then he needs some help.

    At the same time it wouldn't hurt if people paid a little more attention and are self-aware. Of course it easy for me to say since my BS meter runs sky high most of the day.

    But, TreyG-20, me and you gotta save the world from themselves.

    Actually, I've offered to help with the policing at TGTrader, but they've never responded. It seems to go in waves. It was super shitty for a while, then it was better for a while. Right now it's as bad as I've ever seen it. I've seen a couple of guys post on TGTrader about getting scammed and looking for help recently. I agree that you gotta be pretty gullible to send somebody money on that site. One of the things that pisses me off the most about all of the scams is that it causes me to waste more time wading through all the bullshit to find the legit ads.
     

    Axxe55

    Retiretgtshit stirrer
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    0   0   0
    Dec 15, 2019
    47,021
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    Lost in East Texas Elhart Texas
    Anytime there is a crisis, or just a perceived crisis, profiteers and crooks come along to make a quick buck. Look at all the fly by night and shady repair companies that "magically" appear after a natural disaster. These crooks prey on people. Those advertising the great deals on Texas Gun Trader are not any different.

    Buyer Beware. Do you homework, and use some common sense.
     

    rotor

    TGT Addict
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Nov 1, 2015
    4,239
    96
    Texas
    Nobody is live at texasguntrader. I don't know their business model but they never answer emails and seem to all function as a robot. On the other hand, I have bought a few guns locally through them with good sales. Face to face is important, always someone with you that is armed, never someone that just became a member yesterday.
    There are rarely sales near where I live and their zipcode search is always down.
    Armslist has gone to subscription and is worthless.
     

    TEXAS "All or nothing"

    Active Member
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    0   0   0
    Mar 24, 2021
    922
    76
    Texas
    Anytime there is a crisis, or just a perceived crisis, profiteers and crooks come along to make a quick buck. Look at all the fly by night and shady repair companies that "magically" appear after a natural disaster. These crooks prey on people. Those advertising the great deals on Texas Gun Trader are not any different.

    Buyer Beware. Do you homework, and use some common sense.
    That's what Stockey's was making me feel like!
     

    Grumps21

    TGT Addict
    TGT Supporter
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    1   0   0
    Apr 28, 2021
    4,032
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    Houston
    That’s the problem with free classifieds. It’s easy scam if there’s nothing to lose. As much as I like “free”, I wouldn't mind a site that has cheap pay listings instead. Say, $1 per listing. Not enough to impact serious sellers but enough to deter the free for nothing crowd. I think that once there is skin in the game, the scammers go away
     

    wbblazer90

    Active Member
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Nov 18, 2014
    402
    46
    That’s the problem with free classifieds. It’s easy scam if there’s nothing to lose. As much as I like “free”, I wouldn't mind a site that has cheap pay listings instead. Say, $1 per listing. Not enough to impact serious sellers but enough to deter the free for nothing crowd. I think that once there is skin in the game, the scammers go away

    Armslist is no longer free and that place is still full of scams. A friend just sent me a link to one to verify. Best thing to do is ftf cash.
     
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