Couldn't resist this one

[ithacaartist]

Several years ago I caught a fresh listing for a Navy on Armslist, I think it was. At a right dandy price, so I committed to buy and began correspondence. While I was busy siphoning off a bit of my IRA to pay for it, my FFL dealer informed me that there was something fishy about the FFL copy he'd been sent. The number didn't line up with the name, and the address was in a different state...fraudulent indeed. I found the same gun listed on at least two other classified/auction sites, and the owner of the listing with the most realistic asking price turned out to be the real owner of the gun. I told him about the other sites and listings, and gave all the info to the seller's most local ATF office, which basically promised to do nothing.

In light of this, a good rule of thumb might be to make sure a valid FFL is sent before you let go of funds for a gun. Transacting through FFLs does provide the benefit of ability to verify what's on the other end of a deal, and provides accountability.