Deacon Doug Posted February 12 Posted February 12 Got an email from a Todd German claiming to be a cowboy I had just agreed to buy from. He included a copy of the ad and asked for my address to ship to. I told him the check was in the mail. the next day(today) I get another email saying he takes paypal and F&F and gives me a different name and an address. That is below: ROBERT E COLTON. 108 E Spruce St Rich Hill, Mo. 64779 Avoid both of these guys. DD 2
Kodiak Bill Posted February 12 Posted February 12 What were you buying? Maybe I have 1 I’d sell you! 1
Leroy Luck Posted February 12 Posted February 12 That Missouri address either shows an empty grass lot or a grain elavator. Depending which map app you use. 1
Cleburne, SASS # 39597 Posted February 12 Posted February 12 That's the same crook that tried to scam me, representing himself as Texas Red. I just filled out a report on him with the Federal Trade Commission. I suggest you do likewise. 2
R. R. Ranger Posted February 12 Posted February 12 Todd German is the same name used to scam me via a PayPal payment. Seems he has popped up on several deals on the wire if you look through the scammer posts. 2
Rooster Ron Wayne Posted February 12 Posted February 12 If you tell people to contact you threw the SASS Wire so you can know if it's really them or not . They can't fake there profile here on the Wire ! 3 1
Mack Hacker, #60477 Posted February 12 Posted February 12 I was just scammed for $710 last month with all contact done over the SASS Wire. Everyone on the wire is not who they claim to be. Be safe out there. The SASS wire community is not as innocent as it used to be. 8
Rooster Ron Wayne Posted February 13 Posted February 13 3 hours ago, Mack Hacker, #60477 said: I was just scammed for $710 last month with all contact done over the SASS Wire. Everyone on the wire is not who they claim to be. Be safe out there. The SASS wire community is not as innocent as it used to be. If you got ripped off by someone who is actually a member of SASS . You should call them out by name on the SASS Wire and With SASS itself ! Rooster 2 1
Ethan Cord Posted February 13 Posted February 13 4 hours ago, Mack Hacker, #60477 said: I was just scammed for $710 last month with all contact done over the SASS Wire. Everyone on the wire is not who they claim to be. Be safe out there. The SASS wire community is not as innocent as it used to be. That is unfortunate, I have done business with you and know that you are a pard to ride the river with. Maybe it's time to ask if anyone can vouch for the buyer/seller when they respond to the original ad. 2 1
Doc Ironbeard Posted February 13 Posted February 13 Sounds like we need to take a knotted plow line to a couple of folks!! 2
Preacherman Posted February 13 Posted February 13 Maybe another level of real reliable SASS member security? 2 1
Chain Blue, BPGF Posted February 13 Posted February 13 It's been a few years since I did much trading on the wire, Every cowboy I done business Was honest and straight forward with me and I with him. I guess the wire must have really changed since I've been gone. I hope you all come out OK... CB
Happy Appy Posted February 13 Posted February 13 With as many members as we have u know there can be a bad apple now and them. I ran into one in Col;o some years ago. HA
Ricochet Roy, SASS #71853 Posted February 14 Posted February 14 Never ever, ever, ever agree to Family & Friends. 1
Boggus Deal #64218 Posted February 14 Posted February 14 21 hours ago, Ethan Cord said: That is unfortunate, I have done business with you and know that you are a pard to ride the river with. Maybe it's time to ask if anyone can vouch for the buyer/seller when they respond to the original ad. Get their name, alias and badge number and call the SASS headquarters. Someone contacted Dusty Boddams claiming to be me. I had the same guy contact me claiming to be Cat Cummings.
Eyesa Horg Posted February 14 Posted February 14 2 minutes ago, Ricochet Roy, SASS #71853 said: Never ever, ever, ever agree to Family & Friends. I use it a lot here. I like knowing I've paid and they got the money. I hate waiting to hear if a Pard has gotten my check! Especially if I've already received the item. Anything expensive there'd likely be phone calls first as well. 1
John Kloehr Posted February 14 Posted February 14 3 minutes ago, Eyesa Horg said: I use it a lot here. I like knowing I've paid and they got the money. I hate waiting to hear if a Pard has gotten my check! Especially if I've already received the item. Anything expensive there'd likely be phone calls first as well. Nothing wrong with PayPal as long as it is not a firearm, ammo, or other item prohibited by the terms of service. The question is whether to use Friends and Family or have purchase protection. I have used F&F with sellers here many times, and one of the sellers has all sales under his business entity so he voluntarily takes the percentage hit. I have also asked a few times if someone can vouch for a seller (someone did). What I have never done here is purchase from a seller with no history (without some vouch) and never done a sale based on information outside of site PMs. Note that "securely" exchanging email addresses in PMs does nothing to prevent some scammer from finding a personal email in the wild and either trying to steal the product by redirecting shipment elsewhere or stealing payment. Do business by PM only and only with buyers and sellers with history (or a trustworthy vouch). 2
Waimea Posted February 14 Posted February 14 On 2/12/2025 at 4:45 PM, Mack Hacker, #60477 said: I was just scammed for $710 last month with all contact done over the SASS Wire. Everyone on the wire is not who they claim to be. Be safe out there. The SASS wire community is not as innocent as it used to be. That's really sad. The Wire used to be a safe oasis from bandits and thieves. 1
Cholla Posted February 14 Posted February 14 Wait until the scammers learn to use AI tools. The company I work for sent out a warning that it’s simple now for scammers to mimic someone’s voice and can replace the faces on photos and videos of someone else. The examples showed how they can make it appear a loved one took money from an ATM, held up someone, or requested money for bail or even just a normal payment. They recommended making a safe word with loved ones to determine if the person is really who they seem. 2
Chain Blue, BPGF Posted February 14 Posted February 14 For me personally Even though sometimes I think they use pony express.. There's nothing like a USPS money order and a tracking number. 1
Ranger Mike Posted February 16 Posted February 16 I had a Todd German try to sell to me a Stoeger 20 ga. He was "Sagebrush Burns, SASS # 14226. " Some things didn't "feel right" - so I didn't do business with him. His ad for the Stoeger 20 ga is still on the wire forum classifieds. If the administrators read this, check him out - is he a real cowboy - or just a scammer? Thanks Todd German From:toddallengerman@gmail.com Sat, Feb 15 at 4:58 AM Hello Mike Range. Sagebrush Burns, SASS # 14226 I'm messaging you concerning my Stoeger Coachgun 20 ga , I still gave it available for sale in good condition perfectly working, I'm willing to let it go , I look into shipping cost to Michigan $60 we can work on shipping cost , kindly get back to me with your FFL address if you are still interested. Thanks & Best Regards.
Cholla Posted February 16 Posted February 16 (edited) 19 minutes ago, Ranger Mike said: I had a Todd German try to sell to me a Stoeger 20 ga. He was "Sagebrush Burns, SASS # 14226. " Some things didn't "feel right" - so I didn't do business with him. His ad for the Stoeger 20 ga is still on the wire forum classifieds. If the administrators read this, check him out - is he a real cowboy - or just a scammer? Thanks Todd German From:toddallengerman@gmail.com Sat, Feb 15 at 4:58 AM Hello Mike Range. Sagebrush Burns, SASS # 14226 I'm messaging you concerning my Stoeger Coachgun 20 ga , I still gave it available for sale in good condition perfectly working, I'm willing to let it go , I look into shipping cost to Michigan $60 we can work on shipping cost , kindly get back to me with your FFL address if you are still interested. Thanks & Best Regards. Did you get the message via email? Is your email exposed somewhere on the wire? Sagebrush Burns is most likely not who's contacting you if it isn't through the wire PM service. Edit: You have your yahoo email listed under your profile so any scammer can email you. Remove your email and only deal through the wire PMs. Edited February 16 by Cholla 1
Beartrap SASS#57175 Posted February 16 Posted February 16 A big tip off to scammers is when they use the term "kindly". 2 1
Cholla Posted February 16 Posted February 16 On 2/14/2025 at 8:42 AM, Chain Blue, BPGF said: For me personally Even though sometimes I think they use pony express.. There's nothing like a USPS money order and a tracking number. Most of the time, that's safe, but USPS money orders are being counterfeited, so always cash them at a post office before sending anything, and a tracking number only means you were sent something. Scammers love to ship garbage (rocks, broken car parts, etc) to buyers as it provides a tracking number. It doesn't prove what is in the package. 1 3
Ranger Mike Posted February 16 Posted February 16 5 hours ago, Cholla said: Did you get the message via email? Is your email exposed somewhere on the wire? Sagebrush Burns is most likely not who's contacting you if it isn't through the wire PM service. Edit: You have your yahoo email listed under your profile so any scammer can email you. Remove your email and only deal through the wire PMs. Cholla, Thanks for the heads up. I've removed my email. He's currently on the wire forum page, selling a Stoeger 20 ga. From his profile, he's 90 years old... Might be legit - might be a scammer - might be his powder ain't dry anymore. Still, not someone I want to deal with.
John Kloehr Posted February 16 Posted February 16 15 minutes ago, Ranger Mike said: Cholla, Thanks for the heads up. I've removed my email. He's currently on the wire forum page, selling a Stoeger 20 ga. From his profile, he's 90 years old... Might be legit - might be a scammer - might be his powder ain't dry anymore. Still, not someone I want to deal with. Any contact related to Todd German is fake and scam. That does not mean Sagebrush is Todd German. While I do not know Sagebrush personally, he has over 500 posts on the forum. You expressed an interest in an item publicly. You got an email from a scammer and you had your address as public information. That is not Sagebrushes fault. Key questions though: Did you contact Sagebrush by PM (good thing). Did you ask Sagebrush to contact you by email (shame on you)? Do all the business only by PM. In this case, rather than asking for shipping information on the public thread (which gave the scammer a legitimate question to answer), just post "PM sent" publicly. Ask the shipping question in the PM. I'm not saying Sagebrush's powder is dry, but in this case your's looks to be a bit damp. 3 1
Spades, SASS 31383 Posted February 17 Posted February 17 Todd German is the scammer. Sagebrush Burns is an older, longtime SASS shooter out of Colorado, and is a great gentleman to boot. I have shot with him and his wife multiple times and have shot his annual shoot in Craig. If you're interested in the shotgun, PM him. 4
Kid Rich Posted February 17 Posted February 17 I've known Sagebrush for years, he is legit. Todd German is not. kR 2
Mack Hacker, #60477 Posted February 18 Posted February 18 On 2/14/2025 at 9:42 AM, Chain Blue, BPGF said: For me personally Even though sometimes I think they use pony express.. There's nothing like a USPS money order and a tracking number. My payment was made via USPS money order. All that gets you is. “Thanks for filing a report. It will be entered into our data base for use in establishing trends. We cannot give any assurance that any claim will be investigated.” I furnished the name used by the scammer and the tracking info showing to what address it was sent. All I got was a computer generated confirmation that my complaint had been received. And a reminder that they were not authorized to refund my money
Mudflat Mike, SASS #20904 Posted February 18 Posted February 18 The few, very few times I’ve had questions, I’ve found the sellers home club and contacted that clubs contact person from the back of the Cowboy Chronicle 2
Chain Blue, BPGF Posted February 18 Posted February 18 Well, I guess the Lord just always looked after me and my Dealings. 2
Cholla Posted February 18 Posted February 18 1 hour ago, Chain Blue, BPGF said: Well, I guess the Lord just always looked after me and my Dealings. Life is filled with unsuffered consequences.
Eliphalet R. Moderator Posted March 1 Posted March 1 On 2/16/2025 at 6:12 PM, Ranger Mike said: Cholla, Thanks for the heads up. I've removed my email. He's currently on the wire forum page, selling a Stoeger 20 ga. From his profile, he's 90 years old... Might be legit - might be a scammer - might be his powder ain't dry anymore. Still, not someone I want to deal with. Report a post using the 3 little dots at the top right of any post or comment you want someone to look at! 2 1
Recommended Posts