SCAMOnline Retailer Scam - Geissele Automatics Impostor Reports & Reviews (1)
Online Retailer Scam - Geissele Automatics Impostor Contacts
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Scammer's email [email protected]
Country United States
Victim Location NH 03855, USA
Total money lost $135
Type of a scam Online Purchase
Details: On Sunday 7 July 2024, I placed an online order on what I thought was a legitimate website (https://geisseleautomaticsusa.com) for one stripped AR-15 lower receiver (https://geisseleautomaticsusa.com/super-duty-stripped-lower-black/).
Because the item requires shipping to a Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL), during the checkout process I was prompted to enter the name and address of the intended FFL recipient; a local gun shop. Later in the checkout process, I had the option to enter notes, which I did to include the receiving gun shop’s point of contact name, phone number, and email address for processing incoming transfers, along with policy notes from their webpage regarding what they require of the sender. Proceeding to payment, I thought it was great that Geissele Automatics offered a 20% discount to pay with cryptocurrency, so I elected that option and continued with the checkout process. The next screen was “To complete your order” with the following information displayed:
Send: 0.04518 ETH
To: ******************************************
A scannable QR code below that with “Awaiting payment (checked every 15 secs)” and a clock began counting down from two hours (displayed initially as 02:00:00). There were also apparent icons for “OPEN IN WALLET” and “Trust Wallet”, neither of which seemed to do anything when I clicked on them.
Order details showed below the icons were:
Super Duty Stripped Lower BLACK x 1 $135.00
Subtotal: $135.00
Shipping: $20.00 via Shipping Fee
Discount for Cryptocurrency: -$20.25
Payment method: Cryptocurrency
Total: $134.74
Below that, all the notes I had written earlier regarding the receiving FFL’s point of contact and transfer policy notes.
When I tried to scan the QR code with my phone and select the subsequent link displayed (ethereum:******************************************?value=4.518e16), my phone showed a message stating “There aren’t any apps on your phone that can use the info in this QR Code.” Being somewhat new to making purchases using cryptocurrency, I proceeded to install the Kraken Wallet app on my phone, create a wallet, and transfer sufficient ETH assets from my Kraken account to, to the ETH network, then to the Kraken Wallet to pay the vendor.
If I recall correctly, I was then able to scan the QR code displayed on the https://geisseleautomaticsusa.com “To complete your order” screen noted above. I kept refreshing the page for several minutes because “Awaiting payment” status did not go away. I left the page open and eventually walked away for a couple of hours. When I came back later, the screen had changed to “Order Complete” with the following order details:
Super Duty Stripped Lower BLACK x 1 $135.00
Subtotal: $135.00
Shipping: $20.00 via Shipping Fee
Discount for Cryptocurrency: -$20.25
Payment method: Cryptocurrency
Total: $134.74
Thank you. Your order has been received.
Order number: 791
Date: July 7, 2024
Total: $134.75
Payment method: Cryptocurrency
I did not receive an order confirmation email, but did not think much of it since it was a Sunday and a holiday weekend at that. I thought sure I would see something by Monday afternoon when they were open for business again.
After placing the order, I decided to register for an account on the same website, intending to make future online purchases. The actual legitimate company, Geissele Automatics based in Pennsylvania, is a well-known and well-respected company, so I had no qualms about setting up an account. I just found it odd that I was not receiving any order confirmation. I entered a newly created email address (the same address I entered during the order checkout process) but never got prompted to enter a password. The site indicated I would receive a password via email, which I never received.
On Monday, 8 July 2024, I still had not received an order confirmation or account password email, so I used the Contact Us page (https://geisseleautomaticsusa.com/contact/) to submit a request for follow up regarding the account password and order confirmation. The site did not have a business telephone number.
On Tuesday, 9 July 2024 at approximately 2:15 PM, I did a web search for Geissele Automatics and found their phone number, (610) 272-2060. I called them intending to ask about my order status and online account. I spoke with a rep and explained why I was calling. When I gave him the order number 791 as noted on the Order Complete page I printed, he advised that is not a proper Geissele order number, as theirs are usually five digits and start with a 1. He then asked for the URL of the website I used to place the order. When I told him “geisseleautomaticsusa.com,” he informed me that, unfortunately, it is a fraudulent website and that their company does not accept cryptocurrency for payment; only major credit cards. He advised that their legal team has been working to remove such sites as this. We then had a brief conversation where I believe he advised me to contact my credit card company, to which I reminded him I had paid with cryptocurrency and did not see any course of redress.
I have filed a fraud report with the FBI.