Jim, I am very sorry you were ripped off, and all of us appreciate the advice and warning.
I
almost made a similar mistake. The seller’s website even had the little “padlock” icon in the address bar, by the URL. I forgot the outfit’s name, but I was looking for primers, and they had ‘em. For regular MSRP too, not a jacked up price. For me, the red flag was the simple fact that they claimed to have them in stock, when none of the better known, established dealers had them. I sent an email to a buddy who reloads and asked if he had ever heard of them. Nope.
I checked the website the next day and it had been taken down. I researched it a little more, and found they were in fact a scam outfit. I didn’t investigate payment options, but one fellow said they wanted payment by Zelle or in some sort of cryptocurrency, like Bitcoin. I know nothing about Zelle, but I know what “crypto” means and I’m not buying it.
I think the crooks know about the ammo and component shortage, and they are preying on the desperation some shooters have about finding what they need. I’m just going to have to wait it out for my primers, I guess. They’ll be available eventually, if the hoarders will stop buying them by the pallet load.
Again, I’m sorry you got burned. You made an honest mistake, but you came here and gave us all a warning. Good man!
Notchy Bob