Visit by Homeland Security yesterday for... a scope purchase?

[Alea Jacta Est]

That's the price of a damned car... omg.

 

[para_bellum]

How would they know where you lived? Is that publicly available information?

Oh ..eBay provides them with it.

 

[delaneyesq]

Apologies if this was already addressed...

Hoped they showed you a photo DHS ID. Haven’t heard that before. Did you google to see if in fact there is an issue they stated? Hope you didn’t get too detailed into your guns and where your safe is. I’d make a MFR for myself for any future visits.

Didn’t feel like reading 11+ pages before posing the question. Did they identify a particular component or office within DHS, or does the business card indicate such? I’m a fed, And I didn’t even know that DHS had internal field agents doing this kind of thing. Would rather think FBI/ATF would be doing it.

Were they uniformed, or in plain clothes?

Alsoyou said you were gathering components to build an AR lower. I though that was illegal to do in Maryland?

 

[Inigoes]

Alsoyou said you were gathering components to build an AR lower. I though that was illegal to do in Maryland?

It is completely legal to make an AR in Maryland from scratch.

 

[swinokur]

You can build a lower into a pistol or HBAR

 

[Chinrednek]

Crazy. See below.



I am wondering the same.

Don't forget, eBay and PayPal are very gun UN-friendly

 

[Alea Jacta Est]

I pretty much quit EBay.

I'd lose PayPal in a heartbeat if I had any option.

Wouldn't it be nice for a 2A friendly online payment system to rise up and compete.

What a wonderful strategic thing for SAY maybe NRA to do. That's smart. But then, they don't see that far or that clearly.

 

[swinokur]

Venmo or Zelle

 

[j_h_smith]

I pretty much quit EBay.

I'd lose PayPal in a heartbeat if I had any option.

Wouldn't it be nice for a 2A friendly online payment system to rise up and compete.

What a wonderful strategic thing for SAY maybe NRA to do. That's smart. But then, they don't see that far or that clearly.

There have been a few over the years. But they don't seem to last long. Not long at all.

 

[hit3961]

That's the price of a damned car... omg.

Any other block chain crypto currency.

Bit coin mineing ....

 

[chris17]

Citizens need need not present themselves to the state to "prove their innocence"

Please search youtube for "James Duane", "Dont talk to the police"

They were "friendly and a pleasure to talk to" because in their experience as LEO people do a better job of giving them incriminating tidbits to use against them. Works better than thumbscrews and shouting.

Cops put together puzzles. Sometimes their puzzle pictures are 100% BS. a la Duane, they could have had a 99% complete idea in their heads that was completely false, and you willingly gave them some perfectly innocent tidbit that "completed the picture."

What chills me about your account is that they didnt need to drive all the way to your house to see what you bought on ebay, they can go to ebay for that. Payment information, ditto, bank/paypal will cough that up gladly. USPS/UPS/FEDEX, same. Asking you things they could get (indeed probably already got and this was a "pop quiz" to see if you would diverge. Again, "James Duane Dont talk to cops"

 

[Woody]

Please search youtube for "James Duane", "Dont talk to the police"

They were "friendly and a pleasure to talk to" because in their experience as LEO people do a better job of giving them incriminating tidbits to use against them. Works better than thumbscrews and shouting.

Cops put together puzzles. Sometimes their puzzle pictures are 100% BS. a la Duane, they could have had a 99% complete idea in their heads that was completely false, and you willingly gave them some perfectly innocent tidbit that "completed the picture."

What chills me about your account is that they didnt need to drive all the way to your house to see what you bought on ebay, they can go to ebay for that. Payment information, ditto, bank/paypal will cough that up gladly. USPS/UPS/FEDEX, same. Asking you things they could get (indeed probably already got and this was a "pop quiz" to see if you would diverge. Again, "James Duane Dont talk to cops"

I was going to recommend this video to those who haven't watched... The cop that talks in the second part simply confirms that cops, while generally trying to serve the public good, are not trying to serve YOUR good. That's what you and your lawyer are for.

There are lots of ways to screw yourself... If you open your mouth...

Loose lips...

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

 

[clingy]

Wouldn't it be nice for a 2A friendly online payment system to rise up and compete.

Bitcoin, Monero, and Ethereum to name a few

 

[Alea Jacta Est]

We should herald this far and wide!!!

 

[swinokur]

Anyone remember Gunpal? A short lived pay site for facilitating purchases of firearms?

All kinds of problems

 

[Mightydog]

I raise you PHS and NOAA.

Now that we've established that the OP isn't an international scope dealer for ISIS, I have a question.

Rumor has it that you can open the front door to see who's there, but if you open the screen/storm door the police are allowed to walk right in.

Is that true? That opening the screen/storm door is an invitation to enter the home.

I think that only applies to Vampires.

 

[hit3961]

Bitcoin, Monero, and Ethereum to name a few

Use a third party site ....

A small percentage but worth the privacy..

 

[casualmadness]

cops, while generally trying to serve the public good, are not trying to serve YOUR good. That's what you and your lawyer are for

This. I was a FPO for a few years-worked side by side with LEOs (state, federal, local, and military.) The one thing every cop I worked with agreed on was "the police are not your friends." They will use every trick, lie, scam, imagineable once they think you are guilty and are trying to prove it. Don't misunderstand-I'm not anti-cop. I have some close friends who wear badges, and they agree with at I'm saying.
Anyone coming to my house with a badge better damn sure bring a warrant. I have an attorney on retainer who will happily back me up since my checks don't bounce.

 

[awg9tech]

Sounds like you've made the list.


Here's the ruse; the “pretext” for the visit:

I was told the visit was for a rash of online buyers now purchasing several optics (scopes, red dots and thermal/infrared) and other items then shipping/transferring them to warehouses that would eventually funnel out to countries where they are illegal......

Here's where the real interview started, and it sounds like they were successful in getting you to talk:

conversation lasted maybe 20mins??.... .. After that I could sense a good deal of relief by both agents that maybe this was all a waste of their time? After that quick discussion, was just a friendly conversation mentioned my general gripes about what I’ve been thru the past year with silly Maryland laws (handgun roster, magazine pinning/10rd limit, out of state FFL’s avoiding Marylanders, wait times, etc)

Rounding out the interview and just to show "that they are people just like you" and are your friend:

they shared their own stories/annoyances even though they are LEO’s, having several issues themselves and being annoyed with state laws that are confusing and rather annoying whenever they would buy a new firearms. Just general talk, after the initial 5-10mins

Classic interview techniques. Note, the small talk around the coffee table probably lasted a longer than the "real" reason they were there.


The number 1 misconception about nothing to fear:

Either way didn’t really alarm me at all, I have absolutely nothing to hide.

if I was doing something shady sure I would be at high alert

You’re not the one who gets to decide if you were doing “something shady” You're not the one who gets to decide if you have nothing to hide. The agents will make that determination.

You're interview will be picked apart at looked at for inconsistencies. You may say that you purchased a scope 3 months ago, when in reality it was 2 months ago (Lie number 1). You may say that your first purchase was for a mil-dot, but in reality is was for a Duplex (Lie number2) etc...etc...etc...Without realizing it, I bet you told a least five “lies” during the interview, and only “shady” people with “something to hide” lie to the DHS.

They just asked who I purchased from, showed them the sellers eBay name etc. Even screen shot and emailed it to the one agent.

Pretty remarkable that they had your name, address, knew approximately what time you would be home, knew what you ordered and when and on which online service that you used to facilitate the purchase………..but for the life of them , couldn’t figure out who you purchased the items from.

 

[Striknine]

Maybe they were secretly investigating 922r compliance.