Beware folks: Contacted by Illinois fish and wildlife.

[Igyjastabay]

I am an Ebay seller. Been selling some mid range pieces lately, all found on private land. Well I get a really weird email, then the phone call follows a day later. Basically the email went as follows, "Mr. :":{":" we are concerned about your recent acquisitions. We will be contacting you later. Next day, phone rings an unfamiliar number, didn't answer. Traced the call back to Illinois fish and game . I don't live in Illinois nor do I know what this organization is responsible for. It's really freeked me out. I am not easily un-tempered. I know where my direction is in this hobby, OUT. Not worth a 200 grand bill, and time in jail.

 

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[ghp95134]

Hmmmm .....

Looks like they're concerned about looting.

...As Geoff Donaldson sprinted across a barren southern Illinois crop field at dusk on January 26, 2007, he breathed aloud a prayer: "Lord, please make me invisible."

The 35-year-old uniformed officer of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was trying to wriggle into his Ghillie suit, full-body camouflage that makes a turkey hunter resemble a mossy tree stump. He wasn't hunting turkey that evening, though. He was stalking a thief. And, after a year of cat-and-mouse, Donaldson wanted his man....The next day Donaldson was hiking along a creek bottom when he spied a man up on a ridge spur below a bluff acting "skittish." His name was Leslie Jones, 46, of Johnson County, Illinois. Jones had facial hair, Donaldson recalls, and a trim, muscular physique, "the picture of an axman."

Among tall oaks and maple trees, Jones kept hunkering over something, then glancing up. Donaldson dropped out of sight and tried to sneak in for a closer look. When he arrived a few minutes later, Jones was gone, though his handiwork remained: Hundreds of square yards of federal soil were torn up.

"It looked like hogs had gotten into it," Donaldson recalls. He noted several piles of broken spear points and stone chips. It appeared that Jones, for months, had been systematically unearthing Native American artifacts.

Picking up an arrowhead or digging a small hole on federal property might lead to a citation, but looting that causes damage in excess of $500 is a felony. Donaldson contacted the U.S. attorney's office, which listed the evidence they'd need for a felony conviction: a video of Jones excavating the material, then pocketing it and returning home. "You've got to be kidding me," Donaldson thought.

Disguised in deep-cover camouflage known as a Ghillie suit, Geoff Donaldson of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Southern Illinois caught a major looter on video.

 

[jeff of pa]

I am an Ebay seller. Been selling some mid range pieces lately, all found on private land. Well I get a really weird email, then the phone call follows a day later. Basically the email went as follows, "Mr. :":{":" we are concerned about your recent acquisitions. We will be contacting you later. Next day, phone rings an unfamiliar number, didn't answer. Traced the call back to Illinois fish and game . I don't live in Illinois nor do I know what this organization is responsible for. It's really freeked me out. I am not easily un-tempered. I know where my direction is in this hobby, OUT. Not worth a 200 grand bill, and time in jail.

seems to me recent acquisitions, may mean things you recently Purchased.
have you purchased anything that may have come from Illinois ?
if not and your pieces do not come from Illinois , Time to tell them you found them on Private property & to pound sand. as it sounds like another
one of those wanna-be do-gooder fishing opperations reported you.

 

[ecoast]

^^ this

or maybe it could be a 'spoofed' phone number.
maybe an ebay scam.

why didn't they leave a message, eh?

 

[Tony in SC]

Why would they email you to tell you they were going to call you?? Tony

 

[NHBandit]

If you are in a different state and didn't go to their state and dig them yourself I would use my standard response when asked about anything that's nobodys business. Whether it's artifacts, guns, anything. #1-I bought it at a flea market. #2-No I don't know who the seller was. #3-Have a nice day..

 

[Charl]

If you are in a different state and didn't go to their state and dig them yourself I would use my standard response when asked about anything that's nobodys business. Whether it's artifacts, guns, anything. #1-I bought it at a flea market. #2-No I don't know who the seller was. #3-Have a nice day..

Except that probably won't get you far if the authorities have reason to believe what you are selling on eBay is stolen goods or looted from state/federal lands. The authorities do have the right to investigate such things.

 

[jeff of pa]

Except that probably won't get you far if the authorities have reason to believe what you are selling on eBay is stolen goods or looted from state/federal lands. The authorities do have the right to investigate such things.

yes unfortunately Fish and Wildlife doesn't need warrants,

but still if what he has he Dug in his own state,
it really doesn't make sense.

 

[monsterrack]

Sounds to me like a scam someone is trying to pull. They call you say you have broken the law and then say for a small fee we can make it go away. If it was the real deal you would not have gotten an e-mail, you would have got a knock on the door from the local law. If you live out of the state and did not dig it up on state land, and if you bought it from someone, then they could kiss off.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

I have been receiving multiple bogas calls on both my work and personal cell supposedly from IRS that I owe back taxes and to call such and such number to settle before they take me to court...

Try doing a Google search using scam and your info on the call and see if anything comes up.

 

[Charl]

Yes, it does seem odd that federal or state authorities, if they really were trying to trace the origins of what you are selling, would be giving you a heads up via an email, which, if you knew you were guilty of something, gives you the opportunity to at least get rid of suspect existing inventory. Would the Feds say "let's give this guy a chance to dump evidence"? think they're much better at just kicking doors in and asking questions later!
If it's real, and they're legit, they'll follow up. But Internet/telephone scam seems very possible for the reasons folks have already mentioned.

 

[GatorBoy]

This whole thing seems odd

 

[jeff of pa]

I'm actually wondering why this post was made describing this if what the poster wanted to happen was to disappear...
Just saying everybody on eBay says they got everything from private land with permission...
The truth really does always lie somewhere in the middle doesn't it.
Don't miss the going out of business sale

I'm not sure what your saying, But I hope this is not an accusation against a treasureNet member.

Just saying, that would not be a very bright Idea

 

[GatorBoy]

I'm not saying anything specific Jeff I also didn't know we were allowed to advertise sales in the forum... Unless a charter member

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Careful what you imply.... Why didn't you report it. I deleted that post....What I am saying is it should be reported, not imply member is lying.

 

[GatorBoy]

Oh yes. Fire sale on what I have. Contact me if your interested.

Well

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Well

See my edit, I missed his 2nd post.

 

[jeff of pa]

Careful what you imply.... Why didn't you report it. I deleted that post....What I am saying is it should be reported, not imply member is lying.

Correct ! besides, would you buy from someone who claims they may be being investigated ?

Well

that's what we Have Report for

 

[boogeyman]

yes unfortunately Fish and Wildlife doesn't need warrants,

but still if what he has he Dug in his own state,
it really doesn't make sense.

Fish & Game DOES need a warrant to search your vehicle or property, unless they can BS you into giving permission, or copping to a criminal act. This I know from experience. DO NOT in any way say anything except "I don't give consent to any searches. Sure they get POed but no matter what they try to get you to believe they can't search without consent. If you're stopped in your vehicle and asked to exit, take your keys & lock the door behind you. If they show up at your house, step out the door lock it and pull the door closed behind you even if you don't have your keys to get back in.

All in all this sounds like a fishing expedition to get you to incriminate yourself either by replying to the email or the phone call. The best response is "I have nothing to say and won't answer ANY questions without my lawyer present." And don't say ANYTHING period, do not even respond to the email or phone calls. If you open your mouth you give them something to twist & tweak as evidence against you.

Again, this I know from first hand experience. Don't let it get you worried out of your mind. It's just a fishing expedition. If they really had something on you, they wouldn't be fishing, they'd be at your door with a warrant in hand.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Not directed at you gator but in general....

Too many members lately are trying to police our forums based on their personal beliefs or thinking they are skilled at reading between the lines..... One is on vacation now for doing so then attacking mods when called on it.

Members should report issues, not try to police forums, it usually causes hard feelings and starts arguments that destroys threads.