The Amarey Gun Safe Scam

Don’t let your Gun get Stolen

By Dave Goetzinger

Back in April of 2018, a small import company released a new handgun safe onto the market through Amazon. The company, called Amarey, is no big player in the gun world, but its gun safe rose to #1 New Release status within two weeks, then went on to become Amazon’s bestselling handgun safe.
As the guy who runs HandgunSafeResearch.com, I decided to look at Amarey’s gun safe.
The handgun safe, model HFGS-089, is supposedly designed to do double-duty as a handgun safe and portable case.
The blurb on the Amazon product page says:
Gun Safe – Pistol Safe Portable Gun Safe with Biometric Sensor Chip, Auto-Open Lid, Qucik Access.
Gun Safe Mountable on Wall. Waterproof Fire Resistant, 100% Safety. 5 Year Warranty.
Buried in the above are a couple over-the-top lies.
The device is not actually watertight, and therefore is not “Waterproof.” Nor is it made of fire-retardant materials, so it isn’t any more “Fire Resistant” than an Altoid tin.

As for the expression “100% Safety,” I can confirm this device offers no safety. I found two ways of opening it covertly—that is, without damaging the safe or leaving clear indications as to how I gained access—and neither method requires the use of lock-picking tools.
One method can be accomplished by a child.
The safe is made of thin, 18-gauge steel, the box weighing a mere 4.4 lbs. (Snapsafe lock boxes, which I’ve spent time exposing online, are made of higher-quality steel than this.)
The safe’s top-opening door fits loosely and the latching mechanism inside is so weak the lid can be pulled open by hand.
A child lacking the hand strength to do this could still open it by prying at the lid with a screwdriver or a table knife.

Amarey, HFGS-089: World’s Worst Gun Safe from Handgun Safe Research on Vimeo.

In addition, the mounting holes in the bottom of the device open right into the latching mechanism, allowing the thing to be opened with a paper clip.
This last detail is bizarre, considering the device is supposed to be appropriate for use as a portable case. The gun owner is supposed to believe it is secure if it is anchored with nothing but the supplied cable.
Amazon’s product page for this device features an overwhelming number of 5-star reviews.
And how did such a flimsy product accumulate 5-star reviews? A flyer inside every safe offers a package of 25 free shooting targets to those customers who write an Amazon review.
This is a violation of Amazon policies.
I try not to sound like an alarmist when making my investigative findings public, but in this case I’m sounding the alarm. If people are trusting their handguns to Amarey’s gun safe, somebody is going to get hurt or killed.
Amazon needs to halt sales of this product, and Amarey needs to recall it.