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Federal firearms licensees should start receiving official ATF alerts again.
In an update shared by the National Shooting Sports Foundation, ATF announced that it has completed a five-month project to purchase and install a new FFLAlert notification system.
The service is designed to quickly warn FFLs about firearm thefts, disaster preparedness issues and other time-sensitive administrative matters.
The new system runs through ATF’s Broadcast Emergency Alert Communications Outreach Network, better known as BEACON, using the Everbridge platform. Depending on the situation, ATF can contact the responsible person listed for an FFL by email, text message or an automated voice call.
ATF says notifications will be sent between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. Eastern Time.
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Dealers will want to save the following details so they can recognize legitimate alerts:
Emails will come from [email protected].
Text messages will begin with “ATF FFLAlert” and come from the five-digit short code 88911 or 89361. ATF notes that other government public-safety messages may use those same numbers. Longer texts may also contain a link to the complete alert.
Telephone notifications will display 202-648-9999 as the caller ID. The recorded message should begin by identifying itself as an official communication from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Of course, an unexpected government message containing a link deserves a little healthy skepticism. If anything about an alert looks or sounds wrong, don’t click first and ask questions later. Visit ATF.gov directly or contact your local ATF field office to confirm that it is legitimate.
The brass-tacks takeaway is simple: FFLAlert is back, and ATF now has several ways to put urgent information directly in front of dealers. For an FFL dealing with a theft, an approaching disaster or another fast-moving problem, getting that information quickly could make a real difference.
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is a seasoned outdoorsman, lifelong hunter, and the kind of guy who’d rather track whitetails than scroll social media. As an editor for GunsAmerica, he’s got a sharp eye for spotting both solid gear and bad gun laws. Whether he’s deep in the woods or deep in editorial deadlines, Larry brings a no-nonsense, tell-it-like-it-is approach to firearms, hunting, and the great American tradition of self-reliance. If there’s a hot debate on gun rights or the latest in hunting tech, you can bet Larry’s got an opinion—and it’s probably backed up with both facts and field experience.
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