Common Scams

[EllieBelly]

The other thread about scams made me think of something I posted for my clan, that might be good here.

Here are a few of the common scams I found today just in Giran within oh, 5 minutes.

Crystal Scam. This one can be done with any of the crystals but I see it on D the most. Notice how they are assuming you don't notice that the PRICE and AMOUNT are reversed. Works with ancient adena too, anything usually sold in big amounts.

Crystal Scam


Craft Shop Scam. This is usually done with the lower level crafts, silver mold, VOP, stuff like that. The title will say something like 10a craft, 1-4 crafts, etc. It looks dead obvious but when there's only one shop in Giran making something you need to craft a weapon you don't always pay good attention.

Craft Scam

Bow shaft scam. The popular one now is for Bow of Peril shafts because everyone wants one, a finished one is around 40 mill, and the shafts are usually 1 mill+ each. And the fact that bow shafts look EXACTLY LIKE STEMS doesn't help anything. I've seen up to 3 shops at once trying to pull this one. Same goes for soul bow shafts.

Bow Scam

A-ss, A-sps, B A-sps scam. The noob SS shots look almost exactly like the A grade ones, so people try to sell the no grade ones as a-ss. Here's a picture of the scam and a shot from a real shop.

A-SS Scam


Name scam. I've had this tried on me 3 times so far but this is my best example. I'm sitting right by Stiltzz, and someone pm's me with the name Stlltzz. You can see the real Stiltzz talking in ally chat, and I have him targeted. Usually the person doing this says the EXACT SAME THING as in this picture. That should be the first tip off, I mean how many of your friends talk like such a ****** anyway? Usually if you try to target the faker person, they aren't even in town, but their alt trying to get your weapon is.

Trade Weapon Scam

Soul Ore/A Crystal Scam

I couldn't find anyone actually doing this but I know it has been done. I set up shop to show the example. The shop title is A crystals but I'm selling soul ore. I put them side by side, see how very similar they are?

Soul Ore - A Crystal

** Adding**

Some other scams are so stupidly elaborate I can't even screenie it.

One involves items that have the same icon, like the BOP shaft and a stem. Someone starts a trade with a BoP shaft, you see it, they cancel the trade. They say oops, do it again, put in a stem instead, and you lose a lot of money. I hate hate hate trade windows and always tell people to make a shop.

Another almost no one does, because it takes too much effort but it's worked before. You yell that you want say, a DC robe. Scammer1 says they have one but they want you to buy X item for them and you can then trade it for the robe. Scammer2 has X item for 20 mill, you think woot I'll get a DC robe cheap, you buy it, try to get scammer1 to trade you the robe, only to find out X item is worth like 50 cents. Scammer1 logs out off the face of the earth.

The second one assumes you don't know what the X item is worth to begin with, and don't mind running errands for some random person you don't know. Everytime I think this is the stupidest scam ever, I heard someone falls for it.


Edited by request. - M

[Elrohir]

Sticky, please.

[Dalamarthalas]

wow. overpriced D crystals you have there to use 660a as scam O.o

[Elrohir]

[ QUOTE ]
wow. overpriced D crystals you have there to use 660a as scam O.o

[/ QUOTE ]
I wouldn't worry about joining Mensa...

[Eriot]

[ QUOTE ]
Sticky, please.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes please

[Bhodosativa]

Quantity scam. Selling 1 AA for 1,234,567 Adena.

[EllieBelly]

That falls under the crystal scam, which is just price/quantity switching. Crystals were just an example.

[Mistryl]

This thread has been stickied as a warning for other players. This thread is not intended to accuse or report specific players of scamming, so please keep any replies to advice or suggestions. Thank you!

[Splatter]

My i make a suggestion mistryl.....

Remove all posts other then yours and EllieBelly And lock it. If EllieBelly has anything new to add, she could PM you the details.

[Bhodosativa]

[ QUOTE ]
That falls under the crystal scam, which is just price/quantity switching. Crystals were just an example.

[/ QUOTE ]

You're right. I was thinking of another scam involving soul ore.

[EllieBelly]

Soul ore no longer looks exactly like crystals , so I really haven't seen that one since.

[Torg]

This is hard to get screenshots but I remember the craft scam from back in c1. I had quite a few dwarves let me know that they could craft a Sword of Revolution for just 1.2m if I was willing to give them the adena and wait a few minutes for them to buy supplies. This is up there with offering free enchants on weapons if people let them have it for a minute.

I saw the Soul Ore/Crystal A scam a few times on test but that is very similar to the Bow Shaft/Stem scam in its origin. (Wasn't there a Dark Screamer/Doom Dagger scam that worked in a similar way?)

Not really a money scam but definitely worth warning new players about is that they should beware of who they buff. I saw a few people on test still asking for buffs and then flagging right as the buff was cast to get the buffer to flag so they could kill them.

[EllieBelly]

Yes but a lot of those old scams no longer work. Leather and crafted leather no longer look the same. Same with soul ore and crystals, same with a dark screamer and doom dagger; the graphics are different. The font was also changed so names can't look EXACTLY alike.

Another scam that no longer works is where a person would have a buy shop up for something but didn't have the money to actually buy the item.

[TheBigSlave]

Did they fix the brig/bone helmet one? i know thats pretty popular

[Elrohir]

[ QUOTE ]
Did they fix the brig/bone helmet one? i know thats pretty popular

[/ QUOTE ]
They still look the same.

[EllieBelly]

I believe there are only two textures for helmets. The brown leather looking one and the metal one.

[Champa]

[ QUOTE ]
Soul ore no longer looks exactly like crystals , so I really haven't seen that one since.

[/ QUOTE ]

They still look very similar. So be careful.
Spirit ore, on the other hand, doesn't look like anything else (that I'm aware of).

[EllieBelly]

That's what I'm thinking of, thanks. I thought they had changed both but I guess not. I'll add that one.

[Champa]

That's what I thought, but I wasn't sure, since it seems like A cry have more debth and are more "glassy" - so there is a difference. Unless it's an optical illusion...

[EllieBelly]

No it's a lot like NG SS and A SS. There's a bit more depth to the A SS but it's still, VERY similar .