Countessa
Knight
Known Scams and Falsehoods
Basics
Vendor Scams
Player - Player Trading Scams
Scams by the Buyer
House Scams
Detect hidden works at GM level when used in a house by the owner, regardless of their actual level of detect hidden. Always use detect hidden when unlocking a valuable item in your house, whether it be to sell, trade or move it.
For players who have never traded a house, see the house trading guide at this link for a step by step guide to the procedure with visual aids.
Love and Friendship Scams
These scams are conducted from a more personal level.
Account Scams
There are variations on these but in all of them, the goal of the scammer is to gain access to an account(s) you use. The best way to protect yourself is to never share account information. Not only with other people, but among the different user accounts you may have. Always use a new username and password whenever signing up/joining anything online.
Other
Portions of this guide come from the following posts:
A List of Common Scams and How To Avoid Them
Avoiding Scams Guide
Real Vs Fake Commodity Deeds
Basics
- Newbied items will stay with a blue player when they die.
- Red players will lose newbied objects to their corpse, where they can be looted.
- Blessed items stay with all players, no matter the reputation.
- Bags retain their items when stolen. If a blessed/newbied item is placed in a container, the container can be stolen with the blessed/newbied item still inside. Always leave newbied/blessed items in your original pack.
- You must be of the required age to use a veteran reward.
- Checks, spellbooks and runebooks are blessed. Gold, scrolls, runes, commodity deeds, and house addons are not. Handout rares can be blessed, newbied or lootable, depending on the rare.
- You cannot buy items from vendors nor trade items with players that will cause the buyer to be overweight. When attempting to open a trade window with an item(s) that is too heavy, the server returns the item to the original location with a message you cannot trade the item with that player.
- The same is true of items. You cannot open a trade window with multiple items if the items will result in over 125 items in the buyer's pack. There is a way to manipulate this however. See the information under Player - Player trading for more details.
Vendor Scams
- Commodity Deed Scam. The commodity deed scam consists of a player adding a description to an empty commodity deed when placing it on a vendor. To the uneducated player, this can appear as a filled deed. In the examples below, the vendor pack on the left holds a filled commodity deed. The vendor pack on the right holds an empty deed with a description typed in to say otherwise.
Note in the first example there is no description set by the player. The item is named by the server as a filled commodity deed, with the contents also listed. In the second example, Description: 2000 garlic is an added description set by the player. The last line commodity deed is the server name. A commodity deed is empty, a filled commodity deed is full.
- Deed Scam. The deed scam is another renaming scam with item description. The actual item is a deed with no purpose. The name of the item is deed. It is the same color as cloth bless deeds, housing addons and some deeded bod rewards. Like the commodity deed scam, a description is added to make the deed appear as another item. Too like commodity deeds, no item description is actually needed for these items; the server provides one. Use caution when buying any deeded item with an added description.
- Runebook scam. This is nothing more than an empty runebook being sold as a full one. It might be advertised with marks for cities, dungeons, taming, etc. There is no way to tell if the item is fake other than to buy it and check. Use caution when buying full runebooks. Try to buy these items from reputable vendors/players. If the item seems severely under priced, it may indicate a falsely advertised runebook ( the lower price meant to encourage taking a chance on the item).
- Thievery is not a scam but it is worth adding vendors are a great place for a thief to hang around. Before buying unblessed items, check for thieves. Use the spell reveal. Hide or magically Invis your character before making a purchase, and leave the area immediately. Use caution when buying a blessed item sold in a bag.
- False Vendor Gates are not a scam but a falsehood. In this case, the player casts a gate advertising a vendor/vendor mall. Often details will be added for authenticity. In truth, the gate will lead to another location. The real location may have pk friends of the gater, waiting to kill those coming through the gate. It may lead to a dungeon with strong monsters.
Be wary when taking a gate from a stranger.
Player - Player Trading Scams
Scams by the Buyer
- Trading outside town. A basic scam with unblessed items. The player asks to trade outside guard zone. Once outside guard zone, they attack you to steal the item or attempt to steal it from your pack. Either attempt may include the assistance of the scoundrel's friends.
- Bagging Items. A player makes a request for the seller to place the item in a bag for easier viewing. The bag can then be stolen with the contents. Used to scam blessed items.
- Scavenger scam Many players have items in their scavenger list including commodity deeds, bags and pouches. When the scavenger is enabled for a player about to trade, they are setting themselves up to be scammed.
Although you cannot trade more items than can be held by either party, once the trade window is open the items are no longer considered in your pack and additional items can be added.
The scam can be attempted by either buyer or seller. It occurs in the following manner.
A trade window is opened for an item. While the trade window is open, the scammer drops items on the ground near the victim. The scammer may use a second account for this or a friend may help out. Generally the attempt is made with a pouch containing items since it is common for this item to be in a scavenger list. If the victims scavenger agent is enabled, they might pick up the pouch unknowingly with the scavenger. The goal of the scammer is to place so many items in the victims bag by scavenger, when the trade window is right-clicked, there is no room in the victims backpack for their trade window item/check and it falls to the ground to be grabbed by the scammer.
It may take some stalling and more than one attempt at the trade for the scammer to get it right. This can tip you off to a possible scam in the works. The scammer may even add the item to their scavenger list from the trade window allowing them to grab it quickly. The best protection against this scam is to turn off your scavenger agent before trading with another player.
- Renamed Animals This scam offers a donation ethy, a nightmare, a rare statuette or other unusual pet. The scam consists of renaming a tamed animal. Hidden from view, the animal is used to open a trade window, appearing as something else because of the name.
- 7x Prime Mares may be offered, but a hidden, renamed horse will actually be used for the trade. A hidden renamed mongbat might become a ChimeraEthereal. A renamed pet may be offered as a rare statuette, often by a player pretending to be a newbie looking for a price check.
To protect yourself, press Ctrl+Shift to see all names. Look for names that pop up with the same name as the mare/item being transferring. In the case of a mare, ask the seller to change the mare's name before the trade. When the trade window opens, listen for a horse whinny (or other animal sound) that may indicate a false item. - For a donation ethereal, remember a real donation ethereal will have spaces in its name. Again, listen for animal sounds when the window opens - ethys do not make that sound.
- 7x Prime Mares may be offered, but a hidden, renamed horse will actually be used for the trade. A hidden renamed mongbat might become a ChimeraEthereal. A renamed pet may be offered as a rare statuette, often by a player pretending to be a newbie looking for a price check.
- Item Swap Usually done with a blessed item for an identical, unblessed item such as sandals. The scammer offers an item. During the trade, the scammer 'accidentally' closes the trade window and needs to reopen it. In actuality, they are swapping the blessed item for an identical, unblessed one.
To protect yourself, always check the item in the trade window before accepting the trade. Items cannot be removed from a trade window without closing it out.
- Stealing Unblessed items can be stolen after a trade. To protect your investment, trade these items with a reputable trader in a quiet location whenever possible. Use a vendor, or ask the seller to use one if the item is expensive. For those with no vendor, or no house to place a vendor in, do your trading in Vesper bank. In the back room where there is many boxes, teleport into a one-tile gap and nobody from outside will be able steal from you.
- Trading with Gold If the amount of gold to be paid in the transaction is 5000gp or more, insist on a check. While checks are blessed, gold is not. Although you cannot trade more weight than you can carry, a large amount of gold on your character begs others to town kill you. Always use a check for transactions whenever possible.
House Scams
Detect hidden works at GM level when used in a house by the owner, regardless of their actual level of detect hidden. Always use detect hidden when unlocking a valuable item in your house, whether it be to sell, trade or move it.
- I have your house! This is a scam performed by the purchasing player. There are variations on this scam but all of them end with the purchaser claiming they somehow have acquired ownership of your house. They will tell you to click the house trade gump to reclaim your house. In truth, they do not have your house and accepting the house trade gump as they instruct will transfer the house to them.
- There is talk of a bug that may cause the house trade gump to appear backwards. This too would be used with the 'I have your house' claim. I have not confirmed if this bug still exists, or if it ever did on Hybrid, however I include mention of it for awareness.
- The bottom line is this. After the initial targeting of the player you're selling to, there is a normal trade window function. There is no way for a player to steal your house with the house trade system unless you accept the trade windows. It does not just happen. If a player makes claim that they have your house, do not panic. Unless the existence of a new bug has been discovered, they are lying. Check the house sign to confirm you still own it. If you are unsure, right click the trade window to clear it from your screen and begin again (or refuse to deal with that player and leave).
- House swap Because custom plots and classic housing display the house sign on opposite sides of the structures, it's possible for a player to trade you one of two houses from the same location. Scammers will use this to trade a small house to a player, all the while pretending to trade the larger one beside it.
When purchasing a custom plot, watch for nearby classic housing on the immediate left of the custom plot.
- If you're selling a house and the buyer is not ready when you arrive at the house, it may be the beginning of a scam. Stalling tactics are a good indication.
If you're buying a house and the seller is stalling or acting in an otherwise suspicious manner, proceed with caution. They may be setting up for a false trade as outlined above or simply plotting to kill you once the trade is concluded.
Whether buyer or seller, stalling can also indicate the player has no real interest in a house trade but plans instead to kill and loot you.
- House trade trickery. Although not a scam, this trick can be an inconvenience. Played on a player purchasing a house on a character with no magery. Once the trade is complete, the seller recalls out leaving the buyer with no way to mark the location. This can be unintentional, the seller not aware of your limitations. If this occurs, use UOAM to find the house location before leaving the house so you will be able to return. Some locations may be easy to determine with the in-game radar if there are recognizable landmarks nearby (a stretch of road, a mountain line, a nearby dungeon entrance, etc). Optimally, use a character with magery for house trading, or bring along a rune and a mark scroll.
For players who have never traded a house, see the house trading guide at this link for a step by step guide to the procedure with visual aids.
Love and Friendship Scams
These scams are conducted from a more personal level.
- The friendship scam is a player conducting themselves in a manner to gain your friendship and trust. Once it has been gained, they use it to their benefit. This might be to ask you for items, or gold to buy items. These players, when friended or co-owned at your house, loot what they can if it will prove profitable. This does not mean you can't make friends, but use caution.
- The love scam is the same but goes further. Generally it is a girl (or a guy pretending to be a girl) who will prey on a guy with items, luring him to fall in love. He is then taken for all the pixels he can be talked out of.
- A third scam along the same lines is another one done by girls (guys pretending to be girls). The scammer cons the victim of their items with promises of pictures, actual picture swaps (although often with fake pictures), and/or 'cybering'.
- In all cases, a little common sense can go a long way to protecting your pixels. Never, ever share accounts or account information. Always keep the items you value in your bank, or in a secure chest in your house set to owner access only. If you allow friends and co-owners access to your supplies, set one chest they can access with rationed supplies. Keep your full stock where only you can access it. Remember co-owners are able to unlock items. Adding someone as a co-owner to your house will allow them to unlock and steal your items.
Account Scams
There are variations on these but in all of them, the goal of the scammer is to gain access to an account(s) you use. The best way to protect yourself is to never share account information. Not only with other people, but among the different user accounts you may have. Always use a new username and password whenever signing up/joining anything online.
- If a player gives you an account, do not use it, store items on it, or purchase housing with it unless: the previous owner cleared the account registration, you have registered the account to your own email, and you have changed the password. Unless all three suggestions are complete, the account is at risk from the previous owner.
- The following scam has also been reported suggesting an account given by another player is never truly safe.
- The scammer offers an account to the victim. The account will already have at least one created character on the account.
- The scammer logs into the account as far as the character selection screen. This logs them into the account, but not onto the shard. The scammer then leaves this window dashed down (indefinitely) and gives the account information to the victim.
- The victim logs in to the account, perhaps even re-registers the account and changes the password, and plays on the account.
- Some point later, the scammer finishes the login procedure by choosing a character and logging into the given account, stealing whatever he can.
- Because the scammer logged in without choosing a character, he is not disconnected when the victim logs in. The only real safeguard against this to delete the characters on the account. It is recommended players only acquire built accounts from players on the approved sellers list (found in the trade section of the forum).
- If a player asks you to log on their private shard, any other shard, forum, blog, etc, I repeat, always always use a new username and password. Many of these requests are done with hopes you will log in with the same information you use on Hybrid. Hybrid passwords are encrypted but that does not mean the same will be true on another private shard.
- If a player claiming to be staff asks for account information, do not give it. Staff members will contact you on a staff character wearing a staff robe should there be a problem with your account. They will never need your password, nor will they ask for it.
Other
- Death gating, or false gating is legal. This falsehood entails a player gating a destination while claiming the gate goes somewhere else.
Popular lures include players pretending to gate to player vendors or to a house for sale. Players asking a stranger for a gate are also at risk.
The actual locations may include- the orc cave, where other players wait among the orcs (wearing orc masks so they wont be attacked) for you to arrive. They will allow the orcs to kill you and then loot your body.
- any location where they have friends waiting to kill and loot you
- any location where there is danger or no place for you to go (for example wyvern isle or a location only the size of one tile)
- Reputation trickery is legal. Two such examples are:
Dispel my creature! - Casting dispel on a blue creature is a criminal act. Players will ask others to help them out and offer them gold to cast dispel 'for them'. This will get you guard-whacked.
Polymorph - Players will polymorph, and pre-cast dispel. They are now grey. If you cast a spell with time delay like explosion, they dispel returning to blue status. Subsequently, the explosion hits, he calls guards, and you are dead.
Portions of this guide come from the following posts:
A List of Common Scams and How To Avoid Them
Avoiding Scams Guide
Real Vs Fake Commodity Deeds
