Just a heads up. Some joker in Lions Arch was offering 250 gifts for 50k. Was tempted so I offered to buy. He put up 1 wintersday gift. After a few seconds he said "oops" and changed his offer. Then 250 "Special" presents showed up in his offer window. They use the same artwork as winterday gifts. This looked kinda fishy so I ran to the gift giver to make sure about what the gifts were called. He closed the trade and disappeared.
Anybody who's done the special kamedan wintersday quests will know that "Special" presents are worthless quest items that show up during the quest that you gotta fedex to people. I actually didn't know about these special present items because I never did the quest and I had to look up the quest info on guildwiki before I found out what they were.
As usual, rule of thumb applies. Always ALWAYS check your trades before hitting the accept button.
Warning - Wintersday Gift Scam
My Sweet Revenga
Skyy High
Good catch man, thanks for posting it.
Titan Chrae
My ten year old daughter asked me to purchase some unopened gifts for her from a guy in Kamadan since she didn't have the money at the time. I was in a hurry and just got the gifts from the guy she pointed out. Turns out she purchased 10 quest items for 1k.
Hard lesson learned for 10 year old. I ended up eating the 1K and then we had a heart to heart conversation about the wicked evil nature of people that scam others.
1k was a small price to pay for a good lesson.
PS. The guy showed no remorse. I screen the conversation I had with him but alas I didn't get a screen of the transaction itself or I would have reported him to ANET.
Hard lesson learned for 10 year old. I ended up eating the 1K and then we had a heart to heart conversation about the wicked evil nature of people that scam others.
1k was a small price to pay for a good lesson.
PS. The guy showed no remorse. I screen the conversation I had with him but alas I didn't get a screen of the transaction itself or I would have reported him to ANET.
Grasping Darkness
Titan im sorry your 10 year old daughter has to be the victim of someone and we'll think the lesson was for the best as a learning experiance.
Sir Skullcrasher
I thought you can catch them doing something fishy if they want to switch Gift in middle of the trade?
Grasping Darkness
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Originally Posted by Sir Skullcrasher
I thought you can catch them doing something fishy if they want to switch Gift in middle of the trade?
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Evilsod
Well will Anet pull there finger out and actually work on making NEW skins for items instead of leaving them open to be abused for scamming.
Arkantos
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Originally Posted by Sir Skullcrasher
I thought you can catch them doing something fishy if they want to switch Gift in middle of the trade?
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Grasping Darkness
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Originally Posted by Evilsod
Well will Anet pull there finger out and actually work on making NEW skins for items instead of leaving them open to be abused for scamming.
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devils wraths
well when i trade it comes up with me if they have modfied there trade. in a box in red letters this trade has been modified
DeanBB
Yes but the OP said first they showed 1 real gift then said "oops" and showed the 250 fake ones, like he only just forgot to load all of them into trade. I can see where that could catch someone off guard.
Jetdoc
I had a similar thing happen to me with Singed Gargoyle Skulls and regular Gargoyle skulls. When you're buying things left and right, it's very easy to give someone the benefit of the doubt and overlook a simple switcheroo.
It's sad since it's just a game, yet people decide to hurt their own personal morality over fake currency...
It's sad since it's just a game, yet people decide to hurt their own personal morality over fake currency...
Enchanted Warrior
People will not be happy until they make gifts non tradable (would serve the scammers right). Good catch.
Sir Skullcrasher
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Originally Posted by Grasping Darkness
she is 10 and it was a learning experiance.
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My Sweet Revenga
Well knowing how fast the spam in Lions Arch goes by, I lost his name in the spam while going to the wintersday giftgiver npc to check up on the item. But I tried to add the guy's name to my list of friend (my friends list is mostly names of scammers I've run into so I can keep track of them 
) but it said the name no longer existed. So either I spelt it wrong, or the guy got paranoid of me catching him and deleted the char, or god forbid he managed to unload his junk on some poor sap and deleted the char before he could get tracked. I hope it wasn't the latter. Then again, there's also a part of me that hopes if he did delete his character, that he forgot to remove his ill gotten money from it beforehand 
I lost 10k while rerolling my dervish when I messed up survivor so it is pretty easy to overlook 
Normally I'd be pretty cynical of deals like this too, but somebody in ascalon sold me 79 candycane shards for 500g (total) so I figured it was some guy who was looking to make some really quick cash and didn't value wintersday gifts very much.
) but it said the name no longer existed. So either I spelt it wrong, or the guy got paranoid of me catching him and deleted the char, or god forbid he managed to unload his junk on some poor sap and deleted the char before he could get tracked. I hope it wasn't the latter. Then again, there's also a part of me that hopes if he did delete his character, that he forgot to remove his ill gotten money from it beforehand Normally I'd be pretty cynical of deals like this too, but somebody in ascalon sold me 79 candycane shards for 500g (total) so I figured it was some guy who was looking to make some really quick cash and didn't value wintersday gifts very much.
korcan
i saw the same guy selling those 250 gifts for 50k. ive become pretty cynical when it comes to trades that seem too good to be true but i thought id check it out anyways. he showed me the 250 quest item gifts right off the bat so i just closed trade.
i used to report scammers with screen shots and spam warnings in all chat but there seem to be so many scammers that i just cant be bothered anymore.
i used to report scammers with screen shots and spam warnings in all chat but there seem to be so many scammers that i just cant be bothered anymore.
Pure Disasta
Hmm yeah that sucks for whoever falls for it but at least he was more creative with his scams then simply the lame shit i usually get were they switch like from 50k gold to 50 and its like umm dude iam not some 8 yr old with an eye patch get real. Btw if your actually interested in presents go check my friend of course there not gonna be like 50k for a stack because mine are you know actually real but yeah lol.
onerabbit
im going to look out for this scam..and when he puts 250 (or however many gifts in) il just change my money (scamming a scammer) :P
NJudson
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Originally Posted by Jetdoc
It's sad since it's just a game, yet people decide to hurt their own personal morality over fake currency...
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Titan Chrae
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Originally Posted by Sir Skullcrasher
I know but it's funny how scammers isn't afraid of the changes A-Net done to the trade window to prevent peoples from doing this. I thought that most peoples would see the "Warning: Items has been modified or changed" message before doing the trade? I know she is 10 but just saying in general, if I see that message, I would question the seller or re-look at the items again.
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I opened up the trade saw what looked like presents (Never heard of the quest item) and completed the trade. Only when she tried to open the presents did we discover the scam.
It's not a matter of the trade being swapped. The guy advertised unopened Christmas presents (Something that does not exist but we took that to mean the Wintersday Presents that CAN be opened in the game. Instead he sold some worthless quest item that can not be opened and that we did not even know existed.) Had we already had presents in inventory, we may or may not have taken the time to compare the description with what was traded. In most cases I trust people at thier word. It seems that you can do this less and less.
Like I said...the 1k lost was a small price to pay for a big lesson. My daughters (and I) now have to be even more aware about the details every trade we make in game and out. It is a good lesson to learn in a game. This same type of con happens every day in the real world too. I learned about the dark nature of some people in my first job. One of the tellers I worked with was fast changed $90 out of her register not once but twice in the same week. Maybe this lesson in game will preclude a more costly lesson in the future.
yasmina
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Originally Posted by Titan Chrae
My ten year old daughter asked me to purchase some unopened gifts for her from a guy in Kamadan since she didn't have the money at the time. I was in a hurry and just got the gifts from the guy she pointed out. Turns out she purchased 10 quest items for 1k.
Hard lesson learned for 10 year old. I ended up eating the 1K and then we had a heart to heart conversation about the wicked evil nature of people that scam others. 1k was a small price to pay for a good lesson. PS. The guy showed no remorse. I screen the conversation I had with him but alas I didn't get a screen of the transaction itself or I would have reported him to ANET. |
Too many people I have seen over and over again in mmo's try to scam people out of items or gold and sorry to say it will never change.
Sir Skullcrasher
I was in LA last night and found out there is two different type of gifts out there. There is Winter Gift, which is for that quest and Wintersday Gift, which give you all those Wintersday collectible items.
Eviance
Yeah some items need a rebuff on the way they look. I'm sure I would have been scammed several times over if it weren't for the helpful threads around here. I just don't understand the thief mentality.
Linksys
Real presents or not, when I see people selling them, I just tell everyone in local chat that they don't have to buy them. They can still get them with cc shards or running presents in Lions Arch. Some people were still not aware of that.
Mercury Angel
Cleaned out a handful of posts replying to flamebaiting, and the trolling itself. If your post is missing from this thread, it was probably removed because of that.
Riceboi
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Originally Posted by Pure Disasta
umm dude iam not some 8 yr old with an eye patch get real.
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LOL Best line ever!!!
Shadow of Light
It shows how dedicated and desperate some scammers are if they spend so much time collecting 250 quest items. o_O Still, for the amount Wintersday gifts are going for, it's not that surprising. :/
I've seen people in Kamadan offering the 'Special' gifts for amusingly high prices (naturally they were advertised as producing rare items when opened). First time I've heard of an entire stack being switched in... thanks for the heads up. I don't buy presents, but it's nice to be aware of these things.
Someone suggested making Quest Items untradable? I can't think why this *wouldn't* be a good idea, offhand... same with customised stuff.
Having the name of all items in the trade window displayed in LARGE LETTERS rather than requiring a mouseover might also help? I know we keep saying 'Be careful! Check and double check your trades!' but anything that can put scammers at a disadvantage should be incorporated, IMO.
I've seen people in Kamadan offering the 'Special' gifts for amusingly high prices (naturally they were advertised as producing rare items when opened). First time I've heard of an entire stack being switched in... thanks for the heads up. I don't buy presents, but it's nice to be aware of these things.
Someone suggested making Quest Items untradable? I can't think why this *wouldn't* be a good idea, offhand... same with customised stuff.
Having the name of all items in the trade window displayed in LARGE LETTERS rather than requiring a mouseover might also help? I know we keep saying 'Be careful! Check and double check your trades!' but anything that can put scammers at a disadvantage should be incorporated, IMO.
Grais
Quote:
| It shows how dedicated and desperate some scammers are if they spend so much time collecting 250 quest items. o_O Still, for the amount Wintersday gifts are going for, it's not that surprising. :/ |
Deadly Stryphe
I unfortunately got scammed tonight. I bought 50 presents for 15k. He flat out had no remorse when I approached him afterwards. I wasn't paying attention, so it's my fault...and I'll learn from it. In the meantime, he thinks he's innocent and will not return my money.
Lesson learned...but i'm still pissed...lol
Lesson learned...but i'm still pissed...lol
Terra Xin
haha, one of my mates got scammed by one of those guys, he got his guild, and I got a few people from the alliance and we just flooded the guy with "Pay him back!!!"
:P
:P
mr_groovy
Next time if you see him and trade him switch ecto's for frozen ecto's :P. Oh no wait even 6 frozen ecto's are worth more then those stupid quest items :S.
Enko
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Originally Posted by Shadow of Light
Someone suggested making Quest Items untradable? I can't think why this *wouldn't* be a good idea, offhand... same with customised stuff.
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c_ras
I think what everyone needs to realize....if you are in a hurry......don't buy/trade anything. Please take your time. There are a million ways for people to scam someone else and it all leads to one thing....someone gets the shaft and 99.99% it's you! My rule of thumb is is unless it is a guildie, an alliance member, or someone on my friend's list, if I see someone modify a transaction, I don't even deal with them. There are plenty of people out their selling and legitimate sellers so 99.9% of the time I can wait for that item I wanted until another trader comes along.
I have the benefit of having GameCam, so if I am selling/buying something of higher value, before the transaction actually takes place, I politely tell the person that I am using GameCam to video the transaction for the protection of both parties. As a backup, I also take screenshots. This ensures that if something DOES go wrong, I have two forms of proof. But to date......I have not had ANY problems at all with transactions because of this method. My best advice to anyone that wants to buy something is to know EXACTLY what you want BEFORE HAND! It helps to do a little research on the item you want before inquiring about it (what it looks like, the exact full name of the item, what the skin looks like, stats, etc.). This will also ensure you get what you want and don't get a dud or phoney item. But again...take your item when buying. If someone wants to sell an item so bad, they will wait for you to look over the item.
I have the benefit of having GameCam, so if I am selling/buying something of higher value, before the transaction actually takes place, I politely tell the person that I am using GameCam to video the transaction for the protection of both parties. As a backup, I also take screenshots. This ensures that if something DOES go wrong, I have two forms of proof. But to date......I have not had ANY problems at all with transactions because of this method. My best advice to anyone that wants to buy something is to know EXACTLY what you want BEFORE HAND! It helps to do a little research on the item you want before inquiring about it (what it looks like, the exact full name of the item, what the skin looks like, stats, etc.). This will also ensure you get what you want and don't get a dud or phoney item. But again...take your item when buying. If someone wants to sell an item so bad, they will wait for you to look over the item.
My Sweet Revenga
Quote:
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Originally Posted by c_ras
I think what everyone needs to realize....if you are in a hurry......don't buy/trade anything. Please take your time. There are a million ways for people to scam someone else and it all leads to one thing....someone gets the shaft and 99.99% it's you! My rule of thumb is is unless it is a guildie, an alliance member, or someone on my friend's list, if I see someone modify a transaction, I don't even deal with them.
I have the benefit of having GameCam, so if I am selling/buying something of higher value, before the transaction actually takes place, I politely tell the person that I am using GameCam to video the transaction for the protection of both parties. As a backup, I also take screenshots. This ensures that if something DOES go wrong, I have two forms of proof. |
Not trading with a person just because they need to modify the trade window is a kinda iffy policy.... I mean I've had to modify my trade before because I made a mistake in quantities but I myself am a legit trader who made an honest mistake. The buyer took the time to recheck what I offered, and I could tell this because there was a long hesitation before they hit accept. But as a courtesy and a show of honesty, I never hit the accept button unless the other person hits it first.
Almost all scammers I've run into, they hit the accept button with very little hesitation. And why shouldn't they? As if they have anything to lose. They never seem to bother to recheck to make sure both parties haveplaced the right offer. It's kind of a shock and awe tactic where they try to compel you to make the transaction quick. Making you rush the transaction increases the chances you'll make a mistake and go through with the trade without bothering to check that what they are offering is what you were expecting. This impatience is your first clue that they're either incredibly impulsive, or they're trying to get you to act impusilvely and make mistakes.
Both Gamecam and screenshots? Wow that just seems kinda paranoid to me
Sir Skullcrasher
I seen too many scammers that goes "I got to go ASAP, hurray up and trade with me and accept" Of course, this would be for items that is worth alot of gold and they usually first put in the right amount and goes, oops my bank is full. Redo the trade with you and put up that line "I got to go now hurray up" and click accept right when you enter trade window.... only to find the amount of gold they're trading or items got changed.
My Sweet Revenga
Quote:
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Originally Posted by c_ras
I think what everyone needs to realize....if you are in a hurry......don't buy/trade anything. Please take your time. There are a million ways for people to scam someone else and it all leads to one thing....someone gets the shaft and 99.99% it's you! My rule of thumb is is unless it is a guildie, an alliance member, or someone on my friend's list, if I see someone modify a transaction, I don't even deal with them.
I have the benefit of having GameCam, so if I am selling/buying something of higher value, before the transaction actually takes place, I politely tell the person that I am using GameCam to video the transaction for the protection of both parties. As a backup, I also take screenshots. This ensures that if something DOES go wrong, I have two forms of proof. |
Not trading with a person just because they need to modify the trade window is a kinda iffy policy.... I mean I've had to modify my trade before because I made a mistake in quantities but I myself am a legit trader who made an honest mistake. The buyer took the time to recheck what I offered, and I could tell this because there was a long hesitation before they hit accept. But as a courtesy and a show of honesty, I never hit the accept button unless the other person hits it first.
Almost all scammers I've run into, they hit the accept button with very little hesitation. And why shouldn't they? As if they have anything to lose. They never seem to bother to recheck to make sure both parties haveplaced the right offer. It's kind of a shock and awe tactic where they try to compel you to make the transaction quick. Making you rush the transaction increases the chances you'll make a mistake and go through with the trade without bothering to check that what they are offering is what you were expecting. This impatience is your first clue that they're either incredibly impulsive, or they're trying to get you to act impusilvely and make mistakes.
Both Gamecam and screenshots? Wow that just seems kinda paranoid to me
Thargor
I wish Anet would use some ingame monitors. Guys that get paid to play and watch for things like this. They would record scams and then have a direct connection to have action taken on the account. (Notice I did not say they had power to ban the account themselves) No hassle with report forms, just straight up justice. I would put in 10-12 hour days doing this for minimum wage. This game would be cleaned up pretty quick if there was actually someone watching and taking action against the scams, over use of foul language, and other common things going on that seem to be not taken care of on anything but the smallest scale.
eloc_jcg
Got a name so we can be more warned?
unienaule
No names, and this isn't the place to discuss how to raise children.
Sir Skullcrasher
I don't remember the name and even if I do, I can't release it here.