Scammers...

Recently in Guild Wars, I have become more and more aware of a new plauge effecting the denizens of GW, and that is scamming. A month ago, I had never seen anyone scamming (that I could tell) and had never been the victim or target of one, and yet in the last month alone, I am out a decent amount of cash from 2 separate ones and have been the target of several more. Is this a new thing to GW? Am I just unlucky? What tips are there for people who are unaware of these things?

The main types that I have seen are...

1. WTS unid req9 (insert rare skin item here) just 30k!
You PM them, and they assure you that it came from the FoW end chest or GWEN and will be inscribable. Then, bam, you are out 30k.
2. x/A messages you, asks if they can see the item outside. They have a fast PC and cast recall on themselves before you can load. They then proceed to attempt to convince you to drop the item while they stand far away, then zap back to you, and pick up your item.

3. Person A WTB (insert item X) 100k +20ecto!1!
Person B WTS ITEM X only 90k!
you then buy it hoping to make a quick profit, but then when you message person A to make that quick 22e, they dont respond and person B goes offline.

Any suggestions, comments, bad experiences, other types of scams would be great.

Cale

If anyone falls for any off them they deserve it.

You got to be pretty stupid to fall for these "scams"

1. It's the internet, no one tells the truth.

2. See opening line.

3. Old news. If it's too good to be true, it normally is.

Don't expect sympathy here. This thread is not the first of it's kind, and won't be the last.

Well, you just shouldn't buy Unid's unless you just want them for the title.
No other way you can be sure that it is inscribable.

Sorry, but really? People really fall for this stuff?

you cant be serious, who would go outside to trade something?

Someone tried to get me to go outside so they could steal my Halloween hat. Now that I think about it, I should have let him since I already had it at the Festival Hat NPC. Then he would have felt like a douche bag because he couldn't copy it.

It appears that the trolls have missed the point here. What I am asking for is not a flamefest, but people discussing what sort of things are out there, and ways of educating the masses.

dont buy / sell anything to anyone :P

I ask to see certain weapons outside every once in a while. Some people want to see what I have too. Anyone who drops it is just ASKING for it though. I agree, these things are the scammee's fault for being naive.

http://gw.gamewikis.org/wiki/Common_scams

Can we close this thread now?

No trolls here. You got simple responses.
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Did you really expect everyone to offer you a shoulder to cry on? These threads pop up weekly sometimes.

People don't need educating, they need to learn to use their common sense.

The internet/online games are full of "bad" people. Trust no one.

be my guest, and for the record, I have never said that it was not the scammee's fault, but that something should be done about it.

@ Malice, I am not looking for a shoulder to cry on. I am mad as hell, and want to make sure that other people are not as stupid as I was

aye,scammers have been around for a while, been the target of some small ones (not paying for a run,nearly got cought out of 90k on a trade because he brought 100kdown to 10k, caught it tho couldn't lose that much) but i have heard of many.

jsut shows how scummy some poeple can be to make a quick buck or 2.

imo anet have a nice customer support, i can only talk about my exp, but the repy'd fast and were pretty helpful, so you cna always report.

Well, if someone scammed you for say....um..... a run, you could report them. But there isn't any real proof that they were trying to scam you, even if they were, or it seems like it, Because you payed for something and you got it.

Had fun with this one a month or two ago.

Two people were trying to pull off this scam with a minipet [even had similar names and same guild - how obvious can you get?].

So I PMed the seller and politely told him about the buyer. "He won't buy from me, he doesn't like me, but if you buy from me maybe he would buy it from you," was the reply.

As it happened I had the same minipet already so I ran to the buyer and offered it. (There was silence for a while as I am sure they were pming each other to decide what to do) "I really like it, but I want one for my son too," He replied, "so I will only buy if you can offer two."

"No problem," I told him, "I have a second in storage. Give me a minute to get it." They both logged off immediately.

The two I dealt with were idiots but I also see more sophisticated ones who will stand in different cities and wait till someone passing through both towns falls for it.

The point is, if some one is offering to buy at a very high price, use caution. If it is a tome or weapon, there is a chance they may simply need it quickly and are willing to pay a premium rather than wait. Anything else is probably a scam.

When it comes to buying, DO NOT buy something in order to make a specific sale to a high bidder. ALWAYS assume that you may wind up stuck with whatever you buy, at least for a while, so do not pay more than you are willing to lose. Buy only if the offer is low enough you are pretty sure you can resell it and make a little money or if it is something you want for yourself. But NEVER buy expecting a quick turn around profit.

And NEVER EVER buy unided items unless you are doing so merely for the title. Be sure you know exactly what your are getting, especially if the offer seems low. Read every single digit and letter in the trade window description before accepting.

I someone wants to see what a weapon looks like outside the city fine - I will go and show them by equipping it - but never drop anything on the ground - EVER.

So just use common sense. It's the best defense you have.

If you fall for 2. You're being unobservant, and are solely to blame for being out of money

3. also isn't really a scam.. You get pwnd for being greedy.

The best way to avoid being scammed is to actually use your brain and common sense when trading. If someone asks you to go outside and drop something and you do it, then I say "silly you". I've been targeted by many would be scammers, and haven't been scammed once.

I kinda enjoy catching them out.

Me: "That's not Damask, you're trying to sell me Linen. I asked for Damask"
Scammer: "Joo catch me, I fail "
Me: "So, do you have any damask"
"Scammer is ignoring you"

OP requested close.