WoW Scams to Avoid
C.O.D. Scam
World of Warcraft provides a really nice system for sending items to other players, and allowing them to pay for them C.O.D. through the mail. This works well with valid trades, especially if the two trading parties are far from each other, or too busy to perform the trade immediately. Unfortunately, it is open to abuse by the C.O.D. scam.
This scam involves someone wrapping a ‘gift’ and sending it to you C.O.D. in World of Warcraft’s mail system.
More often than not, the wrapped ‘gift’ is really just a piece of wolf meat, or some other useless item that is very plentiful and certainly not worth whatever amount they are asking for C.O.D.
Quite simply: DO NOT ACCEPT C.O.D. items unless you are expecting them.
Same Icon Trade Scam
When trading with a player, it is imperative that you pay close attention to the entire process. Unfortunately, most of us have traded so often, that we have become accustomed to the operation of the trade window, and almost take it for granted. This is exactly what scammers count on.
Here’s how it works.
The scam artist will attempt to sell something of great value, at a good deal. Sometimes, the price is ’standard’ price for your server, so don’t let price alone guide you. At any rate, the scammer will either announce on a trade channel that they are selling something, or, more often, they will whisper several people that they would like to sell an item to them for a good deal. When you accept the deal, they will meet up with you, and perform the trade. This is where they take advantage of you.
Everything starts out normally.
The scam artist will open a trade window with you, dropping the item into a trading slot. This gives you a chance to look at the item, and see that it is, in fact, the item you agreed to purchase.
What he counts on now, however, is that you will busy yourself opening up your pack and dragging out your gold to drop it into the trade window. While you do this, he will, VERY QUICKLY change the item for an item with the same icon, and click the trade button, turning his side green.
Because we have all gotten so used to the trade window, we think nothing of this. This, again, is what he counts on. All he needs you to do now is drop the gold into the trade window and press trade, and you’ve lost your gold.
These guys are very good at the quick switch, so, the way to avoid this scam is to just PAY ATTENTION. I don’t want to scare anyone away from trading. The vast majority of traders out there are legit players, just trying to sell off an item, and make a little money. They will treat you fairly. So
, please, don’t abandon trading altogether, this won’t solve the problem. Just pay attention. That’s it. It’s easy to do.
Notice that the icons are the same, and the color of the text is the same, so, if you aren’t careful, you can very easily make the mistake of completing the trade. Before you press that trade button, ALWAYS double check the item in the slot to be sure that it is what the trader said it would be, and don’t be afraid to just walk away if it isn’t. Then, it would be recommended to announce in the trade channel the name of the player that just attempted to scam you.
If you are scammed in this way, you can try to consult a GM, however, it is unlikely that anything will be done, unless a large number of players complain about the scammer, so, again.. just pay attention, and don’t let your knowledge of the game’s interface make you too comfortable with it!
As a sidenote, Mybanks, the scam artis used in these screenshots IS a real scammer. He comes from the Ahn’qiraj server.
The I Can Craft that For You Scam
This one usually happens with enchanters, however, everyone is susceptible to this one from just about any crafter.
The crafter tells you that they can create what you want (be it an enchant, a potion, etc.) but you have to supply the materials. When you give them the materials for the work, they suddenly log off the server, and you’ve lost your materials. This usually only happens with materials that are of the more expensive variety.
Avoiding this scam is difficult because of the way the crafting system works. You have to trust the other person to make what you are asking for if you give them the materials. The vast majority of crafters will be honest, and make what you asked for, and give it back to you, at which point, you can pay them for their services. I recommend that you pay attention to the trade channel, especially if you are about to ask for a certain service. If there are people claiming that someone ripped them off, they probably did, and you shouldn’t give that person your materials or money. Before giving anyone materials, make sure you make note of their name (and perhaps their race/class) so that if your deal goes sour, you can petition a GM for intervention (which may or may not work, depending on the number of complaints) or, at the very least, announce to your fellow players via the trade channel of the scam, and include the person’s name, race and class.
Another thing you could do is have them ShiftClick the item you are asking them to make for you. This doesn’t guarantee that they can make, or will make what you are asking for, but it would give you a LITTLE bit more of a safety net. If they can’t ShiftClick the item, then you can just move on to another crafter. After explaining the scam, most crafters will be more than happy to do this. Be aware, the person could happen to have the item on them, or, they might even have the actual recipe for the item, thus allowing them to ShiftClick the item. Some sort of database like Linkloot might allow them to do this as well.
If, at any time, you feel unsure, then trust your instincts and move on to another crafter.
Blizzard Wants My Password
Blizzard will *NEVER* ask you for your password. You will never receive a mail, in-game, or out of game, seeking your password. A GM will *NEVER* come to you and ask for your password. EVER. If someone asks you for your password, note the player’s name, and tell a GM.
Buy It Now Auction Scam
Like the Same icon Trade Scam, this scam relies on you not paying close attention to what you are doing until it is too late. Sadly, this scam is legit, and there will be nothing you can do about it if you encounter it.
The scammer will place an item up for auction, for example, Major Mana Potion. These generally sell for 5 gold each on my server. The scammer will list the initial bid price really low, like 89 silver. This is because, by default, the auction house will sort your search by the lowest BID price. By setting a bid price that is much lower than any other similar items, the scammer gets his item at the top of your list. The trick is, he sets the buyout to 99 gold (or some other insanely high price). He is counting on your reading it as 99 silver by mistake, and thinking that it is a great deal. You click BUYOUT, and boom.. 99 gold, down the drain, and you can’t get it back. You should have paid attention.
A variation of this scam is where the scammer will list several items at a low bid price, and a sensible buyout price. In the middle of the list, however, he will list one item with a good bid price, but a really high buyout price. So, if you were buying, say, Peacebloom for 10 copper each, individually, you would search to find all of the scammers listings. As you start clicking BUYOUT on each of the auctions, eventually, you run into the really big auction, and if you aren’t paying attention, you’ve been had.
You might think you are clever by bidding on these items, but you aren’t. The scammer will check these auctions with other characters, and either outbid you, or cancel the auction.
The only way to avoid this scam is to PAY ATTENTION to what you are doing at the auction house. Try not to get distracted by the low bid price, and ignore the buyout price.
This scam tends to happen on items that sell regularly.. bandages, health and mana potions, reputation grinding items, etc.. So pay special attention to consumables.
One thing that might be fun to try is, if you are searching for an item, and you have performed a search or two, and suddenly, one of these items appear, try to bid on it at the last minute. This will be difficult, because Blizzard doesn’t give us the time the auction was placed, but if you are observant, you might catch the approximate time and know that if it is long, it has 8 hours, and very long is 24 hours.
Other Scams?
If you have any other scams not listed here, please, mail them to me at juices@murlocguide.com and I will happily include them here so that everyone can avoid the scammers. Please include screenshots, if you have them, and a description of how the scam works. I will gladly post it here so others can avoid these scammers.