In case you are an MMO player you are definitely familiar with various types of scam in online games. We hope that you never got scammed, and we publish this guide to help you avoid it in future.
Scam in video games is generally a fraud performed by an individual or group in an attempt to obtain in-game or real-life money and values. However, malicious users may also try to find out gamers’ personal details to use them in an identity theft scheme. We strongly recommend not to disclose any personal details to anyone. Now let’s dig into different types of scam and the ways to dodge them with 100% crit chance.
1.Trade scam
The classic one. A trade scam usually happens when one player tries to convince the other to buy, sell or even gift items for the price that does not meet its in-game value. Some frauds even try to replace the items with poor-quality ones (so-called quick-switching).
How to avoid
- Don’t rush the deal.
- Ignore pressure from the other user.
- Ensure that the item qualities are correct.
- Pay attention to the trade log while trading.
- Make sure that you are trading with the correct user (check the username!).
2. Social Engineering Schemes
This one is quite gold too. The scammer tries to curry favour with players or guilds, then over time, he asks them to borrow item/use the player’s account/lend him some in-game money, then poof! Gone.
How to avoid
- Safeguard your account and never provide its personal details to anyone (i.e login, password, etc.).
- Stay alert.
3. Phishing
It is actually unbelievable how many users are still failing on that trick. The scheme may vary from e-mails from fake official accounts with the confirmation request which then leads to websites collecting your account info, to malicious malware which also collects your account details and etc (or even use your computing powers to mine crypto) . Probably the easiest way to get your account hacked.
How to avoid
- We strongly recommend not to use any third-side software while playing our games. Despite the danger to get scammed, you will be banned by our security system for violating the user agreement.
- Never use your gaming login/password on other websites.
- Don’t click on suspicious links, especially with http:// rather than https:// protocol.
- Never download anything from malicious websites and keep your antivirus software up-to-date.
- Never provide access to your account, or account details to anyone. 4Game support team would never ask you for your login/password, etc.
4. Item dropping
This scam applies to some particular MMOs. One player asks another to drop the item or money on the floor, then quickly picks it up. Seems pretty obvious? Well, the scheme may vary. One player convinces another that his items will duplicate or gear might become easier to enhance if he drops it on the ground due to some sort of bug. Or another character enters the game at the exact place you left your stuff. Or you just might be teleported by a group spell.
- How to avoid
That’s an easy one. Just don’t drop your valuable items on the floor!
5. Auction Scam
Type of scam that is similar to social engineering fraudulent schemes. It’s pretty simple: the scammer puts an item for sale, let’s say, for 10K gold, while its nominal price might be even 1K. Then he logs into another character and starts to advertise that he is buying the same item for 20K. His aim is obvious: to make you think that you can resale this item to get some easy money. There is nothing bad with the thirst for profit, though 99% of these deals end the same: the second dealer just closes the auction saying: “Sorry, have already bought one!”
How to avoid
- Know the prices. If it is too good to be true — watch out for it.
We hope that this guide would help you to avoid some of the most common scams! Although fraudulent schemes are constantly evolving, our 4game Guard effectively protects your account and all your 4game assets and our lawful-good Support Team is always ready to hear any complaint about cases which are against our policies!
