[Guide] Against scam !!!!

[seasoned]

I did searched in Lineage II General Discussion [English] section and I didn't find a guide like this. So...

 

INTRODUCTION

So what exactly is a 'scam'?

 

Pronunciation: 'skam

Function: noun

Etymology: origin unknown

: a fraudulent or deceptive act or operation <an insurance scam>

So there you have it! The key word here is 'deceptive'. It's quite simple actually - any time you are trying to 'screw' somebody, you are scamming! Hence you are a scammer!

 

As players level up and money gets tighter, their high-end requirements drive their imagination (or sometimes lack of), to come up with ways to quickly and easily make money. Unfortunately, due to the ease of anonymity, most of these hair-brained ideas are in the form of one scam or another.

 

Typical scammers will create an alternate character for their scams (wouldn't want to tarnish our main's character now would we) and will transfer their ill-gotten items to their main character(s). Once you see their toon fade in front of your shocked eyes, you can be sure that is the last you have seen of them - and your goodies/money.

 

What is NCsofts position on scams?

Basically you're SOL! Creating a petition complaining about the scam will get you nowhere. The GMs will tell you that this is a PvP game and that it is a 'buyer-beware' environment. Essentially, it is up to the community to clean itself much as it is in your real-life neighborhood.

The controversy over the Terms of Agreement and NCsofts role in enforcing them or trying to cut down on the scams continues throughout the forums. But until such time that NCsoft deems it necessary to step in, you are on your own.

 

How do I protect myself from scams?

All scams rely on you being in a hurry, not paying attention, trusting strangers, or simply not being informed about the game. Quite frankly, the only way to protect yourself is to use common sense and not be greedy! If the deal seems too good to be true, then it usually is!

For example, unless you physically know the person or have played with them for a long time (as in years) do not be stupid enough to hand your sweet-looking weapons over to them so they can see how good they 'look' with those weapons.

Yes, I said stupid. It's a harsh word, but it fits the bill. Because once you've been scammed, you'll be banging your head against that keyboard yelling "Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" Seriously, would you hand over your car keys to a stranger to let them see how they look driving your car? I don't think so, yet for some odd reason, many people do exactly that within the game.

 

The golden rule in this game is: Use Common Sense and Trust No One!!

 

"I've never been scammed! Only Newbies fall for scams!"

Oh, I've seen this many times over the chat. Well goody goody for you! You must be the smartest player in the world and I'm glad I've had the opportunity to hear you brag - not! I have seen the most seasoned players fall to scams for one reason or another. As for myself, yep, I have too. But that was a hearty lesson and I haven't fallen again. It only took this old fool one time to learn to use common sense.

 

Technically, the third part of the above statement is true. If you have never encountered a particular scam before, you are in fact, a 'newbie' to that scam. Unlike many other games, Lineage II provides a unique opportunity for players to set up individual shops. Unfortunately, this also provides a unique opportunity for new scams too. And for those folks who have never played an online game before, it usually doesn't take long for them to learn that players aren't like npcs, they have one big fault - they're human!

 

The fact is, many scams do work and they will continue to flourish as long as we don't do anything about it. So if you don't need a scam guide, then you really shouldn't have read this far now?

 

The Scams

This guide is a collection of the most common scams I've seen and although I have seen different threads about scams and scammers, there doesn't seem to be a comprehensive guide from what I can see. Granted, there will be some that I have missed or forgotten about, but this should get you started. I am not including bugs or exploits, because they don't rely on the faults of human nature.

 

The scams are in no particular order

 

• 
  "Oops, I hit the wrong button"
  Someone is willing to sell you that nice item you've been seeking for a good price. Up pops the trade window and you check out the item and boy does it look nice! You place the required adena in the trade window and click ok. All of a sudden the trade is canceled!
   
  "What gives?", you say.
  "Sorry, I hit the wrong button. Try again please." comes the reply.
  "OK. No Problem.", you say.
   
  Up pops the trade window again with your item and you place your adena in there one more time. This time the trade goes through, the player thanks you and takes off.
   
  As you happily open your inventory and look for your new item, you realize you can't find it! Instead there is a similar looking one, but it is a cheapy one! Bingo!! You've been scammed!
   
  Common Sense Alert! This scam relies on your trust of another player and your lack of common sense to double-check the item the second time around. Unfortunately, Lineage II uses similar looking, or in some cases, the same icons for different items. I suppose they are working hard to change this, but until they do, be sure to always re-inspect the item before clicking that OK button.
   
  
• "Help Me! Help Me!!
  I used to love watching this one! I also call this one the "Azer" scam because no one could pull it of as good as he could on Seigehardt. I would be sitting on the steps of the EF (Elven Fortress) bored out of my gourd with my little shop and Azer would come along. I instantly knew we were in for a show!
   
  Sure enough, a short time later I would hear Azer yelling as loud as he could as he came running out of EF with the longest train of Skellies you'd ever see!!
   
  "Help me!! Help me!!", he would shout! "Will someone please help me!!"
   
  Soon you would see a brave young warrior come along. "Hang on, I'm coming!!" he would say as he swung his mighty sword at the last skeleton in the train. As he bravely swung his heart out, Azer would circle his train around the warrior, who would attract the skeletons due to his fighting. Within seconds, this brave - but naïve warrior, would be swarmed with more skeletons then he will see in his short life. Soon his lifeless body lay on the ground and low and behold, so was that mighty sword of his! The mighty warrior was no more - and neither was his sword! For Azer would scoop it up in one quick swoop and off he went in search for the next fool, er, I mean brave warrior!
   
  Of course, that was the plan all along. You see, Azer was such a high level that these Skeletons would barely scratch him. He knew however, that most folks hanging around the EF were high enough to feel cocky about taking on few skeletons, but low enough that any more than a few would overwhelm them. Of course, the chance of something good falling off the hapless player when he died is what Azer was hoping for.
   
  I've seen several others run that scam before in different areas, but none as well as Azer. A variation of that scheme is that the scammer will sometimes stun the person 'helping' just to speed things along. Although Azer was an orc, I never did see him try that - not to say that he may not have done that on occasion.
   
  The funny thing is, even though I would put warnings out about this scam, there were still plenty of players willing to "Save the day!"
   
  Common Sense Alert! If the player yelling for help isn't already dead with that many mobs on his arsch, you can bet he is trying to pull a fast one. Unless you are absolutely sure that you can take on that many mobs, stay away from the train and whatever you do, don't hit one of the mobs! They will swarm on you like flies on - oh you know what I mean!
  

• Buy Low, Sell High!
  So there you are in Gludio perusing the many stores for anything good. There's a lot of stores tonight and a lot to window shop. Hmm, this guy wants to buy a Bullhorn for 40k adena. Didn't I just see a guy selling one for 30k?
  Let me see if that's still for sale. Woot!!! It is! Sweet, that will be a quick 10k profit there! I better get this before anyone else notices it. So you quickly buy the Bullhorn wringing your sweaty little hands.
  Cool, now let me go sell it to that other guy real quick! So you hurry over to the Buy shop and start the transaction. You click on ok and nothing happens. WTH? Why won't he buy it? You try several more times but to no avail. Suddenly it hits you like no Mayhem Commander could - you've just been scammed. This buy shop doesn't have the money to pay for the Bullhorn and never intended to!
  Well, maybe you can sell it to reclaim some of your money back. So you head over to the shop to check out its price. OMG!! The scam just got worse - this thing is only worth 300 adena!!
   
  Common Sense Alert! This scam requires two people to pull off, one that sells a worthless item for a high price and another who advertises that he wants to buy this same worthless item for even more. It relies both on your greed as well as on your lack of knowledge of the item.
   
  The thing that got you in trouble here was your greed. Hopes of a quick profit prevented your common sense from kicking in and doing your homework!
   
  Your first rule of common sense is to know what the item is really worth to begin with. Either check the shop or do a quick shout out for a price check. Whatever the item is that they are using to scam with, you can bet it won't be worth much since their goal is to make as much as possible.
  
• I or l? or "Hey - that's my name!"
  As your walking through Gludio checking out the shops, you see a scam being set up. But while looking at the name of the scammer, you realize it's your name!! Someone has somehow used your name and is tarnishing your reputation by scamming other players.
   
  How has this person been able to duplicate your name? What happened is that the scammer has duplicated your name using a common problem among games. Many games use a basic font that causes the lowercase L (l) to look exactly like the uppercase i (I) - much like this Ariel font does. Lineage also uses such a font which makes it easy for other players to impersonate/duplicate player names.
   
  If your name is something like "KillBill", then other players have several different ways to duplicate your name. For example, KiIlBill or KillBiII. Can you see the difference? Hmmm, well if you can't tell the difference, how are other players going to?
  

  
  Notice how the "clone" also took on the same race and looks of the original player. They even went so far as to imitate the clan name.
   
  Once they have duplicated your name, they can wreak havoc upon your characters reputation as they run their scams in your name. Heck, if they've done their homework, they may even know some of your trusted friends and could be deceiving them out of their stuff too!
   
  Common Sense Alert! It's a bit harder to protect yourself from this particular scam since it is inherent in the system. One way of course, is to exact your revenge on that player by hounding/PKing them until they give up the toon.
   
  However, assuming that is not an option (the doppel-ganger will usually remain safely inside a village), you can prevent these doppel-gangers in the first place by creating the duplicate names yourself so that each variation of your name is taken. Obviously this will use up several of your character slots so you may not have/want this option.
   
  

• Not your Average Dark Screamer!
  Scanning through the stores in town, you come across a Dark Screamer that you've been looking for. Having searched for days and not seeing one, you jump at the opportunity and quickly buy the dagger before someone else does. As you open your inventory to equip that shiny new weapon, you realize that you do not see it. Instead there is a cheap old Doom Dagger staring at you!
  
  

  
  In your haste you did not take the time to double-check the item before pressing that OK button.
   
  Notice in the screenshot how the store advertises a Dark Screamer for sale?
   
  But a quick look inside the store tells the true story - a cheap Doom Dagger is priced high enough in hopes you will not be paying attention.
   
  Of course, they throw in a legitimate item first so that the scam item doesn't get all the attention.
   
  Common Sense Alert! This scam takes advantage of the duplicated icon issue in Lineage and relies on your not paying attention to what you are buying. Because the Doom Dagger uses the same icon as the Dark Screamer, it makes for an easy store scam. Always inspect the item you are buying before clicking that OK button.
   
  

• 
  Soul Ore does not equal D-Crystals!
  Similar to the previous scam, this one relies on folks not paying attention to what they are buying. Instead of using a weapon or armor, it uses the much sought after D-crystals to lure you in. Advertised for a cheap price, they can reel you in like a fish.
   
  I lost my screen shots for this scam, but basically, the icon for D-Crystals is the same as the Soul Ore. So once again these make good scam items.
   
  Common Sense Alert! Same as the previous scam. It takes advantage of the duplicated icon issue in Lineage and relies on your not paying attention to what you are buying.
   
  

• Join our Clan!!!
  You send out some shouts asking to join a clan. Soon, a player contacts you asking if you would be interested in their clan. You ask few questions and it sounds like a decent group, so you say sure.
   
  After a day or so of joining the clan, you are asked for some adena so that the clan can advance to the next level. The amount requested ranges from a few thousand to tens of thousands - depending on how much is needed.
   
  Of course you are willing to help your clan out, after all, that's what clans are supposed to do, right? So you pay your 40k adena to a clan officer and go about your merry way. The next day you log in and notice that your clan tag is missing! In fact, you can't use the clan chat or see any clan related activity! After frantically searching around for other members or doing shouts, you realize something - you've been had!
   
  Or maybe they didn't ask for money. Instead, they offered to 'upgrade' your equipment by exchanging what you have with better stuff from another member or the clans 'inventory'. Of course, the concept is the same. Once they have your equipment they take off and you never hear from them or the clan again!
   
  Common Sense Alert! This scam relies on your trust of other players. It requires at least one player creating a clan and then soliciting for members. After they request and receive some monies/equipment, they delete the clan and go on their merry way! As said before, trust no one that you haven't played with for a long time.
   
  There are many clans in Lineage and just like in any other games, there are some reputable ones and not so reputable ones. If you are interested in joining a clan, be aware that there are several scams going about with this.
  
• 
  Let me upgrade your weapons!!
  You've been playing with John Doe player for quite a while now and have a good feeling from him. In fact, he has given you quite a lot of stuff over the past few days and is a really nice guy.
   
  Now he has offered to upgrade your weapons so you give him your weapons in eager anticipation of what is to come. He say's he'll be right back so you wait. And wait and wait!! You try to send him a message but you get no response. Now you are getting worried. As time goes by and you neither hear from nor see him, it begins to sink in - you've been scammed. Mr. Nice Guy has actually turned out to be Mr. Wrong!
   
  Common Sense Alert! As usual, this scam relies on your trust of other players. The player will earn his/her trust for a little while and when they think you are completely vulnerable, they spring the trap. After they request and receive your equipment, they disappear.
   
  

• Pink=Sell, Yellow=Buy!
  You desperately need some D grade SS and SpS since you are running low. As you rummage through the stores, you see that hardly anyone is selling any and those that are charging a lot. "Aha! Here's a store selling them really cheap". So you quickly open the store and check the price, see the price as advertised and buy a thousand.
   
  As you click on the OK button, a sinking feeling hits you in the gut - this is a yellow store! You just sold a thousand to that store for their advertised cheap price. Not only did you lose your items, you also lost money since you sold them at such a low price!
  This is a very popular scam and has various flavors, the most common being that they advertise low ss or sps.
   
  Common Sense Alert! Again, your haste and greed keep these stores operating. By not thinking clearly, you completely overlook the fact that the store label says "Buy". And even worse, the store label is yellow which should tell you right then to stay away! As always, if the deal seems too good to be true - it usually is!
   
  
• "I quit!! You can have my stuff!!"
  "I guess this poor guy has had enough of the game, I should check to see what he's giving away. After all, I could use some new stuff and worst case I could sell his stuff. What a generous person, giving their stuff a way so cheap!"
   
  As you open the store, you see an Elven Bow listed for just one adena. "Hmm, I've already got one, but this is a 700k item - I can make a few quick adena with this!"
  
  

  
  Yeah, right! Go ahead and click on that OK button - if you want to sell your item for one adena that is!!
   
  Common Sense Alert! This is another one of those scams that relies on greed. There are four clues that tell you this is a scam. If you miss all four and still end up selling your stuff to this scammer, then I'm sorry - you deserve it! First, the store label says BUY! Two, it's a yellow store - it BUYS! Third, notice some of the items in the store are grayed out? It's a buy store and you don't have some of the items for it to BUY. And finally, NO ONE gives their stuff for free to a stranger!
   
  

• Read, Read, Read!!
  You're on the way to the Ruins, but you need to get some SS/SpS real quick. There's someone selling some for the normal price. You open the store and see that there are enough in stock, so you select a thousand and click OK.
   
  A small message pops up say something about the price, but you're in a hurry so you click OK and head on out. As you check your inventory, you see you only have a few on hand and not the thousand or so you had bought. Instead, your money has been depleted!!
  
  

  
  he may be cute, he may be cuddly, but he's still a scammer!! Can you see the scam? Notice the quantity (the top number) is made to look like the price, and the price (the bottom number) is made to look like the quantity!
   
  Common Sense Alert! Once again, these scams rely on your haste and laziness to double-check what you are buying. They are also hoping on some newbies still unfamiliar with shops to get confused between the quantity and pricing lines. Always double-check the price. A simple method is to retrieve a quantity of one and see what the cost would be in the lower section of the store window.
   
  

• Get rich quick! Buy your Adena via Ebay or e-mail!
  So you're getting tired of the grind are ya? All those darn farmers and everyone else is getting all that pretty shiny new equipment that they are using to level so quickly. Well, if you bought a few million via ebay or e-mail, you could buy all the equipment you need!
   
  So you rush to Ebay to see what's available. You find a good price, place your order and wait. And wait, and wait and wait! No one comes to deliver the adena! So you go back to Ebay and find that account is no longer there. Frantically, you search around to no avail. You've been had!!
   
  A quick search on Ebay reveals plenty of opportunities!
  
  

  
  But in-game advertising is also plenty:
  

  

  
  Common Sense Alert! I'm not sure what NC Softs position is on Ebay sales. I thought I read at one time that they are against the terms of agreement, but if so, they are not doing much to enforce it. So once again, the desire to get the best equipment and the lack of initiative to farm can lead you to a quick loss of money. However, unlike within the game, where losing money to a scam doesn't have any real-life consequences, these scams actually cost you real-life dollars!!
   
  Granted, there are those that will actually deliver, but who is to say which ones are legit? Don't be lazy, play the game the way it was meant to play and quit trying to take those shortcuts!
  

CONCLUSION

As you can see, the number and types of scams are quite high. Since this game relies so heavily on your equipment status, getting the adena to buy all those expensive items is a high priority. There will be more scams around the corner and more folks to fall for them.

Although some issues could be resolved by NCsoft such as the duplicate icons, in the end, only you can prevent yourself from being scammed.

 

It's all very simple, take your time to read the store labels carefully, and above all, don't get greedy! Greed is a bad emotion and can lead you to do some very stupid things on a spur of the moment.

 

 

 

 

Credits: SeaSoNeD

source: lineage2-online.com :)

[Tessellate]

Its a good guide :o

and i've been sammed also once for actualy big prices XD

so ill read this some more times XD

[Smok3BoY]

all that matters is to be careful when you trade with someone

any way gj

[fuers]

i was scamed once but for adena only so it was not a big deal. (in l2vendetta c4). after that i have never been scamed again and i hope i will not be anymore. i rather 3x check before i accept something ;)

 

[edit] great topic rly.

[seasoned]

I am happy that you do like my topic ;D

 

/ontopic: I think everyone has been scammed at least one time.

Another way that I didn't write (I'll add it maybe) is that many ppl pretend they are friends of yours, for some time, and when you give them your items... "poof"...they dissapear -.-

[YouWishToKnowMyNick]

I've been scammed only once in my life

[SkyNet]

i never got scammed (in ~5 years L2) ... cause i use my brain  ::)

 

but is a nice guide for new player which think the other player are fair player  :-X

[spartangod]

I've been scammed only once in my life!!

Tnks!

[Reptant_]

i was scammed one by one Trade done by phx..

it's a same that in l2mafia there were 2 scam ways..

in one you had to trade first and in second him and you didnot know if you are scammed or not

and althought the only time scammed is by a person which i knew from clan..(Phx trade..)

[MainlyRaGe]

good work dude...i loled on the "brave warrior" part :P

 

U forgot one scam though...it's kinda ancient and it's 100% for newbies..but well i got scammed this way on e-global c3.....the scam is this..

 

a dude comes and sais "dude wanna go xp together?" u say "sure"..so u xp for an hour or so and suddenly he goes "dude this sword looks nice..it's name? " u go "sec to read.....stormbringer"  and he goes "wow dude cool can u drop it to see how it looks???i go far i can't pick up" u think...why not....so u do it once and pick up fast..then he goes "come on dude..u picked up too fast i am sitting there is no way i can get it first" so u drop it again..and when u try to pick it up again BAM pt was set to random...%$#@! i got scammed %$#@! damn %$#@@# and so goes on....

 

Obviously that happened to me....i got that stormbringer from a pk.......i wanted to get another one to make duals but....FAIL :-/

[Grim.]

I've been scammed only once in my life!!

Tnks!

[GrisoM]

Try to not c/p things from 2006 LoL~

 

btw this guide is not yours.

[seasoned]

Try to not c/p things from 2006 LoL~

 

btw this guide is not yours.

 

ofc. is not mine.

I c/p it from lineage2-online.com

[HamBurger]

all that matters is to be careful when you trade with someone

any way gj

just about to write something similar with this :) /agree

[Fortuna]

ofc. is not mine.

I c/p it from lineage2-online.com

 

Then don't give credits to yourself ffs.