Many gamers have made trading in-game items a solid source of income. Some sell items that they cannot use for their character class, while others try to get rid of the wealth they have acquired before giving up the game entirely.
Unfortunately, there are also scammers in the gaming community who use cunning schemes to leave honest gamers out in the rain. Keep in mind that some game publishers, including Valve, have refused to return items to players who have voluntarily given them to scammers.
Observe the Rules of the Game
First of all, not all developers allow players to trade in-game items, let alone sell them for real money. So before looking for a buyer for your Golden AK-47 or buying the Sword of a Thousand Truths, it's a good idea to check out if this could cause your account to be suspended.
For example, the developers of the MMORPG RuneScape prevent both the sale of accounts and items for real money. There are several reasons for this, ranging from legal issues (the game and the items it contains are the property of the publisher) to security issues (accounts and items put up for sale are often stolen or obtained dishonestly).
If you are caught in a prohibited transaction, regardless of whether you are a seller or a buyer, you will be banned because the rules have been violated in each case. The likelihood that an item for which you paid real money will be confiscated is also quite high: This type of transaction looks very suspicious to the administrators of the game and the payment made is not registered in the game and therefore cannot be verified.
At the same time, trading in armor, weapons, and other items within the game as part of the in-game trading system is usually not prohibited.
May the Buyer Be Careful
The second important rule is to trust intuition and stay away from overly attractive deals. Just like in real life, cyber scammers will try to win your trust and promise incredible discounts. The only goal behind this, however, is to persuade the buyer to buy or to elicit the password.
There are several signs that caution should be exercised. So you should be careful of sellers who knock on the purchase decision, but the buyer under pressure, or want to lead the sales process outside the official platform. Even if it's a friend texting you, be careful: scammers may have hacked the account or are using a character with the same name as your longtime buddy but with a barely noticeable period at the end of the name.
Pay attention to the exchange window to make sure that the promised hundred thousand gold coins don't turn into [Boar Tusk x 1] at the very last minute. And in general, make sure that you are offered the exact item you want to buy, not just a similar one. Of course, the item should also be for the right game.
Some scammers posted articles on Steam for their own games that looked exactly like much more valuable articles for much more popular games. For example, a shady guy managed to sell a fake Dragonclaw hook from Dota 2. The fake was a perfect copy of the original: same appearance, same name. The scammers even copied Dota 2's description and logo.
The only problem with the fake was that it had nothing to do with Dota. The item could only be used in a game called Climber, which was later removed from Steam.
After several similar cases, the moderators of the gaming platform began to pay closer attention to which game an item belonged to. Still, it's always a good idea to take care and check everything in advance.
Be a Smart Seller
Scammers try to deceive not only buyers but also owners of valuables. If another player asks you for the trade item to confirm the “quality” or wants to borrow it for a “trial test”, then they are most likely trying to let them go. If someone's keys offer in exchange for an expensive item, you should also be on guard, as the Keys probably stolen were.
Game providers and game shops advise against trading items for real money via third-party payment services such as PayPal. If you still want to make a transaction and purchase an item with cash, first make sure that the buyer is trustworthy. Do you have the slightest suspicion that you might be ripped off? Then reject the deal. Even if you have agreed on a prepayment, a fraudster can retrospectively cancel a transaction by contacting the payment system's support service. So in that case you will get nothing.
Storage Tips
- Whether you are the buyer or the seller, shield your computer and account properly. If you get hacked, scammers will quickly empty your account, It is recommended to have total security installed in your PC if you're a full-time gamer.
- Therefore, do not use the same password for online games that you use for other services;
- Do not click any links to external sites in the game chat and carefully check the address of any resource that prompts you for your username and password as the site may be fake.
- Never turn off your computer protection. Contrary to popular belief, certain antivirus packages will not affect your game's performance. Rather, if you leave them running, they will detect and block threats.
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