TruthScape.com  9  The Truth About RuneScape Account and Password Scamming and “Hacking”       9  Common Ways Players Get “Hacked” Outside the RuneScape Game

Common Ways Players Get “Hacked” Outside the RuneScape Game Letting Others Do Work on Your Account

I described in the subsection on in-game scamming risks that you should never share your password with RuneScape friends. But surely a real life friend can be trusted, right? What about your very best friend—that person is safe and would never betray you by stealing your account, right? And my girlfriend/boyfriend loves me, I know I can trust her/him!

Wrong, wrong, wrong! Look, I know everyone wants to believe that people they know in the real world can be trusted, and that their friends would never betray them, and that their girlfriend or boyfriend will love them forever. And maybe that's true for you—I really hope it is. But I'm sorry to have to tell you that RuneScape players get their accounts stolen by friends (even best friends) and “significant others” all the time.

The bottom line is always the same: the only way to keep your account safe is not to share your password with anyone, even in real life. Even if you trust your friend or boyfriend/girlfriend, is there really any reason to share your password with them? Look at this way: would you share your real life bank account number with a best friend? Or a credit card? Or your passport?

Of course, you may run into problems if you decide to be smart and not share your account password. You might have a friend or boyfriend/girlfriend ask you to “try out” your account, and they might get insulted if you refuse. (“What, you don't trust me?”) There are a couple of approaches to dealing with this issue.

First, remind the other person that account sharing is against the rules and could get you banned from RuneScape. No true friend or loving girlfriend/boyfriend would encourage someone to do something illegal that could get them banned, wasting all the hard work they put into their account.

Second, suggest an alternative. Instead of letting a friend use your account, why not encourage them to make their own and play with you? You could help them out by giving them items and advice, and they would have the satisfaction of knowing that they made their own character and raised it themselves.

Common Ways Players Get “Hacked” Outside the RuneScape Game Letting Others Do Work on Your Account