TruthScape.com  9  The Truth About RuneScape Item Scams       9  RuneScape Con Games - How Scammers Earn Your Trust and Then Betray You

Account Sharing and Offers to Do Work or Tasks on Your Account Bogus Clan Tests and Initiations

One of the oldest con games in RuneScape is usually called simply the trust game. This name is very descriptive—it's definitely a game, and it relies entirely on the trust of the victims to pull it off. It can be very sneaky because it is one of those scams where the scammer starts out seeming trustworthy, and keeps building your trust—until he's ready to destroy it.

Here's how it typically works:

1. The scammer starts by finding victims. He goes to a bank or other busy area and announces that he's giving away great items or gold. He'll ask those who want the “free stuff” to follow him. Usually there will one or two friends of the scammer in the bank who will enthusiastically say they want to play and will follow him. These shills are in on the game and there to help build your trust in the scammer.
   
   
2. The scammer will walk over to a quiet area, and then set up the “game”. He'll say that it is a test of trust, and whoever shows his trust most by giving him the best item will win. (Note that sometimes trust games are also done in the scammer's player-owned house.)
   
   
3. The game will usually start by one of the scammer's shill friends trading him to give him a low-valued item. The scammer will then return the item. The shill will happily tell the other players that the scammer is trustworthy because he got back his item.
   
   
4. The victims will then participate; they'll be cautious at first and so will start by trading something small. The scammer will indeed return these initial items to gain the victims' trust.
   
   
5. The game proceeds with victims “competing” by giving the scammer increasingly more valuable “gifts” to try to win the game. The scammer builds trust by returning the items each time.
   
   
6. As soon as the scammer is given something valuable enough that he's satisfied, he logs off, and the victim will never see him again. That person has “won” the game—if you call that winning!

Do I even need to tell you how to avoid falling victim to this? J

I have illustrated a variation of the trust game in Figure 98, where the scammer is pretending to hold a “contest” to win 79k in gold. He starts out by asking a couple of simple questions, which the person just north of him answered to win 2 “points”. Then he offers 5 points to that person if he will give him his best weapon, which he promises to give back. I immediately told the other guy not to do it, but he did anyway, and the scammer walked off with it. (I gave the guy 50k and warned him to watch out for scammers in the future!)

Remember, there are some honest, generous people on RuneScape who give away gold or items to be nice. But when they do it, they just give the items—they don't “test your trust” or ask you to give them items first.

Figure 98: A “Trust Game” Scam in Action

It’s actually pretty rare for me to capture one of these, as most scammers know that someone my level is smart enough to realize what this is about and they will log off. Anyway, in Frame #1 the scammer starts the “contest” by asking questions and offering points to win 79k. Then in Frame #2 he moves in for the kill. I warn the other guy not to listen, but he ignores me and gives the scammer his rune battleaxe; then in Frame #3 he demands it back. In Frame #4 you see the scammer saying “Who me” and the victim getting desperate. In Frame #5 the victim finally figures out he’s been scammed (that’s me saying “Sigh”). In Frame #6 the victim tries one last time before the scammer just walks off with his rune battleaxe. (I replaced the 50k for him.)

Account Sharing and Offers to Do Work or Tasks on Your Account Bogus Clan Tests and Initiations

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Last Update: May 28, 2008

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