Sellers Account Safety - Scam Info

[tonytehtiger]

When buying, selling or trading accounts the first thing you want to keep in mind is that the virtual market is full of scammers looking to take anything they can get. Before doing any buying, selling or trading you should read all the buy, sell and trade safety articles on WoW Tips & Guides for Buying, Selling & Trading.


I have lost both accounts and money to scammers and know that it can be the worst feeling in the world. No one wants to lose their hard earned cash or their epic account that they put endless hours into. So I decided to write a few articles to give you the basic idea on what to look out for and how to buy, sell and trade in the virtual world.

Even after knowing your way around a little, you always have to be on the look out.

The first thing we will go over is selling accounts

-When selling an account most people will start off by posting on forums. There will usually always be at least 1 scammer that contacts you.

What to look out for:

Bad English: If the person contacting you can hardly type or speak English they are probably from a foreign country and just trying to take your account. They will offer you money and they will even pay you. You will give them your account and you will think all is well, then the next day you will find out that the paypal account they sent the money from was stolen and the transaction has been disputed and you are now out of an account and how ever much you sold it for.

Sketchy People: If the person that contacts you seems kind of sketchy then you are most likely best off not selling your account to him. Some people may seem like they want to buy your account but then after giving them all your account info they will log out immediately and block you. If this occurs make sure to report the person as a scammer on those forums so other people can watch out for them.

A deal to good to be true: When someone is willing to pay you any price you are asking without even asking anything about the account first then they are most likely looking to scam you. Someone who is asking you a lot of questions before even considering your account is a good thing, because it shows they are actually looking for an account to buy, but this many not always be the case.
When selling an account check the person out that you are selling to before you give them the account info. If you really want to be safe have them pay you and send them the account info through mail so that paypal sees the sale as being shipped and will have less chance of chargeback or dispute. To be even safer give the person a phone call and chat with them about the account but don’t give any info. After calling them look up the area code number and see where they are located. You can also use this to see if it matches up with the paypal info on their account to see if they are actually located where there paypal account says they are which you can read more about in virtual goods and paypal fraud.

The next topic will be trading accounts. When trading accounts you have to look out for the same things as you would when selling accounts. You may even come across a successful WoW account trade and then come online to find the account has been recalled.

To prevent this make sure you get all the persons info that you are trading to. Make sure you can contact them through phone or email or messenger. Usually someone who will talk to you over phone is a legit person but not always. Make sure you get all account info so that you can change the email on the account and get the account back if you have to. Getting the CD-keys along with the trade is always important because u can use these to recall the account without even knowing the info.

Check into the person on the forums and see if they have reputation for what you are buying from them. If they have a lot of rep and positive feedback then they are most likely a legit person. There is also a system called Trust Who Verification which means that they have gotten all there info verified and are a legit person.

When Buying accounts you also have to be careful because of course the person can recall the account. Buying accounts from trusted websites is most recommended like Toonstorm, but if you are looking to buy from a private seller then follow the same steps as you would when selling or trading. Make sure you get all the account info and cd-keys if possible and make sure you can contact the person at all times.


I hope this guide gives you an idea on what to look out for and what to expect when buying and selling accounts. The virtual world is a dangerous business to get into so take precaution.


To read more on scam prevention and safety articles visit WoW Tips & Guides for Buying, Selling & Trading