[How to] Protect yourself from ingame scams

[L'Lawliet]

ok so most of you know about the female scam, backspace scam, and alot more. well heres how to protect yourself!

How to Protect yourself In-Game!

1.Only accept cod if you the item is not wrapped or in a gift box.
2. Never click accept quickly at great offers. heck they might just give you junk.
3. if someone says "this item is very rare" dont actually buy it. most people who say that are scammers. if its a lvl 80 or some sort, just check on wowhead.
4. if people are selling something other than in-game items, dont accept it.
5. the last and final rule. if you are going to be paranoid and try not to be scammed fully, buy from the action house.

An thats it. just follow those simple rules and you will not get scammed ingame. I thank you.

[burton992]

TBH all of this is bad advice imo.

Why dont accept COD if you dont know them lol why not just double check the item you are buying its not exactly hard work and COD scams are a waste of time anyways.

If someone tells you the item is very rare ask them to show you it and then google it doesnt mean they are scammers.

And why buy it from the auction the trade channel usually has some very good deals, and if your the buyer just make sure you double check the item your buying first.

Fair enough i sort of agree with number 4 but the others are not very good advice imo.

But atleast your trying to prevent people from being scammed which is a good thing, your guide is actaully correct because chances are you wouldnt be scammed ingame if you follow them i was just pointing out that you could still do most of these things and not be scammed.

[dep.ARTed]

Best advice to protect yourself from ingame scams: Don't be braindead!
But +Rep for sharing.

[Advocate]

Nice post thanks for contributing!

[ßetray]

Sorry this just seems like poor advice, as jeremy said.

Hopping on the new '[How To]Prevent Scam' Band Wagon is fine and all if you post decent information.

What was posted here just seems to be...fluff.

1.Never and i mean ever accept cod unless you truly know the person.

This is incredibly poor advice. CoD CAN NOT backfire if you know how to C(ash)o(n)D(elivery). You check the CoD button and post how much they need to pay you when they receive the item. They MUST pay or they cannot get the item. If they don't want to pay then they click return and you'll get your item back.

2. Never click accept quickly at great offers. Heck they might just give you junk.

This is actually decent advice. But just to modify that statment:
Always check the contents of both sides of the deal before clicking accept.

3. if someone says "this item is very rare" dont actually buy it. most people who say that are scammers.

Now-a-days, most people who say this actually ARE NOT scammers, and the item is probably rare.
That said, WoWHead.com and similar websites were created for a reason. Using them will help protect you. Or verify an item with guildies/friends to figure out it's worth.

4. if people are selling something other than in-game items, dont accept it.

Probably the best advice listed here. Don't spend gold on out-of-game items.

5. the last and final rule. if you are going to buy something, buy it from the auction house. Some people scam people by lets say "enchanting" an item.

Again, very poor advice. The trade channel was setup for people to sell, buy (and sometimes trade) items. 1 in 1000 people or fewer will try to 'scam' you via trade but by following the above rule posted "always check both contents of the deal before hiting accept" will keep you covered.

And in the worst case scenario, should you actually get scammed, just open a GM ticket with the following information:
Time
People involved
Contents of the deal
Actions that took place
And almost always your items / gold will be returned to you.

[L'Lawliet]

updated it from the advice from betray and jeremy