In Addition to Sterlingr76's Article on Scammers

by Mistress_Mariana

I was very happy to see Sterlingr76's article on scammers. I think it's about time someone spoke up on the subject. I also found it helpful that she gave three examples of some of the scams that people are pulling just to get NP and rare items from unsuspecting Neopians. I have noticed recently, though, that some of the more eager scammers have been going further than one of the three basic scams used. They have started pulling at the hearts of fellow Neopians, hoping that they will have sympathy for their false illnesses and ill luck. Here are just a few examples of the recent scams I've seen:

Example One: "I just found out from the doctor day that I have a weak heart and could die very soon. I am going to be giving away my account with 100,000 NPs, an underwater map, and 50 rare items in the inventory to the highest bidder." (I saw one person actually writing a Wish List such as this and it tore me apart. If they were about to die and wanted to get rid of their account, they could either put their pets up for adoption or just delete the account. Also, your inventory can only hold up to 40 items, so obviously this is false.)

Example Two: "My dad is getting rid of AOL, so I have to get rid of my NeoPets account. I will give my account with 1,000,000 NP to the person with the highest bid." (If the person was really getting rid of AOL, he could sign up for a free Internet service and be able to keep his NeoPets account.)

Example Three: "Please bid lots of NP! I only have 10 NP left!" (What really got to me was that this was extremely popular in the month of December, when the Advent Calendar was open. You could go to the Advent Calendar once a day and get an average of around 2,000 NP and a rare item. This scam is still commonly used, though.) Those are just a few more of the scams. I'm sure there are plenty more that Sterlingr76 or I haven't picked up on yet.

Now you're probably asking yourself, "What can I do to stop this?" Well, there is one really good way you can deal with the situation at the moment. The first thing you should do is copy the Wish List of the scammer, making sure that you get their user name as well, and go to the "Contact us" link at the bottom of your screen. There you will see a link that leads you to an automatic e-mail form for bug and abuse reports. Click there and choose to send the e-mail as an abuse report, then paste the Wish List (with the user name) that you copied before. The NeoPets staff get on it right away and if they find the person, they will most likely freeze the account, but if they don't find the person right away, they will send you an e-mail telling you they will keep an eye out.

You should NEVER send a Neomail to the scammer telling them you are about to report them, or threatening them. This can get you into just as much trouble as they are in. Threatening is not allowed on NeoPets, and the scammer can just as easily tell NeoPets that you are being abusive as you can tell them that they are scammers.

Well, I hope that I have been of a little more help to some people. Try to get the word out to as many people as possible to help bring out some awareness and also put some fear into these scammers. Remember, we wouldn't have a site without the NeoPets Staff, and the NeoPets Staff couldn't keep it running smoothly without our help and/or input!