Runescape Trade Scam

by: Latona

- Changing items in trade window:
Players may quickly change either items or cash value in the trade window hoping that you did not notice. This is very common and often people who do this will be using a macro to make the change happen very quickly. My advice is to check the second trade window screen carefully and ensure the correct items are on that window. If the items you were expecting are not there then report the person for trade scamming. If you report within 60 seconds and capture the trade then Jagex will be able to investigate and BAN the player. Jagex staff will be able to determine if a macro was used and since using macros are against the rules can enforce a permanent ban on the player doing this.

- Rares not being rare:
A lot of players aim to buy rares for their bank and show off their wealth. However, many people also try and claim useless or new items are runescape rare items because either nobody uses them or very few people have got them. Always know what you are buying otherwise you run the risk of being scammed for a lot of money and not being able to report the person who scammed you.

- New items:
Every update by Jagex that releases a new item into the game will cause the new item to be highly priced for the first 7-10 days. Always be extra careful when buying this as the price will quickly drop as many more quickly come into the game. My advice is to wait and be patient until a market price is determined. Over time most items lose value due to increase in supply within the game or another new item supersedes the usefulness of it. People may also try and sell these new items as rare items and thereby selling at an inflated price.

- Useless items:
Some items are pretty much useless within runescape and do nothing. Some players however try and pass these items off as being rare or valuable or unique. If you are unsure of the usefulness of an item then check on runescape forums. Most people who get scammed this way buy impulsively and without knowing what they are actually buying. Do some research to avoid being scammed like this as many players will consistently try and perform the same runescape scam to many people.

- Unid herbs not being what you expected:
Buying unid herbs is always a chance the buyer is taking. A lot of people will honestly not know what type of herbs they are selling while the scammer player will know exactly what they are selling. The scammer will be trying to sell unid guam, marrentil and tarromin for 1000 coins or more each knowing the true value is much less. There is an anti-scam method available for trading in unid herbs on the runescape forums and should be followed to avoid being scammed in this way.

- Never drop trade:
If anyone asks you to drop trade then one thing is 100% clear, it is scamming. The reason people ask you to drop trade an item is because the item is untradable and will not show up. There are two ways that you can be scammed doing this. The first method is you have an item and want money for it. The person will insist you drop your item and they will pay cash when they pick it up. The fact is they will not ever see the item and so you will lose the item and they will not pay you.

The second method is the more common method and is the reverse of the previous situation. You will want to buy an item they have. They ask for the money and say they will drop the item. You give the money to them and they may well drop the item but will pick it up again as they know it is untradeable. You will have lost your cash while they will have gained your cash and will have kept the item. Jagex insist people do not drop trade so do not do it, drop trading is scamming.

- Armor Trimming/Upgrade:
This used to be a very common scam when treasure items were first released and has died down a bit now. However, it is still prevalent on non-member servers. The simple fact is armour cannot be trimmed or upgraded. Trimmed armour is only obtained from treasure trail clues on member servers. The armour itself is wearable by non-members just the fact non-members cannot obtain it. My advice is report anyone offering to trim or upgrade your armour as it is a scam. The trimmed or gold armour itself is available in the game and can be traded, but it is only obtainable by members.

- Payment up front:
If someone asks you to make a payment up front before any items or resources are ready then 99% of the time a scam. My advice is simply do not trade in this way as you cannot report it at a later time when you realise that it is a scam as the 60 second reporting window will clearly have passed. Always insist on items within the trade so that you know exactly what you are buying.

- Splitting trades:
This is a similar method as paying up front only in this case you may trade a higher value portion of the trade to a player and receive a low value partial trade in exchange. Always trade value for value and not split with useless items, keep trades to 25 items or less maximum.

- Quick Trades:
ALWAYS take your time in trades and pay special attention to the second trade screen to ensure it matches exactly what you feel you were buying. This will severely reduce the chances of you being scammed but will not eliminate them 100% as many people who actively trade scam use macros to slightly change things that look similar to what you are trading and are therefore hard to spot straight away. Again I urge you to thoroughly check that second trade screen as it is your safeguard to ensure items traded are correct. Once you have accepted the trade there is nothing you can do to return items you have traded, even if the player is banned by Jagex for scamming. The reason for this is that too many trade scams are reported for it to be feasible for Jagex to return items that have been scammed.

- Low level characters:
You should always pay special attention to low level characters selling rare or valuable items. Generally they will be a known trade scammer as they likely have a high level character and only created the low level character as a throwaway incase they get caught scamming. Always pay attention in the trade window and report any suspicious actions quickly.

- Team scamming:
This is where more than one person operates to create a demand or interest in an item. It can take two forms, a trust scam where you swap items with the scammer or one person holds valuable items from a friend. The second method is fake demand. One person will walk around selling an item for 1 million gp. Another person will be walking around buying the same item for 3 million gp. You will see this and think ok I will buy the item for 1 million gp and sell to the guy for 3mil gp and make 2 million gp. Wrong!!! ... the 2 people are friends.

What you will actually do is buy the item for 1 millio gp then when you try to sell it to the guy buying for 3 million gp, he will say he already bought it from someone else or will simply logout. You will have been scammed for a considerable amount of money, so take extra caution when you see such activities as there is nothing you can report to Jagex about it as the seller was advertising what price he was selling the item for and you happily paid him the price. There is no way for Jagex to ensure it was a set-up so no action can be enforced on either the seller or the fake buyer. You have been warned.

- Overpricing:
You can check for a price guide on runescape forums or from other sources of respectable runescape community websites. When buying anything it is always wise to look for a price guide so that you can make sure that you are paying what is regarded as a market price for an item. For example, rune hatchet is usually costing up to 20k gp. If you wanted to buy a rune hatchet you would offer 20k gp maximum. If someone selling asked for 50k gp then you know it would be overpriced. However, if you never checked the price out you may think it is ok price because you really wanted a rune hatchet. Dont be fooled by prices of things as even expensively priced items do not always have any practical use.

About the Author

Latona is a veteran runescape player and webmaster of this runescape help site as well as submitting several guides and articles including this runescape scam information guide to make other players aware of the stuff scammers try and get away with.