Avoiding Scams

(Issue 4/6)

So far we have discussed about scams done through in websites, trades and impersonations. The next item in the list is the vend scams. In the real world, stores can scam you by selling you fake goods which you can't distinguish from the real thing. The game is not the real world. Items may look like the same in game but you can always check the name to see what item is being vended. You might think how can vend shops scam you when you can check the item before you buy it? I say scammers know many things. They scam you in many ways thru vending and we are going to tell you some of the ways we know as of now.

Vend Scam

Some time ago you can post items in the buying section of your store even if you don't have enough money to buy those items. This knowledge was used by scammers to sell items at a value then post those same items in the buying section at a much higher value. Buyers will then be tempted to buy the said items since they can resell it to the seller thinking to get a profit. After buying, it would be then too late for them to realize that they can't sell it back due to insufficient funds of the seller. Thank goodness that kind of trick can't be utilized now. Wanmei had already changed the gameplay such that the seller won't be able to click the 'confirm' button when the buying price is greater than the money they have in hand. As soon as the money value turns Red (meaning insufficient funds), the confirm button will become unclickable. See image below.

Some of the existing vend scams now are as follows:

Get your profit here

Scammer is selling item A for 5000 yuan. Scammer is also buying item A for 10000 yuan. Buyer then sees the opportunity to earn profit by buying item A from Scammer and then resell it for a net gain of 5000 yuan. As soon as Buyer buys the item, he can't sell it back to Scammer.

The trick: Not the 'insufficient funds' but having full inventory. We tested it and here are the screenshots to prove that this scam still exists. Note that the item here is just a normal item. Scammers tend to sell items that are useless and has a normal resale value of near to worthless.

scammer makes sure his inventory is full _	scammer is selling an item for a certain price _	scammer is buying that same item for a much higher price _
buyer buys then item and tries to sell the item back _	items will not be sold and buyer loses money for buying an item he doesn't necessarily need

The lesson: If you plan to go into buy and sell, make sure that you are going to buy items that you can resell back to people. Know the real price of the item before buying it otherwise you might end up getting a negative profit if you fall victim to this kind of scam.

We don't know each other

This involves two scammers who are working together. Of course to pull off the scam, they will pretend not to know each other.

Scammer X is vending item A (normal price 4000 yuan) at 5000 yuan.
Scammer Y would be shouting "Buying Item A 6000 yuan rush!".
Player 1 wants to earn money and since he has Item A, he sends a private message to Scammer Y but Scammer Y doesn't reply.
Player 2 also wants to earn money but he doesn't have Item A so he buys item A from Scammer X and sends a private message to Scammer Y.
As soon as Scammer X confirms to Scammer Y that Item A has been sold, Scammer Y says "Sorry i already bought one".
Player 2 is now an owner of Item A which he doesn't need in the first place.

The lesson: Wanting to earn a quick buck is normal. If you think you are getting a profit when you resell the item, then take the chance. Because if you can't sell it to the one shouting earlier, at least you can sell it next time to other people. If the vended price is too high for resale, just pm the shouting person that someone is already vending the item he's looking for. If they are not in cohorts with each other, that person will buy the vended item. If they are, expect that the scam will continue.

Oops, sorry.

Scammer is vending many pcs of Item A. In the first slot, he's selling 100 pcs of Item A worth 5000 yuan each. In the 2nd slot, he's also selling 100 pcs of Item A worth 5000 yuan each. In the 3rd slot, he's selling 10 pcs of Item A worth 50000 yuan each.
Buyer Y looks at the items and proceeds to buy the last 10 pcs in the 3rd slot. When he checks the total price, it amounts to 500000 yuan. Buyer Y then sends a message to Scammer, "Kuya the prices are wrong in the last slot". Scammer says, "Ooops sorry i made a mistake." Buyer Y lefts but Scammer doesn't change his prices.
Buyer Z looks at the items and proceeds to buy the last 10 pcs in the 3rd slot. Assuming that all the prices are 5000 yuan, he clicks 'Buy' without checking the total price. He's now 450,000 yuan lighter.

The lesson: Make sure to double check the total price before clicking Yes in the Buy button. Some vendors really make mistakes and correct their prices as soon as they notice it. Scammers don't change their prices even if someone tells them outright that their prices are incorrect. In this manner, scammers are targetting those who are in a rush to buy things that they don't double check the prices before buying.

Vend scams are still existing in the game. We don't know if other forms of vend scams exist but if there are bugs in game, for sure these scammers know how to take advantage of them. Earning profits in game thru vending buy and sell is possible. You just need to be careful and be honest. By constantly vending, sooner or later people will know your name in game. What do you want them to remember you by? As a scammer or as an honest seller?