User talk:Hhogan

Hello, Hhogan!

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-- WelcomeBOT (talk) 18:21, 10 June 2015 (PDT)

Scamming and Sharking

Scamming is the taking of items without permission from the original owner. Sharking, is not to be confused with scamming, which is the buying of items at an extremely low price without the sellers knowledge of the true value.

Scamming vs. Sharking

Scamming occurs when items are taken from an account without permission, or without promised pay. Some examples of this are, hijacking, impersonation, item switching, fake Steam wallet payment, and Paypal chargebacks. Sharking is the taking of items for much less then their normal value. Some examples of this are taking promotional items from new players, lying about value, and trading high valued items for low value stranges.

Preventing sharking

Sharking, while not reason for banning, is very frowned upon in the tf2 community. Many servers ban those who are making sharking attempts. Also, shaking is much less successful now, due to sites such as http://backpack.tf where you can price check. To prevent getting sharked, always price check items, and deny trades for those who are making extreme low buy attempts. Remember, not all people who put in a low price are sharking. Many are looking for good deals, and are just testing the waters. You should never feel pressured to make a trade that you do not want to make. Always remember your ability to state, "I am not interested in this trade. Goodbye." If in doubt, just say no.

Popular Scams and how to prevent them

• Hijacking: Hijacking is the taking over a steam account and trading items to alternate accounts. It usually occurs after clicking on a link that downloads malware, or by entering your username and password into a phishing website. It can be prevented by avoiding all links on steam, even from friends, and by not putting your username and password anywhere but Steam.

• Impersonation: There are two types of impersonators: Middleman impersonators, and friend impersonators. Middleman impersonators usually happen on servers. What happens is a fake middleman agrees to be a middleman for a spy crab. He takes the items, then leaves. To avoid Middleman impersonators, Make sure the person claiming to be a middleman is a trusted server admin, or a well known middleman. A friend impersonator usually happens in a group chat. A person makes an excuse to get you to trade to a friend. Your "friend" is really an impersonator, and after you trade them, they quickly block you. Another version of this is when you get impersonated. You trade to your friend, and the impersonator makes an account like yours. The impersonator them asks for "his" items back, and after the trade, he blocks both of you. To avoid friend impersonators, deny any trades that ask, "Do you have a close friend online?".

• Item switching: Item switching is the switching of similar items in a trade. This can include different different quality items, or different unusual effects. An example of this is if you want to buy an unusual hat with a good effect. (Lets say, Team Captain with Burning Flames.) You put your keys in, and you notice the hat disappear, then reappear. You accept the trade, only to find your hat is a Team Captain with Nuts and Bolts, not Burning Flames. To prevent this, always make sure the item you are trading are the same quality, and make sure the effect is the same. Also, remember to check the logs. If an unusual hat gets removed and added back, put your mouse over it to check the effect.

• Steam Wallet Scam: The steam wallet scam is a trade offer that states that that steam wallet funds will be added into your account after accepting a trade. The trade offer has the item of yours on one side, and nothing on the scammers side. Steam does not allow you to trade with steam wallet funds, so if you accept, the person who offered the trade will walk away with your item. To avoid this, deny any trade requests that have you giving an item without anything in return.

• Paypal Chargeback Scam: With the Paypal chargeback scam, you get an offer for your item. The person asks if Paypal is OK. You say OK, and you give him your Paypal email. You get a notification stating that funds have been received, and you trade him the items. Then a few hours/days later, you find that the funds have been charged back. The person has taken your item, and he has his money back. To avoid this, there are other options, such as using a middleman, or using a green dot card.

Notes

• If you have been scammed, you can file a Steam support ticket. If you have been sharked, there is not much that can be done, because items have been exchanged between both parties.
• You can not trade if your Steam account has been restricted and/or you have been trade banned on Steam.

Hhogan (talk) 17:05, 12 June 2015 (PDT) Well, I made this page, and I found out you can't post articles. :/ Oh well.

See also

• Trading
• Account types