Scams

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Gutless — The Engineer when asked to describe scammers in one word

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Since trading was made possible in the Mann-Conomy Update, people have found ways to deceive others in trades. This lets them receive items that the victim would otherwise be unwilling to give them. These scams are nothing new to games with item trading, and it is usually easy to avoid them with a bit of common sense. Scams can range from simple to elaborate, requiring two or more people to conspire.

Notable Types of Scams

The introduction of the trading system has brought with it several ways to "scam" people out of their items.

Multiple Trade Transactions

There are two versions of this scam

• A buyer offers to trade more than 8 hats or items. Once the first 8 have been traded, the seller leaves without competing the rest of the trade offer.
• The seller offers one item for more than 8 items, and insists that the buyer trades 8 items first, then gets the item on the second transaction.

Two-Man Scam

This scam involves two players working in tandem. Player A spams a message in chat saying "Buying X item" usually "X Item" is an item with little worth, being bought for a very high price. (Ex. Buying Hatless Scout, will pay 3 hats) Player A ignores all trade requests, and has Player B post a message saying "Selling X item" (ex. Selling Hatless Scout for two hats)

The object of this scam is to make the victim think he can buy the item from Player B, and sell it immediately to Player A for a profit.

Once the victim buys the item from Player B, Player A appears to change his mind and no longer wants the item.

Customization Services

This scam involves the scammer offering to customize an Item for a player, such as painting or renaming a hat.

The Scammer either takes the item, and doesn't return it, or offers some sort of collateral that he believes is not worth as much as the item being offered for customization.

This scam also exists in the form of "Unboxing Services", where the scammer offers to unlock a player's crate, and return the item inside. The scammer can potentially steal an unusual hat, or other rare item this way.

Because keys and paints are now tradable, it is recommended that you trade for the tool, and then apply it yourself.

'Insurance' Scam

The scammer is willing to let you try out something you want, but wants an extremely valuable item in your backpack as 'insurance' claiming it is to make sure you do not run off with their item.

Obsolete Scams

Item Rarity Swap

For this scam to work, the scammer must have two of the same hat of a different rarity. The scammer first puts a vintage, or unusual hat in the trade window, so the buyer can see it. Once the trade negotiations are finished, and just before the trade is accepted, the scammer switches the vintage/unusual hat, for the non-vintage version of the same hat. This is very hard to notice since the item's image remains the same.

Fake Rarity

For this scam, a player renames a normal item with a prefix representing a higher rarity version of the same item. For example, renaming "Fancy Fedora" to "Unusual Fancy Fedora" and trying to trade it for a higher price.

Changes to the trading window in the October 20, 2010 Patch have allowed players to see item rarity via the background color of the item's image, rendering this scam null.

Avoiding Scams

Avoiding scams is as simple as using basic common sense, but there are some things you should always check before hitting "accept".

• Avoid multiple transactions, unless you absolutely trust the person you are trading with.
  • If you do make a multiple transaction trade, make sure it is well documented. Take screenshots of the negotiation conversations, to provide proof in case you get scammed.
    • Please keep in mind that if you are the victim of a multiple transaction scam, and even if you have documented proof, you still may be unable to recover your items because you agreed to the trade.
  • Another tip is to make sure you have items of equal value after every transaction step. Example: Guy asks for 12 keys for his unusual hat, you give him 8 keys and ask three of his vintage hats. On the next transaction, you give him additional 4 keys, plus his four vintage hats back for his unusual hat. This assures that even if the person leaves after the first trade, you didn't come from the transaction empty-handed. Your milage might vary regarding the value of items.
• Never trade something for nothing, even if they promise to give it back later.
• Pay attention to the color of the items you are trading for. For example, if you are trading for a Vintage item make sure the background color is blue. Refer to the rarity page for a list of item colors.
• When you or the person you are trading with changes any of the items you are trading the message "Offer is changing... Please wait" appears. If you see this message and it appears nothing has changed, check the items that you are being offered, as they may be different.
• Be careful when receiving items for free, as there have been cases of people 'giving away' items, and then later accusing the recipients of scamming them out of items.
• Take your time when conducting a trade. If the other trader tries to rush you, do not give in to their pressure.
• If one person has an item you want doesn't mean they are the only player with that item. Do not be afraid to say "No!" if you have to.

Punishment

If you have been scammed, you can file a steam ticket, and explain the situation. It helps to provide evidence of the scam, such as conversation logs of the negotiations, or screen shots/videos of the scammed transaction.

Scamming is a bannable offense.