Greetings all,
I had the misfortune to hear one of our well loved community members getting scammed today in the "sale" of a Castle today for 400m; You're going to be seeing a fair amount of this over the next month as people come back on Return To Britannia accounts, which have access to General Chat (unlike Trial accounts that are locked into Help only), so to try and keep you all safe, I just wanted to point out a few methods to avoid your decency being taken advantage of.
Firstly, the Scammer used the empty castle near Vesper of the Atlantic Trading Company, as there aren't many clearly ready to be sold around. If someone tries to sell you that particular one then, be especially wary.
UO.com has some seriously out of date tips here, but there are a few good pointers all the same.
Secondly, always try and follow these basic rules for safe trading;
1.) If it's something they've got which is worth an amount you are nervous about trading, then it's an item worth that much and it's going to be desirable; thus don't let anyone pressure you into completing any sale, in any way you aren't comfortable with. They'll always get more buyers if it's an honest trade, and whilst they'd like money instead, it doesn't have to be your money and it doesn't have to be right now. I know it's hard when it's something you'd dearly like... but give yourself the certainty you'll get it too!
2.) If it's for under 125m in cash, buy it from a vendor. Anyone with a Public Home can place a vendor, and you can see the item and how much exactly it will be charged for.
3.) If you're buying a Pet, see if someone has a Magincia Stall, or can bid for one; it's possible for people to park identical model pets nearby, and trade you that instead of what you expect to get. Don't accept any unusual trades like "the offer will come from a character with a different name" either. Don't ever trade it in Fel, outside a guard zone, or somewhere it can possibly be killed unless you really can't avoid it; remember pets will lose their bonding as soon as they are transferred to you. And they won't be very happy either. Feed them as soon as the trade completes... stable them for a week real time and feed them again to keep them safe!
4.) If it's for something too expensive, or too complex to be sold via a Vendor of any kind, consider finding a reputable Trader to act as an intermediary... or just as a reference for the character who wants to trade. If they've got a castle, they probably haven't gotten there without being known to someone. Such Traders will usually charge between 10 to 15% of the sale price for being a go-between.
5.) So you've decided to go for that home, next make sure the person actually owns it. Insist that they change the name of the house sign whilst you are there. Another suggestion is to make you a co-owner to the place. Whilst you both need to be under the sign to complete the trade, and you should make sure they can also show you the trade for house ownership too, it's better to be certain. And remember, player names are no longer unique; looking at the sign and seeing the names match isn't enough. The scammer today simply made a newbie character of the same name and stood outside the desired castle.
6.) Still go the vendor route for the transferring of cash if not using a third party; it's too easy to say "You only gave me 102m" or "Some of those cheques were too small" and once it's out of your hands, it's their word against yours. Buy 1 gold coin for 100m if you want, but you both can see what the exchanged total is.
7.) Don't expect to ever have certainty. Or to stop feeling nervous until the items are in your hands; you're not a bad person for feeling so, just a wise one. And you're not a fool for being scammed; most scams just rely on having less morals, or knowing some obscure bit of broken code that no normal person would care about. And it's impossible to know every single thing about even something you'd think would be simple like a trade.
And of course, if anyone else has any tips to keep you all safe, please feel free to add them here!
I had the misfortune to hear one of our well loved community members getting scammed today in the "sale" of a Castle today for 400m; You're going to be seeing a fair amount of this over the next month as people come back on Return To Britannia accounts, which have access to General Chat (unlike Trial accounts that are locked into Help only), so to try and keep you all safe, I just wanted to point out a few methods to avoid your decency being taken advantage of.
Firstly, the Scammer used the empty castle near Vesper of the Atlantic Trading Company, as there aren't many clearly ready to be sold around. If someone tries to sell you that particular one then, be especially wary.
UO.com has some seriously out of date tips here, but there are a few good pointers all the same.
Secondly, always try and follow these basic rules for safe trading;
1.) If it's something they've got which is worth an amount you are nervous about trading, then it's an item worth that much and it's going to be desirable; thus don't let anyone pressure you into completing any sale, in any way you aren't comfortable with. They'll always get more buyers if it's an honest trade, and whilst they'd like money instead, it doesn't have to be your money and it doesn't have to be right now. I know it's hard when it's something you'd dearly like... but give yourself the certainty you'll get it too!
2.) If it's for under 125m in cash, buy it from a vendor. Anyone with a Public Home can place a vendor, and you can see the item and how much exactly it will be charged for.
3.) If you're buying a Pet, see if someone has a Magincia Stall, or can bid for one; it's possible for people to park identical model pets nearby, and trade you that instead of what you expect to get. Don't accept any unusual trades like "the offer will come from a character with a different name" either. Don't ever trade it in Fel, outside a guard zone, or somewhere it can possibly be killed unless you really can't avoid it; remember pets will lose their bonding as soon as they are transferred to you. And they won't be very happy either. Feed them as soon as the trade completes... stable them for a week real time and feed them again to keep them safe!
4.) If it's for something too expensive, or too complex to be sold via a Vendor of any kind, consider finding a reputable Trader to act as an intermediary... or just as a reference for the character who wants to trade. If they've got a castle, they probably haven't gotten there without being known to someone. Such Traders will usually charge between 10 to 15% of the sale price for being a go-between.
5.) So you've decided to go for that home, next make sure the person actually owns it. Insist that they change the name of the house sign whilst you are there. Another suggestion is to make you a co-owner to the place. Whilst you both need to be under the sign to complete the trade, and you should make sure they can also show you the trade for house ownership too, it's better to be certain. And remember, player names are no longer unique; looking at the sign and seeing the names match isn't enough. The scammer today simply made a newbie character of the same name and stood outside the desired castle.
6.) Still go the vendor route for the transferring of cash if not using a third party; it's too easy to say "You only gave me 102m" or "Some of those cheques were too small" and once it's out of your hands, it's their word against yours. Buy 1 gold coin for 100m if you want, but you both can see what the exchanged total is.
7.) Don't expect to ever have certainty. Or to stop feeling nervous until the items are in your hands; you're not a bad person for feeling so, just a wise one. And you're not a fool for being scammed; most scams just rely on having less morals, or knowing some obscure bit of broken code that no normal person would care about. And it's impossible to know every single thing about even something you'd think would be simple like a trade.
And of course, if anyone else has any tips to keep you all safe, please feel free to add them here!
