Thank you for the heads up!
As for "scamers" in general, one should never ever give gold or items in "trust" unless you have a history of "real trust" established, going by the word of someone you trust isn't always good as gold, never fully trust friends of your trusted friends as they aren't your trusted friend.
Basicly the real victim is more a victim of theirself rather than of the scammer.
As for "dupes", untill recently after reading alot of theses boards I myself hadn't known about such dupes involving Runic Hammers (been absent from UO since August 2005). So if a player never reads the boards and is a returning player or a newbie, then chances are they don't have the knowledge of them and therefore arn't "Stupid", just unknowing &/or uninformed.
I'm trying to update myself on current UO news before I reactivate my account and rejoin the ranks of UO players (look out Atlantic & Sonoma my GM's will be back action).
When I did play from 1999 to 2005 I did most everything I could myself without being "subjugated" to purchaseing from other players, so "dupes" practicly had no chance of being an issue with or affecting me even by accident. That is why I'm doing the research now so I can still be as independant as I was back then.
PEACE!