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Pretty much every RS player has faced or ended up on the wrong side of scamming throughout their playing careers.
Today, we'll look over the most notorious and famous RuneScape scams. We'll highlight the most used tactics of scammers and help you stay safe in the future!
RuneScape Scams
Luring
Social Engineering
Doubling
Keylogging
The “I quit” method
RuneScape Item Scamming
Free RuneScape Membership
7 RuneScape Scams To Avoid
RuneScape has been growing ever since it started in January 2001. And as the game grows, more players participate, and more real-world money comes in.
Now, with all the good things that had happened to RuneScape over the years, it's expected that more players will be attracted to play this wonderful online game.
As more players play, there'll be more people who would try scamming these newbies than play the game the right way. And one way to avoid these scammers if you're new to Gielinor is to know how they operate. Here are some RuneScape scams you should be wary of.
1. Luring
Luring has been around since the first days of wilderness. Luring is essentially tricking a player to get his good items and come to the depths of the wilderness. In there he is either ganked or killed by the very same player who lured him or his associates. Luring happens by either making quick friends or as simple as asking for your help in fighting monsters or completing quests.
Players could simulate a confrontation to remove his or her blame, but just do not trust anyone who wants to take you out to a dark and scary corner of the wild.
How to avoid this RuneScape scam?
Don’t get your best and most valuable items when heading to the Wilderness with unfamiliar people
Avoid going to the depths with unknown individuals
Just run away if you ever get suspicious
2. Social Engineering
This sector deserves its own book. From friends to strange people, individuals use their social skills and manipulation to get your account or items. They could lie about a situation, promise great rewards, or just ask for a quick peek – don’t trust them!
NEVER. Yes, NEVER give your account details to other individuals. Whether they are friends or enemies, once you give away a password, no one else is responsible for what happens next. Of course, the scammer is a criminal, but you will have trouble proving his guilt, and your progress or items are lost forever.
Social engineering is the broadest category of scamming yet it might be tough to recognize these scammers. They seem like genuine individuals, keen on helping out. They could make friends, be altruistic, and even help you out before scamming you.
Remember, there are no such things as free memberships, quick skill upgrades, etc. Everything in this game is hard-earned, so you will not find magical solutions to your current problems. Social engineering usually revolves around obtaining log-in details from the account owner himself. Through convincing and manipulation, social engineers seek to get your information and gain full access to your account.
One of the most popular methods of social engineering are fake emails. These are extremely hard to recognize at times, but they do have a pattern. All Runescape emails address you by your username, so “Dear player” should instantly raise suspicion. Jagex uses the domain "@email.runescape.com", other email addresses are most certainly fake. Even if the information seems written in fluent English and very believable – be skeptical! Contact Jagex support first to make sure and report the scammers themselves.
How to avoid this RuneScape scam?
NEVER share login information.
Avoid overly friendly RuneScape players
Don’t trust unfamiliar players convincing you about their sad personal stories
Steer clear of believing the information from outside sources
3. Doubling
This is probably the easiest scam to identify in the world of Runescape.
However, much like anything in the real world, beauty lies in simplicity. Maybe that is why this scam was so successful. A player would continuously spam about doubling their money until he or she attracted attention from an unsuspecting noob.
Unaware players would trade a small amount (for example 5,000) and get back 10,000 from the alleged doubler. Next up they would trade the 10,000 and get back 20,000. After the “doubler” gains the “newbie’s” trust, he or she gives a significant amount, like a million or more of his or her RS GP. That is when the scammer runs away or logs out, and you lose a lot of gold.
How to avoid this RuneScape scam?
Remember, there is no such thing as doubling in Runescape
All money manipulations are fake; no one can change the amount of money in such a way
4. Keylogging
Friendships have fallen, and public libraries have been cursed over this method.
Keylogging is a method of obtaining your account login details through software called a keylogger. These are applications or programs that usually run in the background of your PC and register all keyboard inputs.
Meaning that they will show what you entered to the Runescape Account name and password tabs. The scammer can do as they please with your character.
How to avoid this RuneScape scam?
Do not use public computers to play RS. If that is the only possibility, check online guides on how to disable or see keyloggers
Use additional encryptions like “Google lock” or other smart access systems that will ensure maximum safety for your account
5. The “I quit” method
A player would chat something like “Quitting RS, giving away my account”. The account is usually high leveled and very prominent regarding stats. However, the bank would be mostly empty.
The scammer will give away the account, and all seems well. Do not be happy just yet, his or her goal is long-term.
Scammers want you to take this new RuneScape account and make it your main account. Then you transfer all of your goods to that account, and after a few days or a week, the previous owner will recover the account, and you will be left with nothing.
How to avoid this RuneScape scam?
If you are lucky to get an account from someone else, don’t rush to transfer all your goods to that account
Instead, make it your side account instead of turning it into your main
Be slow and methodical
Make sure to change the password of the new account and try to switch the recovery settings
6. RuneScape Item Scamming
· Armour trimming – they take Mithril, Black, but mostly Rune items and claim to trim it. This is not possible in-game, these scammers will just run away with your things.
· Gem cutting – one of the oldest tricks in the books. Do this job yourself and don’t leave gem cutting to strangers. The player who gets your uncut gems will just leave instead of cutting them. Massive losses should be expected if you knowingly hand them your gems.
How to avoid this RuneScape scam?
Don’t hope for miracles
Do the job yourself
Be aware!
7. Free RuneScape Membership
There is no such thing as free membership in the world of Runescape. You can only get it by purchasing it from the official website or through bonds. For those who want to save some money for their RuneScape memberships, check out our guide on how to get cheap RuneScape membership with bonds. Players usually say something like “Free memberships here”; “Become a member for free” and things of that nature.
These statements are lies.
Even if they're able to turn you into a member, you risk the chance of getting flagged by Jagex and losing your account. Either they are using fake payment info or just doing it at a massive loss, which is more than unlikely.
The scammer will ask for your login info and claim that you should check it after 25 minutes or so. During that time they will change your password and move away.
How to avoid this RuneScape scam?
Be cautious and never give your login info
No legal ways of getting free membership in-game exist, so don’t even bother
Other Scamming Ways Outside of RuneScape
There are some websites that will ask for your login information. Pages like RS forums, stats websites, and other outsourced services could do that. Once again, and this cannot be emphasized enough, never give away your login information. Deals can be done without them knowing your password.
Other RuneScape services do not need to know your login information to sell Runescape gold, give items, or make trades. Usernames are more than enough.
Some sites claim to be the good Samaritans of Runescape. They are usually not. Services say that they will give away gold, help skill, or give away items just if you share your password. In reality, they change it and run away with your RS account.
Never log in to other websites using your real login information as that could turn against you. Also, be very cautious about whether anyone seems to have the intention of taking your account away. They might be using social engineering or one of the mentioned tricks to steal your account.
Final Thoughts About RuneScape Scams
There are tons of other scams in the world of Runescape and there are lots of them yet to be discovered or exposed. Unfortunately, there is not enough room to describe them all, but maybe one day we will do just that.
In general, remember that there is no such thing as miracles when you're playing OSRS or RS3. Be smart and learn from others’ mistakes.
