Last Updated: November 18th, 2009
First off, I am going to explain to you about the various types of scams a player may try to con you with.
This should help you all as you are starting in MapleStory to avoid being one of those who are preyed on by scammers.
Scam 1:
Drop Game - The idea of this is someone tells you to go somewhere of their choosing, and tells you to drop your best items while they drop some of theirs. They usually go through a few rounds, rewarding you for playing. Once they see something they want, they will either vac (Use hacks) your drops to them or have someone come out of hiding and swipe your precious items before you can pick them up again. This usually occurs at the Henesys hair salon.
Prevention - NEVER drop anything you are not willing to lose. In fact, just don't drop anything, that's why trades exist.
Scam 2
Duplicating Items - A person will tell you to put your best items up for cloning. There are various ways they do this so I will not explain each. They will then tell you to click trade but do not click accept. Once that comes up, they will tell you to type "Copy." Now the "y" in copy causes it to act as a yes and they have just received all of your items in trade. Many users will also offer to clone or duplicate an item for you, they tellyou to put it up in a trade box with them, and hit tab+tab+space+enter. This will make you complete a trade with them.
Prevention - Knowledge is power! No really, it is. Now that you know, you can spot these kind of scams the moment they happen. Simply report the users and inform others around of their doings. As well, never hit tab+tab+space+enter.
Scam 3
Buying/Selling - This usually occurs in the Free Market entrance. Someone will say "B> itemX 10mil" while another person is shouting "S>itemX 6m" The problem is, itemX is only worth 2m and once you buy it from the person selling for 10mil, usually both the seller and the one who is buying for alot both log off after having scammed you of your mesos.
Prevention - Be weary, there is not really any fast cash from this method. If someone is B> and S> the same items in the FM, they would have traded each other already.
Scam 4
I'll Give you NX/ I want to try your character - Many players will pretend to be your friends in order to gain access to your account. They will either tell you they are going to charge NX for you, or wish to play on your character to try it out. NEVER let them. Most likely you will never see it back.
Prevention - NEVER give out your account information to anyone.
Scam 5
Pay to join a guild - Most guilds are free to join, those requesting mesos to join are an iffy situation. Not all are scams, some may need the money for expanding. Though in many cases, they will invite you, have you pay your "membership" fees and boot you from the guild almost immediately after.
Prevention - Try to join a guild of a friend or ask to pay at a later date, after you are established in the guild.
Scam 6
False GM's - Usually someone will chat request you with an IGN that sounds like it has a relation to nexon. They will tell you that your account has been reported for hacking and they need to scan your account. They will then ask for your login information. They will then log off, and as soon as you log off, they will have your account. Alternatively they may ask you for your email or attempt to send you a file. These are usually keylogged.
Prevention - Just ignore these people. Unless they are carrying an actual Wizet briefcase, or has a name starting with GMS, they are not GM's. A GM will never ask for your user information as this is available to them at will.
Scam 7
Trade Switching - A person will be selling an item you desire for a very cheap price. Usually a scroll or attack work glove. They will trade you once, tell you to hurry up and then will close the trade. They will say they are sorry and to please hurry. Now they have replaced the item you were going to get in the first place, for something that looks identical on quick inspection, but is not worth nearly what you are paying. Usually a clean work glove or cheap scroll.
Prevention - Examine all items closely before accepting a trade. Double-check them again, then you are free to trade.
Scam 8
Quitting Sale/ Massive Sale - A person will Super Megaphone saying that they are quitting and are selling some rare item at a very cheap price. (Ex: 1 meso Ilbis) They will then have their fm store open and will be telling you to keep clicking and hitting enter to get in. This will cause you to buy whatever they have in their top slot, which usually is worth noting for whatever price they choose.
Prevention - Anything that seems to good to be true, usually is. Never click + hit enter going into a store.
Scam 9
Users in the Free Market can be seen selling or trading their accounts. This is against the games Terms of Service first of all, and can result in you being scammed out of your account or your money. They usually ask for your information or money first, and simply run off.
Prevention - Don't buy/sell/trade accounts.
Scam 10 (Submitted by Ryuujin131)
Youtube Video Scam Links - These kinds are posted in videos and are mostly found on YouTube as well as other video sharing sites. The user states that he has found a glitch through a GM approval system or a NX Cash maker. He then asks you to compose an email to a fake NEXON email (Ex: NexonGameMasterApp@randomemail.com or Nexon@email.com) with a supposed code which includes putting in your account ID, password, and PIN in the code. They then show supposed proof that this works, (Ex: they show a video of supposed GM in there, but it's really from a client-sided hack.) If you fall for this and send it to the supposed email, the user simply logs into the fake NEXON email, and gets the information through the supposed code to hack into your account.
Prevention - NEXON doesn't use free email programs like Hotmail, GMail, Yahoo!, Email.com, etc. They have their own email accounts, which look like, email@nexon.net. There are no such glitches when charging NX or ways to become a GM. Game Masters are hired employees of Nexon as it is a real job.
Scam 11 (Submitted by mzfuzzybunny)
NX Reward Scams - A person will offer an NX prize for winning match cards, or various other games. They may let you win, getting 1 or 2 matches to reduce suspicion. They then ask you for your login details.
Prevention - Never give out your account info to anyone. Not even to Nexon Game Masters as they will NEVER ask for this information.
Scam 12 (Submitted by SINJoseph)
Website Scams - A user tells you that if you want free mesos/NX/items/etc you should go on a website that makes you put in your ID, Pass, and PIN. As soon as this information is added, your account is now gone.
Prevention - Never give out your account info to anyone. Not even to Nexon Game Masters as they will NEVER ask for this information.
Scam 13 (Submitted by Skorbo)
Shop Comment Keyloggers - This is a somewhat common practice lately, and it's not as hard to fall for as one might think. While in your shop over a period of time, a player will come in and tell you that they've used pictures of you in a video they have online. They also give you a link, saying to watch it and let them know if you want your pictures removed. If you follow the link, it will inform you your Flash Player is out of date and request to update. This update is where the keylogger comes in.
Prevention - Be wary of any links you visit that are advertised in game through any means. If you aren't familiar with a website, google about it first.
Scam 14 (Submitted by Magikkid)
Zakum Helmet Scammers - This is a bit of a thing with trust first of all. People will contact you, or you'll find someone who says they're selling a Zakum Helmet cheap if you want to buy it from them. The prices are typically too good to be true and they'll say they're part of a known guild that sells Helmets. They ask for money up front, usually before even getting to the altar and once you give them the money, they simply ignore you and you're left without a Zakum Helmet.
Prevention - Either buy your Zakum Helmet in the Free Market (Karma Scissored), or make sure you're dealing with trusted runners. Sleepywood and a few other Maple Forums have lists of trustworthy sellers. When in doubt, ask your friends and others who have purchased theirs successfully.
Scam 15
Phishing websites - It's becoming more and more common to see Smegas, messages, forum posts, or youtube comments from so people pretending to be GM's informing you of an event going on where you can get FREE BAN!!, NX items, mesos, etc. When you visit the website, it asks for your personal account information. When you enter it, you get nothing though you've just given them everything they need to steal your account.
Prevention - Practice safe browsing. Always keep your personal information safe, and always verify websites you visit are indeed real. Any "event" websites that do not end in .nexon.net are almost certainly phishing for your information as any official event would be on Nexons servers. Be especially wary for .tk domains. And remember, Nexon's website will never need your pin or birthdate for an event. If you do fall victim and realize before you are hacked, change your information ASAP.
Those are all I can think of at the time being. If anyone knows of more, post below and I will update this list.
If this post has already been posted before let me know, though I haven't seen it after searching.
I hope this helps you all in your maple lives as it is quite useful information I had wished I had known when I was starting in MapleStory.
