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[NEWS] Notice concerning scams citing the wallet API
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Arec Bardwin
#1 - 2015-10-12 19:19:53 UTC  |  Edited by: Arec Bardwin
Quote:
A common scam in EVE relies on convincing a mark that upon donating a sum of ISK to the scammer, twice as much or more ISK will be returned to the victim. This is often referred to as the ISK doubling scam.

In order to lend added legitimacy/authenticity to the scam, the scammer links to a webpage containing partially fabricated wallet data supposedly pulled from the API. The wallet logs will show what appear to be successful ISK doubling transactions from the past. In some cases, the scammer will go even further by fabricating a transaction to the victim, implying that the ISK was sent but not properly delivered due to a bug in the EVE client.

Many victims of this scam end up contacting CCP customer support under the belief that either the EVE client or the EVE API is broken. The implication that a bug caused the ISK transfer to fail is a point of confusion which we will no longer tolerate. In light of this, all variations of this scam which reference fabricated API data are from today on considered illegitimate.

Do not perform scams which rely on fabricated API data from now on.

Keep in mind that only our stance towards this particular scam has changed, no other scams are being outlawed. This scam joins a short list of illegitimate scams:

Scams involving Character Transfers
Scams involving exploits
Scams involving PLEX for GOOD campaigns

Source
Carrie-Anne Moss
The Scope
Gallente Federation
#2 - 2015-10-12 19:21:28 UTC
I will double anyones isk they send me.
I am a verified-trusted-3rd-party-isk-doubler
d0cTeR9
Caldari Provisions
Caldari State
#3 - 2015-10-12 19:27:48 UTC
About time, simply for the fact it will kill 1% of the spam in Jita.

Been around since the beginning.
Jenn aSide
Worthless Carebears
The Initiative.
#4 - 2015-10-12 19:30:41 UTC
What, you mean that you can't give isk to some total stranger and expect twice that amount in return for absolutely no reason? WTF is this, that means you can't trust no one nowadays!
Valerie Valate
Church of The Crimson Saviour
#5 - 2015-10-12 19:39:14 UTC
You can still offer to double isk, it just means that you can't claim that it's API verified. Because the ones claiming to have API verification generate too much workload for GMs.


just like how free-form contracts were removed from the game, because the workload they made for GMs outweighed their usefulness to the players who weren't using them for scams.

Doctor V. Valate, Professor of Archaeology at Kaztropolis Imperial University.
Ralph King-Griffin
New Eden Tech Support
#6 - 2015-10-12 19:49:55 UTC
Tisiphone Dira
Garoun Investment Bank
Gallente Federation
#7 - 2015-10-12 19:53:31 UTC  |  Edited by: Tisiphone Dira
Another nerf to content creation

There once was a ganker named tisi

A stunningly beautiful missy

To gank a gross miner

There is nothing finer, cept when they get all pissy
Chribba
Otherworld Enterprises
Otherworld Empire
#8 - 2015-10-12 20:12:22 UTC
Blame the people that took it further and claimed CCP is buggy instead of just harvest the tears, that's the reason it happened, not the clever way of using the api.

But good for the spam reduction. Keep going that way CCP!

/c

★★★ Secure 3rd party service ★★★

Visit my in-game channel 'Holy Veldspar'

Twitter @ChribbaVeldspar
Aoife Fraoch
The Scope
Gallente Federation
#9 - 2015-10-12 20:36:45 UTC
Sounds pretty reasonable.

Could not have been fun for the GMs or good for CCP in general if users thought that the game itself was broken and at fault for losing their isk, rather than the fact that they were just scammed.
Ginger Yume
Federal Navy Academy
Gallente Federation
#10 - 2015-10-12 20:52:38 UTC
ISK doublers respond to their victims?
Mine never did...
Hengle Teron
Red Sky Morning
The Amarr Militia.
#11 - 2015-10-12 20:53:26 UTC
Chribba wrote:
Blame the people that took it further and claimed CCP is buggy instead of just harvest the tears, that's the reason it happened, not the clever way of using the api.

But good for the spam reduction. Keep going that way CCP!

/c

Indeed.

Just greedy scammers.
Maekchu
Doomheim
#12 - 2015-10-12 20:53:39 UTC
Jep, seems fair.

Obviously, people just need to wise up and understand that no one will just double your ISK out of generosity. But I can see, how CCP support probably was tired of trying to explain that the game is not buggy, but instead the victim was just a tad bit too naive and greedy for their own good.
Chainsaw Plankton
FaDoyToy
#13 - 2015-10-12 22:10:45 UTC  |  Edited by: Chainsaw Plankton
great now I'm just going to have to post some phony screenshots to get the suckers I mean I'd never! although now I'm tempted to try it if there are actually that many idiots... personally I think this is stupid.

we need to have a talk on believing external data at face value... next thing we are going to be banning propaganda videos


edit: after a more careful read through you can do it, you just have to tell them they are a sucker and not say the api messed up. So legit double a few people and/or alts and/or corp mate alts and then when someone sends a big amount. rinse/repeat till that transaction falls outside the scope of your website and you are back in business Roll

still think it's stupid

@ChainsawPlankto on twitter
Bumblefck
Kerensky Initiatives
#14 - 2015-10-13 00:34:24 UTC
Maybe CCP should focus on fixing their buggy game instead of banning behaviour which highlights it


:sarcastic rolleyes:

Perfection is a dish best served like wasabi .

Bumble's Space Log
Amanda Rekenwhith
Safeties On Red
#15 - 2015-10-13 01:13:23 UTC  |  Edited by: Amanda Rekenwhith
By reading this one can still use a fake website and CLAIM API verification as long as it isn't actually connected to an API. Maybe update it by hand or something.

Hell, they can now claim that since API verified website scams are outlawed, they MUST be legit.

Scammers will adapt. Fools and their ISK will still be parted.

For dessert we're offering humble pie.  Would you like some after you're done eating crow?
Mephiztopheleze
Laphroaig Inc.
#16 - 2015-10-13 01:56:50 UTC
Amanda Rekenwhith wrote:
Scammers will adapt. Fools and their ISK will still be parted.

possibly the most relevant thing i've read on the topic to date. kudos.

This doesn't ban scamming, it doesn't put any nerfs on your emergent gameplay. The wonderous and glorious scams, eg: the ones actually worth bragging about, are still perfectly fine and dandy. Just script kiddies with access to one of the numerous 'fake API generator' services out there can no longer simply spam up Jita local in the hopes of finding a mark.

What it does is, hopefully, reduce workload for CCP generated by such scams.

Fools, and their ISK, are still out there and you can still separate A from B in far more ways in EVE than many other game worlds will tolerate.

Occasional Resident Newbie Correspondent for TMC: http://themittani.com/search/site/mephiztopheleze

This is my Forum Main. My Combat Alt is sambo Inkura
Aoife Fraoch
The Scope
Gallente Federation
#17 - 2015-10-13 02:09:39 UTC
Mephiztopheleze wrote:
Amanda Rekenwhith wrote:
Scammers will adapt. Fools and their ISK will still be parted.

possibly the most relevant thing i've read on the topic to date. kudos.

This doesn't ban scamming, it doesn't put any nerfs on your emergent gameplay. The wonderous and glorious scams, eg: the ones actually worth bragging about, are still perfectly fine and dandy. Just script kiddies with access to one of the numerous 'fake API generator' services out there can no longer simply spam up Jita local in the hopes of finding a mark.

What it does is, hopefully, reduce workload for CCP generated by such scams.

Fools, and their ISK, are still out there and you can still separate A from B in far more ways in EVE than many other game worlds will tolerate.


Yeah this. Scams are fine, just don't rely on making the game look broken when it isn't to make it work.
Omnathious Deninard
University of Caille
Gallente Federation
#18 - 2015-10-13 02:31:59 UTC
Simple work around is to not fabricate the doubling but to actually double it for an alt or two. Should be easy enough still.

If you don't follow the rules, neither will I.
Buoytender Bob
Ronin Exploration Mission and Mining
#19 - 2015-10-13 02:45:24 UTC
If this reduces the wait time for " legitimate" problem tickets to be resolved, I'm all for it

Reducing spam in local is a nice bonus.

.

To buck the popular trend, I began to Rage Start instead of Rage Quit.

...and every time I get another piece of Carbon, I know exactly what CCP is getting this Christmas.
Otso Bakarti
Doomheim
#20 - 2015-10-13 05:25:20 UTC  |  Edited by: Otso Bakarti
"The implication that a bug caused the ISK transfer to fail is a point of confusion which we will no longer tolerate...."

Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we aid those who deceive. This has to be the ultimate absurdity - considering a scam "illegitimate". This: "The implication that a bug caused the ISK transfer to fail...." said implication is never in the scam spam, which means the scam is legitimate as long as when accused of not paying the scammer makes no claim that a bug interfered with said untransferred transfer, according to CCP's own notice.

Which is the fly and which is the ointment? I'm sure that's not really what CCP meant to say, but it's probably very difficult to say exactly what needs to be said about this scam without dragging all the other scams into it as well.
Isn't reality interesting? I guess even virtually we can only duck it for so long....

There just isn't anything that can be said!
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