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Crime & Punishment

 
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Secure Space Corp scamming rental space again... TEST Alliance

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Mariya Devara
Ba'al's Deep Space Mining
#1 - 2012-09-04 00:22:33 UTC  |  Edited by: CCP Phantom
Imagine getting an offer that sounds reasonable, yet a little to good to be true. Come out to Fountain, rent a system, enjoy the billions of ISK that are possible through ratting, mining, and PvP. Imagine it coming from an Alliance you consider honorable and have heard good things about.... well, an Alliance corp member of an Alliance you hear good things about. And all for a low price of less than 5B ISK for six months. Tempting, is it not?

This is EVE.

Where white collar crime is unpunished, unlike - at times - in the real world. Abounding with lessons learned and where paranoia is a high virtue. Where betrayal of corp mates and Alliances is history in the making. No going to jail, just the occasional podding. If you can get through all the gate camps, hostiles, and territorial Alliances that lie between you and your con-podder target . Coax them out of the station - and then, maybe, if you can... exterminate them without their corp mates showing up to save them. Fearful of the wardecc that may happen while the con-podder lies safe in null-sec and you lay exposed in hi-sec.

Welcome to The World of EVE-Scam. Where the payouts are huge and the risks are minimal.

So, let us take a look at the anatomy of a rental space scam involving Secure Space Corp of TEST Alliance, one Galina Agittain, and myself.

So you have a hi-sec corp looking to get into null-sec for PvP fun and Industry. You are recruiting and put up an advertisement in the corporate forums - pilots wanted. You, hapless CEO, are sorting through the occasional pilot application, weeding out the potential corp-thieves from pilots looking to join for legitimate reasons. One day, you check your inbox and you see this...

...

You, the CEO of a small carebear hi-sec corporation, looking to get into nullsec and become a nullbear PvPer and Industrialist, are interested. The offer is what you are looking for. Then begins the real battle. Is this is a scam or the real deal? You hit "Reply" and wait. The offer comes and the offer is generous.

...

(Cont...)


Edit: Posting EVEMails is not allowed in Crime & Punishment, CCP Phantom
Mariya Devara
Ba'al's Deep Space Mining
#2 - 2012-09-04 00:22:47 UTC  |  Edited by: CCP Phantom
(Continued)

...

What do you do? What do you do? Well, as a CEO - you do your freaking homework. And that means contacting other EVE pilots, verifying details, and trolling the Internet. Examining histories, personal and corporate. Ask questions. Wheedling information out of your intelligence assets. Putting 2 and 2 together and making 4, not 5i or some other number. Trust your gut instinct as you fly around space, wrapped in your cocoon of sticky gel. You do your homework. You get to know more about the pilot than they know about themselves - or, well, you get to know what is possible. Rumours of nefarious activities take on weight.

And you hit the "Reply" button yet again and send off a missive, waiting for the inevitable reply. The scammers really do want your ISK.


...

And you wait, and you wait, and you wait. And you investigate more. You send off further missives to some contacts you have, pilots who KNOW THINGS. You go back to trolling boards and information sites. The reply comes,

...

Meanwhile, you start hearing back from sources. The information you are supplied with is mixed. "Mixed" is not good. You have looked on the boards and what you see going back to 2007 is not boding well. Still, this represents a chance to get your foot in the door for PvP & Industrial null-sec fun. So, you go with it. Maybe, just maybe - your brain tells you - this offer is legitimate.


Edit: Posting EVEMails is not allowed in Crime & Punishment, CCP Phantom
Mariya Devara
Ba'al's Deep Space Mining
#3 - 2012-09-04 00:22:57 UTC  |  Edited by: CCP Phantom
(Note: Seems a post was lost)

Ignore YOUR BRAIN, that trusting part that wants goodiness and happiness from EVE! That part of your brain is the ULTIMATE CAREBEAR! You want to be a NULLBEAR enjoying PvP goodiness and Industrial Happiness. Running down belt-rats, looting complexes, mining to your hearts content, blowing up other pilots and their ships. Invading other Alliance's space. CTA & Fleet joy-joy. Lovin' others long-time for their 20 ISK-aah with some pure, genuine Caldari missiles.

You sent mail, reply comes. You, as a responsible CEO, want more details on the systems, logistics, and current denizens surrounding the offer. And the reply comes....

...

However, some questions from a previous missive remain unanswered. There is a little gerbil running through your intestines, so to speak, (REF: some famous pilot by the name of **** -SEE NOTE BELOW- Gear), that reminds you that you have some doubt. Plus information going back five years. The intel assets and friendly pilots you know. Posts by other TEST Alliance members telling some previous victims of scams to simply read TEST Alliance Corporation's "DESCRIPTION" tab. Sure, that tab may be a little beyond other pilot's thinking. CEOs and pilots should go there. Come on, is it really that hard?

All this tells you...

"IT'S A SCAM, YOU FOOL."

There was some half-way doubtful information in a prior post on EVE Forums that maybe generated a speck of confusion, quicly laid to rest. A pilot was ripped off in another rental scam involving some TEST Alliance in which a Dreddit member posted that the offer was legitimate. Maybe the Dreddit member forgot to add additional information. No judgement is made.

So, what is a CEO to do when weighing such offers? From a TEST Alliance member corp. When other corp members have repeatedly posted that it is a scam and that only Dredit themselves rent space? That other victims in the past have ignored?

Why, you send mail to several of their diplomats asking a question. If only to confirm what you already know and suspect. The reply... and thanks to that un-named TEST Alliance diplomat for doing so:

...

Short, sweet, and to the point.

NOTE BELOW* - Seriously, CCP - that is a curse word? I know it can be abused, but IRL world, The US had an e-vile Dark Lord for Vice President who was routinely known by that name. Richard, Ricky, Rich, Richie, etc...


Edit: Posting EVEMails is not allowed in Crime & Punishment, CCP Phantom
Mariya Devara
Ba'al's Deep Space Mining
#4 - 2012-09-04 00:23:06 UTC  |  Edited by: CCP Phantom
Short, sweet, to the point. Confirming once again what TEST Alliance has listed on their Corporate Description page and on their website (a little obscure however), pleaseignore.com. Yet pilots still blame TEST Alliance for their corp members behaviour. Let us face it. Alliances these days consiste of hundreds or thousands of members. Dozens or more corporations. Not all of them will be scrupulous. EVE, like the real world, is full of people looking for your money. Alliances might even collapse if they had to kick out every member or corporation who was NAUGHTY.

And who doesn't like NAUGHTY? I do. A certain uniform... some willing pilot who likes to be spanked... while saying, "You're my sugar-CEO!" I digress.

Pilots who have been scammed? This is EVE. This is The World of EVEscam. Where there are no real world consequences. Concord doesn't care that you have been scammed. Empire space forces do not care. You want to put out a bounty on someone? We all know how badly broken the bounty system in space is. Strike a deal on the forums? Just as broken as the bounty system. Mercenaries? How good is their reputation? Even then, it could be a scam.

What? You want to run out to nullsec and exterminate the con-podder? Good luck getting through the gate-camps and all the other pilots to maybe get where, maybe, the scammer is hanging out. Coax them out of the stations. The scammer could be on vacation. Do not forget about their corp mates who will be all too willing to help them waste you. You are, NBSI.

Get over it. You have been had. In a game. Not in the real world where there are real world consequences. White collar crime is easier when you don't have the authorities breathing down your neck. Pilots are free to scam you. Free to do things they like and gloat about it. Things they would hesitate to do in the real world.

So, if you are thinking about safety and justice in EVE? Fuggedaboutit. Watch old Earth vids of "The Sopranos" or the latest drama about grifters. And, what did your mother tell you about strangers?

So, how did this all end?

...

My thanks go to TEST Alliance for posting the rules of renting on their Corporate Description tab that so many ignore to the loss of billions of ISK. For that un-named TEST Alliance Diplomat who confirmed what I already knew. The Intel Assets I have out there in space and friends, the anonymous people who have helped me with good advice over the time. Corp mates. Anonymous sources. Pilots posting their experiences on the forums - those who warn and those who have been burned.

My special thanks go to Galina Agittain and Secure Space Corporation. At all times she was polite and pursues and "honest" profession in EVE. Without pilots like her and certain others in Secure Space, and other corporations - well, EVE would not be EVE. The Good, The Bad, A Treacherous Hive of Villainy where fortunes are won and lost in the blink of an eye. I must say that Galina was especially polite and I have always loved that name. Reminds me of good memories somewhere out there in space.

Oh, one last thing. It does not matter how good you are. One day, it will be my turn or your turn when we have to say:

I'VE JUST BEEN SCAMMED!



Edit: Posting EVEMails is not allowed in Crime & Punishment, CCP Phantom
Mariya Devara
Ba'al's Deep Space Mining
#5 - 2012-09-04 00:23:16 UTC  |  Edited by: Mariya Devara
Note to self, maybe not reserve so much space and cut down on posting full mails. All mails are authentic. Little rusty on the typing and editing skills.
Mariya Devara
Ba'al's Deep Space Mining
#6 - 2012-09-04 00:23:27 UTC
Reserved
jimmyjam
Fire Mandrill
#7 - 2012-09-04 01:00:46 UTC
Well at least your not as dumb as the rest of the sheep, will read again maybe 8/10.Big smile
Lady Spank
Get Out Nasty Face
#8 - 2012-09-04 01:15:18 UTC
Reserved

(ಠ_ృ) ~ It Takes a Million Years to Become Diamonds So Lets Just Burn Like Coal Until the Sky's Black ~ (ಠ_ృ)
Mariya Devara
Ba'al's Deep Space Mining
#9 - 2012-09-04 01:50:00 UTC
jimmyjam wrote:
Well at least your not as dumb as the rest of the sheep, will read again maybe 8/10.Big smile


Just finishing up the post. Seems that EVE forums lost one of the posts. Do come back and read the rest.
Surfin's PlunderBunny
Sebiestor Tribe
Minmatar Republic
#10 - 2012-09-04 03:12:22 UTC
Reserved under the name "Rusty Shackleford"

"Little ginger moron" ~David Hasselhoff 

Want to see what Surf is training or how little isk Surf has?  http://eveboard.com/pilot/Surfin%27s_PlunderBunny
Ra Jackson
Aliastra
Gallente Federation
#11 - 2012-09-04 07:49:43 UTC
tl'dr: People still want to pay for nullsec instead of moving into free NPC space Sad
Mariya Devara
Ba'al's Deep Space Mining
#12 - 2012-09-04 08:41:11 UTC
Ra Jackson wrote:
tl'dr: People still want to pay for nullsec instead of moving into free NPC space Sad


yeah. It was an idea. However, NPC space still presents its own hazards. Take Serpentis Prime. You can spend more time being hunted because everyone is afraid of Alliance spais!!!

LOL.
Markarian Aurelius
Caldari Provisions
Caldari State
#13 - 2012-09-04 09:05:31 UTC
Did it really take you that many posts to simply state that a TEST corp tried to scam you? The warning and all is nice, albeit common knowledge for the most part, but you could've saved yourself a lot of time and exercised some brevity.
flakeys
Doomheim
#14 - 2012-09-04 09:11:41 UTC
Mariya Devara wrote:
Imagine it coming from an Alliance you consider honorable and have heard good things about....



So, let us take a look at the anatomy of a rental space scam involving Secure Space Corp of TEST Alliance, one Galina Agittain, and myself.





Uhm ... that's what one calls a contradiction right there. Shocked

We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid.
Ra Jackson
Aliastra
Gallente Federation
#15 - 2012-09-04 10:28:52 UTC  |  Edited by: Ra Jackson
Mariya Devara wrote:
Ra Jackson wrote:
tl'dr: People still want to pay for nullsec instead of moving into free NPC space Sad


yeah. It was an idea. However, NPC space still presents its own hazards. Take Serpentis Prime. You can spend more time being hunted because everyone is afraid of Alliance spais!!!

LOL.


But at least you really learn something.
Plus, your stuff isn't locked up in a nulsec station when your mighty overlords get steamrolled by another coalition while you're on holidays.
/edit: I'm not talking about that crappy sole NPC island in Fountain. Go to Syndicate, or Venal, or Stain.
Mariya Devara
Ba'al's Deep Space Mining
#16 - 2012-09-04 11:02:59 UTC
flakeys wrote:
Mariya Devara wrote:
Imagine it coming from an Alliance you consider honorable and have heard good things about....



So, let us take a look at the anatomy of a rental space scam involving Secure Space Corp of TEST Alliance, one Galina Agittain, and myself.





Uhm ... that's what one calls a contradiction right there. Shocked



Alliance, as in overall. Corp and members... not so much.
Mariya Devara
Ba'al's Deep Space Mining
#17 - 2012-09-04 11:04:02 UTC
Markarian Aurelius wrote:
Did it really take you that many posts to simply state that a TEST corp tried to scam you? The warning and all is nice, albeit common knowledge for the most part, but you could've saved yourself a lot of time and exercised some brevity.


Why the hell not? I was bored, tho, as I noted before,... I should have edited the other mail submits for brevity.
Mariya Devara
Ba'al's Deep Space Mining
#18 - 2012-09-04 11:09:40 UTC  |  Edited by: Mariya Devara
Quote:
But at least you really learn something.
Plus, your stuff isn't locked up in a nulsec station when your mighty overlords get steamrolled by another coalition while you're on holidays.
/edit: I'm not talking about that crappy sole NPC island in Fountain. Go to Syndicate, or Venal, or Stain.



Venal was nice on an alt. Dodging Russians mostly. Roman Kalishnikov always seemed to be waiting. Even tranlated the band name "Pussy Riot" into Russian Cyrilic but it didn't seem to help. International relations.... some people just don't appreciate.
The ****** that CCP insists on putting in there covers up a word to a punk band's name, so well... a woman's treasure box that most men want to get into.
CorInaXeraL
The Dresdeneers
#19 - 2012-09-04 14:08:25 UTC
Mariya Devara wrote:
Imagine it coming from an Alliance you consider honorable and have heard good things about....


This does not mix with

Mariya Devara wrote:
Secure Space Corp of TEST Alliance.


In fact, all you need to say is

Quote:
TEST Alliance Scam.
War Kitten
Panda McLegion
#20 - 2012-09-04 14:43:52 UTC
Boy that was a long story.

I don't judge people by their race, religion, color, size, age, gender, or ethnicity. I judge them by their grammar, spelling, syntax, punctuation, clarity of expression, and logical consistency.
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