Anti-hack and anti-scam guide
Introduction
Hacking and scamming is the worst thing that could happen you in RuneScape: You can lose one of your most valuable items because someone tricked you, or you could even lose your runescape account!
So, here's a guide that can help you from being hacked or scammed.
Avoiding account hacking / account scamming
- Be sure to set your password recovery questions, and write them down a safe place.
- Do NOT tell your password! Do NOT tell anyone your password recovery questions!
- Make your password hard to guess - like "sk3wjdlm2764df"
- Don't use your Runescape password anywhere else than runescape.com. Some forums may pick up your password, and use it to log onto your RuneScape account!
- Watch out for fake websites:
Runescape cheat sites. There are no cheats to Runescape.
Runescape staff sites. Somone are making "secret" sites where you can be staff. They're fake.
Runescape "test servers". All newer releases of RuneScape will be announced on runescape.com.
- Don't use unofficial Runescape programs or addons.
- Don't use any auto-programs or "bots".
- Watch out for fake emails - Runescape will never email you!
- Players abusing Runescape staff - Runescape staff will never ask for your password!
- Do NOT share your account. Many players loose their accounts because their FRIENDS steals it!
- Avoid viruses, trojans, spywares etc. Click here for more info about these.
Avoiding item scamming
- Don't let people walk away with your stuff. If you are trading something, be sure to get what you want before you accept the trade.
- Sometimes, when you are buying / selling something valuble (whips, rares, barrows, etc.) someone will say to meet you at edgeville or around the lumberyard. Then when you are trading them, you will be in the wild, and his friend (or him) will do some spell to freeze you and possibly tele-block you. Eventually, you will die and lose whatever you were selling. NEVER cross the ditch!
- Do not believe everything you're told - it's not always true.
- Double-check in the second trade screen. Many people remove their items just before accepting.
- Trade everything at the same time, some people just log out or run away before the trade is completed if you split the trade.
- Watch out of people that are cutting gems for free, smithing for free etc. When someone is cutting a gem for free, the best way is to ask him to give you a cutted for your uncutted.
- If the trade is too good to be true, it normally is.
- People are often making new account to scam - if they get banned, they won't loose anything. Buying full rune, rare items etc from very low leveled people is risky.
Common scams
I'm sure you have seen one or more of these scams. Please post in the forums if I forgot some!
| The scammer says: |
It's a scam because... |
| Free armour trimming! |
A trimmed armour is like God armours - they're only a reward from treasure trails, and player can't trim them! |
| I know how to duplicate rune items! Just drop it, and type alt+f4! (or ctrl+q) |
Alt+F4 close the window. So, you drop the item, and then close the runescape window, and the scammer pick it up. A less known shortcut is CTRL+Q, which closes the window too! |
| [Account trading] |
Even if he gives the right password, the scammer can still recover the account with the security questions. Account trading is against the rules, so you should report the one who sells the account. |
Protecting your computer
After you have read this guide, you can still get hacked. Trojans, spyware and viruses can infect your computer, and they can do more than stealing your password from Runescape. They can steal password from everything, track everything you do, make your computer slower, showing a lot of advertisments that shouldn't be there, damage or even ruin your computer, delete your harddisk and more. Every day, hundreds of people lose important information saved on their computer because of these softwares.
If you want to make your computer safe, you should have:
- A firewall, that will stop hackers that try to get into your computer
- An antivirus, that will run in the background, deleting viruses, and warn you if something unexpected happen.
- A spyware/adware removal that will delete spywares and adwares from your computer.
But remember that your computer is NEVER 100% safe! Even if you have 20 antiviruses, there will always be made new viruses!
You can buy these programs in a regular computer store, and you can even download some for free. Here is a list over free softwares that can protect your computer.
| Spybot - Search & Destroy |
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Guide creditsWritten by: Aliensvortex
Last update: 18-Mar-2008 19:50 by Aliensvortex