Scams

"RuneScape is home to millions of people from many countries and walks of life and, like any community, there can be a few bad apples."

- Jagex

Beneath is a list of cheats and scams commonly found in RuneScape. This page is not meant to promote scamming, but rather to prevent players from being scammed. Using these scams and/or cheats will result in action taken against the player's account. Although the trade limit update made many scams obsolete, many scams have come back due to the free trade update. Players must be warned NOT to use any of the below methods as they are against RuneScape Rules and will result in banning of the player's account or even subsequent accounts used by the player.

Since RuneScape is an MMORPG, it would be unfair to have "cheat codes" in the game. Therefore, none exist in RuneScape. Players who offer so-called "cheats" such as free gold coins or memberships are usually either scammers or misinformed players.

There are still three main ways to "cheat"; bug abusing, account sharing, and macroing. Please be aware that these are not the only cheats, as bugs and glitches are also considered cheating, just to a lesser known effect. Most cheats available on other games aren't accessible through Runescape, as it has to do with the unique way in which RuneScape is coded, and vice-versa.

The removal of Free Trade and the Wilderness put an end to most scamming, as players could no longer scam others for valuable items without paying for them; the most a player could theoretically gain from scamming was 50k. Also, players could no longer lure players to the wilderness and kill them.

The return of both Free Trade and the Wilderness caused an outbreak of scams, most notably the "Flower Game", "Trust Game", and "Double your Money" scam- being that players could transfer large amounts of wealth. This guide will hopefully ensure you outsmart the returning scammers to RuneScape, and help everyone in the ongoing "War on Scammers".

Bug abusing
Bug abusing is the act of using programming errors to one's advantage. Bugs are rare, and are usually quickly reported and patched. Jagex does not offer rewards for reporting bugs, however. There was one exception to this rule.

Players who abuse bugs may be subject to action being taken against his/her account, up to or including a permanent ban.

Suggested action: Players who know about bugs should report them to Jagex via the "Submit a Bug Report" option on the main page of RuneScape under 'Help'. If a player sees another player abusing a bug, then they can be reported for knowingly exploiting a bug under the honour section. As long as the player reports the bug to Jagex straight away, without spreading it to anyone else until Jagex fixes it, and does not continue to use the bug any more, then the player WON'T get in trouble. If the player doesn't tell Jagex, or deliberately uses it again and again, then it will be considered breaking the rules.

Account sharing
Account sharing is having two or more people controlling the same character. Each account should only be used by ONE person. Account sharing is NOT allowed. You may not sell, transfer or lend your account to anyone else, or permit anyone else to use your account and you may not accept an account that anybody else offers you.

Suggested action: It is difficult to tell if a player is character sharing unless the player admits it. In this case, the player should be reported for buying, selling or sharing an account located in the honour section.

There are two methods Jagex uses to stop two or more people from using the same account:


 * Prohibiting the same computer from simultaneously having two or more RuneScape clients running. If you try to open a second RuneScape client (even with a different web browser), a simple message will appear that says the player is violating the "terms of service" and will not let you connect.


 * Simultaneous account usage. This means that two people are not only sharing the account, but are trying to log in at the same time. Since a player can't be in two places at the same time, this will be logged and may be used by Jagex to identify people who are sharing accounts.

Jagex doesn't have a problem with players having multiple character accounts, but players shouldn't share accounts with other people. Sharing your account with anyone, including family members and/or friends, means that you are breaking a game rule and this can lead to your account being banned.

This also includes moving or lending items between a player's own accounts, known as drop-trading. None of a player's accounts should be interacting with each other in any way.

Scamming
There are many scams in RuneScape that a player may fall for. These scams may cause the player to lose their money, items, or even accounts. Scams tend to come and go due to updates. For example, the Gravestone update reduced scamming greatly by preventing players from immediately being able to pick up a player's items after dying. Although Jagex has made an effort to limit scamming as much as possible, it still persists today. A list of antiquated scams can be found here.

All usernames used in the examples are hypothetical, and any resemblance to real usernames are coincidental.

Money For Information Scam
Player 1 sees a cool item/weapon wants it but doesn't know how to get it. Player 2 "tells" the Player 1 how to get it. The scam is most often performed with uncommon or unusual items like a Rune defender or Barrelchest anchor rather than common ones such as a Steel longsword.

Example 1:

Suggested Action: Report the player for item scamming. Ask a more honest player about the item or look it up on a fan site. (Note: If the player actually tells you what the item does after being paid, you CANNOT report him/her though this is rarely ever the case.)

Claiming an item is rare when it isn't
A scammer may claim an item is very rare, when it is actually very easy to obtain.

Example:

Suggested Actions: Jagex NEVER had a glitch like this once, so report Player 2 for item scamming. This scam is relatively easy to avoid if you double check the guide price on the trade screen. However, if a player were to offer an item for a ridiculous price, it is NOT considered scamming unless the player explicitly states such an item is rare and/or unobtainable, like in the example.

Trust scam
Some players might attempt to trick other players into playing "trust games" making you to trade expensive items and such, ''' NEVER PARTICIPATE IN THESE TYPES OF GAMES! '''

Example 1:

Example 2

Example 3

Example 4

Example 5

Suggested actions: Immediately after the host provides evidence that he is playing the trust game, the player may report him/her for item scamming in the honour section of the rules. However this is not the case now as item lending has been put into place.

Wilderness Luring
Wilderness Lure would be when a player would announce that they were doing a Player Killing video and encouraged the victim to bring anywhere between 1 to 3 of their most valuable items, telling them that they would never skull. The victim would be led into 23 or so wilderness where they could not teleport with the scammer and a friend of his to help. The scammer would then trade the victim a chinchompa (item), telling them to wield it and put on auto-retaliate and it would make a "cool explosion." Since chinchompas have an area effect, the explosion would hit the nearby friend and the victim would be skulled. At this point the scammers would team the victim, killing them, and causing them to lose their items.

Ice Plateau Scam
Ever since the old style Wilderness returned on 1 February 2011, this scam has become quite common. A high leveled player (120+) advertises a drop party often on a crowded world at the Grand Exchange. Many people bring their most valuable items with them and follow the scammer who will lead them to a random location. The scammer will then teleport everyone to Ice Plateau and kill everyone in sight, thus looting everyone's valuable items.

Example:

Suggested action: It is rather difficult to tell if the player in question is legitimate or not until he/she teleports others. As this is considered a form of luring, it is indeed considered a scam so reporting is the most viable option. To avoid this scam, always check twice before hitting the "Confirm button" so you know where you are being teleported to. You can also just bring nothing and accept the teleport to see whether it is actually a scam or not.

Double Money Scam
A scammer offers to double another player's money. Often, the scammer starts out with low values to earn the player's trust.

Player 2: Give me 1k and i'll double it.

Player 1: Sweet!

Player 1 goes to bank, takes out 1k.

Player 2 gives 2k to earn Player 1's trust 

Player 2: Cheers!

Player 2: I could do it with 100k, too.

Player 1: Sure.

Player 1 gives Player 2 100k.

Player 2 logs out. 

Suggested Action: Report the scammer.

Player House Scam
Some Players will try to give you a rare or expensive item for something you might have. This scam is not to common since you need membership for it to happen.

Example:

Suggested action: Make sure you Report the player and just remember that if a deal is to good to be true then it's probally is a scam.

Trade password for item scam
Some players will claim to give away their password for a certain item they want.

Example:

Suggested actions: Simply ignore them and report the player item scamming. Even though they are mentioning their password, they can't be reported for password scamming because they are not scamming for someone else's password, only their items. Since they are offering their account (even though they would probably lie about or not even say their password), they can be reported for Account sharing/trading.

Show Inventory for Amount Scam
This scam, like the Ice Plateau scam, is a recent one appearing on 1 February 2011. Some players will say that they are filling other people's inventories with a certain item, such as Amulets of glory. They ask people to show what they have in their inventory so that the scammer knows how many items to give. Actually, the scammer ends up trading the item they are giving away for something much more valuable. In excitement of getting something for free the targeted player often forgets to take their items out of the trade and quickly clicks accept.

Example:

Suggested action: Pay attention to what you are trading before you hit the accept button. As the number of free inventory spaces is displayed on the trade screen, careful players can easily avoid this scam. The wealth transfer is also displayed. If the questioned player had the intention to steal your items, report him/her for item scamming.

Password Scams
Password scamming is a more serious kind of scamming where a player steals another's password.

Miscellaneous
The following are not actually scams and are not reportable, but they are still considered against the spirit of the game.

Fake Skillcapes
Fake Skillcapes are non-existent items which some users use to scam others. For example, the cow skillcape was allegedly given to a player that killed 10,000 cows (some players additionally lied that the skillcape would come with a cow costume and an emote). This was actually a scam, to waste a player's time. Some scammers would also secretly record gullible players killing cows for upload to YouTube.

Item Lending Trick
Some players who want an item for a long period of time and not paying the correct amount of coins, may try to offer the incorrect amount of coins.

Example:

Suggested Action: Unfortunately, Jagex doesn't regard this as a scam, because you are not losing any items, and the scammer can give a very good excuse if they are banned.

Flower Game
"The Flower Game" is a player-made game on Runescape which involves gambling. The player hosting the game will determine how much your gold will be multiplied or which item will be received if you pick the correct color of flower.

It is important to note that the "Flower Game" can be used as a method of Scamming, and when giving another player your wealth, there is always the chance that you may lose it. Do so at your own risk!

How the game is played:

The player gambling will give the host a certain amount of gold and then call a flower color, the host then plants a Mithril Seed and both the host and player will see if the color called is the color of the flower, if it is the color called, the player will get his money multiplied and be given the flowers. If the host wins, the host will be given the money bet to keep.

If the host is using the game to scam players, he will often employ a partner to pretend to be a random player that is passing by and decided to play the game, and will pretend they do not know each other. They will fake playing multiple games, with the partner losing, until the partner eventually wins and starts shouting out loud they really did get the prize from the host and that it was not a scam. They will usually do this in a crowded location, such as a bank, for greater effect.

Example:

Suggested action: Use good judgement. If the host's prize and prices sound too good to be true, they probably are. Do not trust other players winning the game, even if it sounds very convincing, because it might all be a very elaborate play.

Here is a list of flower colors that can be planted: The chances of winning a game is roughly 1/7 (because black and white are too rare to really count and should never be chosen), and should only be played if the player has money to spare.
 * Blue
 * Red
 * Yellow
 * Orange
 * Purple
 * Brights
 * Pastels
 * Black (very rare)
 * White (very rare)

Antiquated Scams
Many other scams existed other than these, but a lot of them have been rendered obsolete or are very rare due to efforts from Jagex.