Scams

This is a list of cheats and scams commonly found in RuneScape. This is not meant to promote scamming, but to prevent players from being scammed. Using these scams and/or cheats can result in action taken against the players' account, if reported by another player.

Cheats
Since RuneScape is a massively multi-player game, it would be unfair to have "cheat codes" in the game. Therefore, none exist in RuneScape. Players who offer "cheats" such as free gold or memberships are usually either scammers or misinformed players.

There are still three main ways to "cheat"; bug abusing, character sharing, and macroing.

Bug abusing
Bug abusing is the act using programming errors to one's gain. This is rare, since bugs are usually quickly reported and patched. Jagex does Not offer rewards for reporting bugs.

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

Suggested action: Players who know about bugs should report them (and users who abuse them) to Jagex.

Character sharing
Character sharing is the act of having two or more people controlling the same character.

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.

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 you are simply 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 you 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 you having multiple character accounts, but you shouldn't be trying to "share" an account with multiple users.



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.

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

Jagex staff impersonation scam
Players who do not have gold crowns in front of their names are not Jagex staff. Note that the crowns do not show up on RuneScape Classic. Instead, Jagex mods are named "Mod _____", except for Andrew and Paul, the founders of Jagex.

Examples:

Suggested actions: Report the player immediately under rule 3 or rule 5. Real Jagex staff will never ask for players' password.

Trust scam
Some players might attempt to trick other players into playing "trust games" and such. Examples:

Suggested actions: Immediately after the host provides evidence that he is playing the trust game, the player may report him/her for item scamming (rule 2).

Since the January 2nd update, this scam is no longer possible in valuable items, with the limit in value depending on the quest points of the given players

Password censoring scam
Previously, RuneScape did not censor players' passwords (this would give away passwords like "rune axe" for example). Some players would trick others into thinking otherwise, and then look for any text that may resemble a password. As of April 24 2007, Jagex changed the system so that sentences contain a player's exact password would not show up, although it only blocks the exact text of their password, and would still be visible to scammers if typed incorrectly, but this method is rarely used today. However, password scamming still occurs on RuneScape.

Examples:

Suggested action: These players can just be ignored. However, the last two are still scams, and should be reported under password scamming (rule 3). Passwords are NOT blocked on RuneScape Classic, so people just asking for people to post their unchanged passwords can still be reported there.

Password changing scam
Some players may try to convince another player to change their password. The scammer will then log into the account using the password they ask for.

Example:

Suggested action: Report the player for password scamming (rule 3).

Drop scam
Some players will trick other players into dropping their items for them.

Example:

or

or

Some players may also tell other player to drop their items.

Example

Suggested action: Ctrl-F4, Alt-F4, and Ctrl-W close your window, and you may not have enough time to log back in before the scammer picks up your items. Report the scammer for item scamming (rule 2).

Prevention tips: Don't press strange key-combinations when asked. Also, remember that there are NO cheats or special codes in Runescape. In no circumstance should you try any of these codes. If you are truely curious as to what they do, try using them with a different window when you are not logged on.

Since the December 10 game update, this scam is no longer possible for large items, as dropped items worth more than 3k will not show to other people. However, you may still lose your gold or items if you drop them, especially if you log out.

Armour trimming and "upgrading"
Trimmed armour is obtained from treasure trails and normal armour cannot be trimmed by anyone. No player or NPC can trim armour. Although this scam has fallen out of popularity, it is still a method employed by various scammers, this scam is seen regularly on f2p servers.

Example:

Suggested action: Report the user for item scamming (rule 2).

Similarly, some players will offer to "upgrade" armour. Likewise, this is not possible.

Example:

Suggested actions: Again, report the player for item scamming (rule 2).

As of 02 January 2008, the trade limit does not allow all armour to be given away, the amount depending on the quest points of the players.

Trust trades
Some players will offer to turn raw products into finished products for those who cannot do so, such as smithing rune, cutting dragonstones, and enchanting amulets. These are not always scams.

Examples:

With the Assist System, scams such as this are largely obsolete. Simply ask to be assisted rather than trading the player any items. However, on RuneScape Classic, there is no assist system and no hiscores, so players should be careful when participating in trust trades. Try to trade raw materials directly for finished products instead, if possible.

However, players will still lie about their skills. One common example of this is at the world 16 air crafting spot, where a player will lie saying they have 88 runecrafting (which gives 9x airs back), so the assistee would get more runes if the person proving assistance actually had the level, but they probably don't. Use the Hi-scores to make sure they actually have said level. But, you can't actually report people for this.

Account trades and transfers
Not only is transferring accounts against Jagex's rules, it is extremely risky. The player may take the other player's money and never give him/her the password. Even if the player receives the account and change the password, the original owner can take it back using the recovery questions.

Examples:

Additionally, some players may give you a high-level account, in hopes that you'll transfer your items to it. The scammer can then recover the account, and take any items that you may have placed on it.

Suggested actions: Report the player for account trading (rule 6). If you see accounts being sold on other web sites, send Jagex a link to that site via a Customer Support query. Accounts being sold on Ebay no longer need to be reported, as Jagex is now checking that regularly themselves.

As of 02 January 2008, this scam is made harder because players cannot have a net loss/gain of an amount an account is usually bought for.

Fake RuneScape websites
''"Fake" redirects here. For a guide to creating fake RuneScape pictures, see Fake image. For the page on 'fake' creations, see Non-existency.''

Some players will make sites that look similar to the real RuneScape site, and offer moderator applications or entry into contests. In reality, these sites would collect your password and may present you with a fake error message.

Suggested actions: You should never enter your RuneScape password into any site other than the official site, whose domain is runescape.com or funorb.com, which is a online gaming site of Jagex Ltd.. Familiarise yourself with the ways domain names can be faked. You should avoid even visiting fake sites, as some may exploit vulnerabilities and may make your computer run a worm or trojan when you visit the site. Finally, you should report the site to Jagex via customer support.

E-mail scam
This usually happens on other websites, such as forums or blogs. The player will make an e-mail address and claim that it is an e-mail address that will send you another members password, make you a free member, give you 99 billion coins, etc.

Aside from membership receipts, Jagex no longer sends e-mail to players. In addition, such e-mails will never have any clickable links.

Suggested actions: Report the e-mail to Jagex via customer support and delete it. When reporting the e-mail to Jagex, try to include the header information. If possible, block the user from sending you any more e-mails. To prevent scammers from harvesting your e-mail address, try to set it to "hidden" on Internet forums.

Cheat program scam
Some scammers will offer programs that claim to make RuneScape easier, but they will actually steal your password. This is one reason that Jagex discourages use of toolkits.

Suggested action: Do not use toolkits. Sometimes, your computer can get a keylogger just from visiting these sites, so make sure that your computer has an anti-virus program, and that it is up-to-date. Do not report other players for using these unless they openly admit it during chat.

Item-switching scam
Another common trick that scammers use is to switch items at the last minute in a trade, and hope that the other player doesn't notice. Scammers may also remove items before accepting. However, Jagex changed the way trading works, allowing any change in the trade to be marked with a flashing exclamation point, so this type of scam is virtually impossible to pull off now.

Examples of such scams include:

The following scams no longer work in any circumstance:
 * Herb notes (example: avantoe to guam)
 * Rune to mithril items
 * Steel to iron items
 * Dragon (and big) bones to normal bones
 * Noted items in general (example: noted dragon medium helm to noted ruby)
 * Easter egg to normal egg
 * Pure essence to normal essence
 * Yew logs to normal logs
 * 1000k gp to 10004 gp ×
 * 100k coins to 1004 coins ×
 * Mature to regular beer
 * Mage book to mage arena book
 * Rare seeds to common seeds
 * Black chainbody to iron chainbody
 * Dragon arrows to steel arrows
 * Black or white mystic to blue mystic


 * Guthan's warspear to leaf-bladed spear (the latter is no longer tradable)
 * Uncut diamonds and silver ore on RuneScape Classic (these looked exactly alike when silver was released, but was changed shortly after).

Changes that reduce the effectiveness of this scam:


 * Magic logs now no longer look like any other logs, they are blue/green with sparkles.

Suggested actions: Check the second screen carefully. If the other player is trying to scam, cancel the trade and immediately report the player under Rule 2.
 * The Money reduce scam has a lower chance of working because of a colour coding system for certain stackable items, like coins. 1-99,999 coins are yellow, 100k-9,999,999 coins are white, and 10M+ is green. So if a scammer tries to switch 100k with 1,004 coins, the player selling the item will notice a colour change, in addition to the red flashing exclamation mark.
 * The trade system now, when a player reduces or removes displays right before displays an "!" mark where the item was.
 * Balanced trading makes this harder.

As of 02 January 2008, this scam only works for small increments of money/items due to the trade limit.

Advert scams
Some RuneScape fan sites, even the most reputable ones, may display ads that encourage cheating or real-world trading. Often, the administrators of fan sites do not have control over the ads, which are served by an advertising company. Some other ads may offer money-making "guides" that are no different from the ones offered for free on forums.

Example:

Suggested actions: Report the ads to the administrators anyway. The administrator may, in turn, send complaints to the advertising company.

RuneScape Classic needle scam
In RuneScape Classic, some scammers have been known to offer 10 million coins for items. Upon trading, the scammer will actually offer 1 million coins and a needle. On the RuneScape Classic trading screen, this would look like 10,000,001 coins.

Suggested action: Report the player for item scamming.

Item drop telekinetic grab scam
Sometimes players will ask the victim to drop an item across a fence or other obstacle, saying that the player can pick it up if the scammer makes a move to take it. Do not drop your item for any reason; they will use Telekinetic Grab on it. You will also not be able to tell when your item Becomes visible to them, allowing them to act like they have not seen the item up to the time they cast their spell.

Example:

Suggested action: Report the player for item scamming (rule 2).

As of 02 January 2008, this scam only works with items of low value.

Player house item drop scam
Scammers will talk the player into dropping an item, because (s)he can pick it up again before it appears to other players. Before the player takes it, they will expel the player from their house, and will take the item once it appears to them. Jagex has implemented an update that now warns the player when dropping items in a house.

Suggested action: Report the player for item scamming (rule 2).

As of 02 January 2008, this scam only works for low value items because of the trade limit.

Recovery question scams
Scammers may also try to trick players into unknowingly giving their recovery answers. While players are prohibited from asking the default recovery questions in the forums, it is a forum only rule.

Example:

Suggested actions: Report the player for requesting personal details (rule 13).

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.

As of 02 January 2008, this scam only works for low value items because of the trade limit.

Money scams
Scammers will try to steal free-players' money by telling them about a coin that allows them to access a members world. This will steal their money and give them one coin in return

Example:

Suggested actions: Report the player for item scamming (rule 2). Note: This scam has lost popularity due to a recent update regarding the Grand Exchange - on F2p worlds, P2p items are nontradable (with some exceptions) and labelled as 'Members objects'.

As of 02 January 2008, this only works with a low amount of money due to the trade limit.

Gem cutting scam
Prior to the introduction of the Grand Exchange and the Assist System, a very legitimate form of attempting to raise the Crafting skill was to stand around and announce that they could craft gemstones of various kinds, usually announcing the most difficult type of gemstone they could cut (such as ruby, diamond, or even dragonstone). As the pre-Grand Exchange NPC gem traders did in fact pay quite a bit more for cut gemstones over the uncut variety, the statement that was found on uncut gemstones when "examined" ("This would be worth more if it were cut") was from a certain point of view to be true. Since gemstones traded in small quantities and required high levels of crafting to make useful items out of them, a great many players simply drop gemstones on the ground if they discover them or sell them to places like the gem traders or even general stores.

With the introduction of the Grand Exchange, access to other players who wish to improve their crafting skill by using gemstones has improved significantly, and uncut gemstones are worth considerably more than their cut counterparts for all gemstone varieties. Depending on the current market conditions and the gem type, the value of the uncut variety may even be worth double the value as the cut version of the gemstone. The statement from examining uncut gemstones was changed by Jagex several months after the introduction of the Grand Exchange and after it was pointed out in the Runescape Official Forums to be completely false, and that some scamming based upon this statement was happening.

People involved with this scam try to convince generally new players that the old economics of Runescape are still in place, and that these players can "earn" huge amounts of money by having their gemstones cut. The worst of the worst kind of scammers will still insist that you "give" the gemstones to be cut, and often just walk away or even teleport to a new location in order to avoid the player they just scammed. If this happens, Jagex does consider this kind of act to be against the rules, and it should be reported as soon as it happens. Unfortunately, the player who gets scammed will not recover their lost gemstones.

A more subtle scam is to offer to "assist" the player in cutting the gemstone without revealing the loss of value that will result from having the gemstone cut. Legitimate players who train crafting by cutting gemstones may power level by purchasing a large number of uncut gemstones from other players, and either offer those cut gemstones on the Grand Exchange or create Jewelry and other items from those cut gemstones. What the scammers are trying to accomplish here is to quickly raise their crafting skill without having to spend the coins that more legitimate players would usually spend to accomplish that same task. A legitimate transaction would have players trading cut gemstones for uncut ones, however the new trading interface would quickly let these new players be completely aware of the huge loss they would suffer from such a transaction. Trading limits may even apply and prevent such a transaction with a large number of gemstones at once, as it would exceed the 3k trading limit (for new players and F2P). By only offering the "assist" feature and turning down trade offers, this "fact" of dropping the value of the gemstones is hidden from these newer players.

Unfortunately, Jagex (as of May 2008) doesn't consider this to be a scam and will not apply any black marks or cause any penalty to those players who engage in this practice. This is a "buyer beware" situation and is mainly a warning to those players who may be tempted to engage one of these gem traders for assistance when you can earn more money from uncut gemstones simply by selling them as uncut gemstones.

This is not to suggest that offering assistance for gemcutting is always a scam, and there are legitimate reasons including some quest requirements that may require some gemcutting services. But they are quite rare, and it would be the player who has the uncut gemstones that ought to initiate the request to have the gemstones cut in that situation. Most crowded areas of Runescape... particularly banks and near popular furnaces... have several players with high levels of crafting that would more than satisfy any demand for crafting assistance should the legitimate need for such help arise. Crafting is also such a difficult skill to earn experience points in (or expensive to earn experience quickly) that requests for assistance usually have multiple players showing up and eager to offer that assistance for "free" at any time.