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 can result in action taken against the players' account, if reported by another player. Remember do not fall for these tricks. Also, after the trade limit update, some of these scams/cheats no longer work, which was the point of the update. Players must be warned NOT to use any of the below methods because this is against RuneScape Rules and if caught, may result in banning of the player's account or even subsequent accounts used by the player(s).

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 can still be 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.

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, except for one case.

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 would be breaking the rule.

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.

Note this scam can not be done as easily with a common weapon like a Steel longsword it must be done with a fairly uncommon/weird looking/not tradeable item. e.g. Rune defender, Barrelchest anchor.

Player 2: Hey *player name*, give me 10k and I'll tell you what this item is it's really good and you only need level 1 ATK to use it

Player 1: "Ok"

Player 1 gives 10k to Player 2 

Player 2: "HAHA stupid noob."

Player 2 teleports away or logs off, leaving Player 1 still not knowing what the item is and with 10k less.

"Hold my Stuff" Scam
Player 1 has just got enough cash after many weeks to get himself a Dragon pickaxe, but the grand exchange wont buy, so he hops to world 2 to get one from players selling them.

Player 1:hi, you selling a dragon pickaxe?

Player 2: yep

Player 1: can i buy it off you, with cash

Player 2: Sure, but could you do something for me hold my stuff while i trade it to another account.

Player 1: Sure

(Player one gives the cash to player 2, and gets given unsellable junk) Player 2 teleports away or logs off, leaving player 1 unsellable items, and no dragon pickaxe

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.

Player 1: You just started Witch's Potion, huh?

Player 2: Is it hard?

Player 1: Very!

Player 2: Then why is it a miniquest?

Player 1: All you need is a lot of money, so it's unlogical!

Player 2: I don't have a lot of money! Can you help me?

Player 1: Sure! She told you to get an eye of newt right?

Player 2: Of course!!!

Player 1: It costs 10,000 coins!

Player 2: Oh no! Oh, I'll NEVER get this miniquest done!

Player 1: Just pay me 1,000 coins and I'll get you an eye of newt!

Player 2 goes to bank and withdraws 1,000 coins.

Meanwhile, Player 1 buys Eye of Newt and trades, player 2 realises it's worth a lot less.

Player 2: Isn't it worth like 10 coins?

Player 1: That's a glitch. Ignore it.

Player 2 trades and Player 1 logs out

Suggested Actions: Jagex NEVER had a glitch like this once, so report Player 1 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.

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

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.

Another scam was when a player would claim to be making a Player Killing video and paying for actors. The victim would be convinced to bring a single expensive item with them such as an abyssal whip or dark bow. After being led into deep wilderness, the scammer will weaken the victim first down to half Lp. At this point the scammer would claim to be "opening Windows Movie Maker" or "lagging" and will drop 4 noted Dragon battleaxes or blue Mystic robe tops. The victim would eventually see the items and pick them up, where they would then be killed. The noted items would protect over their expensive items due to a difference in alchemy values.

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.

Player 1: 200 m drop party!

Player 2: Ooh, cool! I want to be in it.

Player 3: Me, too.

Player 4: I'm coming, too. I want some good stuff.

Player 1: (leads them to a random location to teleport them, player 1 killed players 2,3 and 4)

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.

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

Player 2: Sweet!

Player 2 goes to bank, takes out 1k.

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

Player 1: Cheers!

Player 1: I could do it with 100k, too. It only works with 1k 100k 1m 100m, its a bug

Player 2 trusts Player 1.

Player 2: Sure.

Player 2 gives Player 1 100k.

Player 1 logs out. 

Suggested Action: Report the scammer.

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 under rule six, Account sharing/trading.

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

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 asking for or providing contact information such as full names, ages, postal or email addresses, telephone numbers, or bank details, under the security category. The best way to make this scam ineffective is have the answer not even related to the question (or to simply ignore the scammer in the first place.)

Befriend and trade Scam
Suggested Actions: Defriend him in RuneScape and in real life, change your password, and report Player 1 for item scamming.

Password Change Trick
Some players trick others by telling them to change their password to a "code" that will give them money and a lot of it.

What actually happens: The player ends up changing your password while logged in using another window. When you log off the player then quickly logs in using another trick called Multiple logging in.

Example:

Suggested Action: Report the player for password scamming.

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 which contain a player's exact password or a large portion of it 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 and RuneScape Classic.

Examples:

Other Example

Suggested action: Players should report under password scamming Passwords are NOT blocked on RuneScape Classic, so people just asking for people to post their unchanged passwords can still be reported there.

Note that stating that Jagex does block your password is not reportable as this is true. However, saying that it blocks it backwards is not true and is reportable.

Example

Suggested action: Since this is a completely true statement, it is not reportable. It is advised to not try this however and to place the player on your ignore list. Also you may spell the password incorrectly and the player will be able to work out what it is.

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: Do not type your password and ignore the player. Report the player for password scamming in the Honour Section.

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 buying, selling or sharing an account. 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.

Fake RuneScape websites
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 when you enter your information.

Suggested actions: You should NEVER enter your RuneScape password into any site other than the official Jagex Ltd. sites, whose domains are runescape.com, funorb.com, Waroflegends.jagex.com, stellardawn.com, and 8realms.com. 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. Other times the scammer uses a different code than the one shown below. But the one shown below is just an example.

Any e-mails from Jagex will always have a web address of "email.runescape.com". (Example: The RuneScape courier comes from [mailto:new@email.runescape.com new@email.runescape.com].) However, aside from membership receipts and the runescape courier, Jagex no longer sends e-mail to players.

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 either steal your password or result in your account getting banned. This is one reason that Jagex discourages use of toolkits. However, Jagex has confirmed Swiftkit to be a legitimate toolkit that will not steal your information, and Jagex has also produced a program that opens up Runescape directly from your desktop.

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.

Advert scams
Some RuneScape fan sites (or even fan wikis for that matter), 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 under the advertising websites in the security section of the rules. The administrator may, in turn, send complaints to the advertising company. Sometimes, the advertised website is found near the advert. In this case, members or qualifying free players can report the website via forums.

Jagex staff impersonation scam
Players who do not have gold crowns in front of the player's names are NOT Jagex staff. Instead, Jagex mods are named "Mod _____ ", except for Andrew, Paul and Ian Gower, the founders of Jagex.

Jagex staff will NEVER ask for your password, bank PIN or personal details. Any player who has a silver crown next to the player's name is a player moderator, and any player with a green crown  next the player's name on the forums is a Forum Moderator. Anyone who claims to be a moderator but has no crown showing, should be reported for Jagex staff impersonation, under the honour category. This applies to anyone, even if you know the player is a moderator on a different account. It is against the rules for anyone, even moderators, to claim to be a moderator or claim to have moderator powers when no crown is showing to the left of the name. For more information see the Moderator guide.

Other Example

Other Example

Another Example is

Suggested actions: Report the player immediately for scamming in the honour category. Real Jagex staff will never ask for a player's password because they don't need your password to access your account as they already have the 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:

Suggest 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.