Scammer "Game"

[Sherbetpuppy]

My little sister likes to go to the trading room a lot. She's one of the "rich" webbies, wearing all the snazzy clothing (wacky, witch hat, cat shirt). Unlike most of the "rich" people on WW, she's very, very young, and when she talks in KC+ it's pretty obvious she's a little kid.

Anyway, a few days ago, this german shepherd invites her to trade. They ask her for her witch hat, so she brings it up. They bring up something of much lesser value. She "frowns" at their item, and they started to say how they have items of higher value, if she'll send. Of course she refuses, so they tell her (being very polite too) how all she needs to do is click ready to trade, and then reject. And then they'll do the same and it'll be a fun "game". (I believe the result of the game would be her accidently clicking accept trade)

Had she not had someone watching her, she probably would have played this "fun game".

This might seem like something that an older child or adult would realize was bad, but a younger kid can easily not see a problem. It makes me cringe to think that people would attempt to scam someone, just because they knew they were young. I would warn little kids about this, just because it might sound like a fun game, trading room games will always end sourly.

Always keep an eye on a younger sibling or child while they're trading

[TexasAnne]

Thanks for bringng this to our attention. I hope I never meet a dishonest trader, but unfortunately, they lurk in the trading rooms looking to trick unsuspecting people.

[LittleHattie]

Unfortunately Wabkinz is like real word where kids are not to let anywhere unsupervised. And like you probably do not let a little kid weir your most prized diamonds in the public places where she/he can be easy target for criminals do not let her do the same in WW. If we care about our kids or our expansive staff kids should have limited access in WW till they old enough.
Yes, it is kids site. And we can all here say what a terrible people scammers are , unfortunately it is not going to change anything. So open her separate account remove all PSI and do not let her in KC plus. That's all you need to do. That's what i did
And thanks for warning, no grown up will ever go for it but at least we can report when we see it

[CrystalFlute]

this is a good story of warning. I've read so many bad stories about the trading room, I stay out of there entirely for that reason. And so many bad things about kc chat I usually stay out of there too. I think not being a rich webbie will probably avoid some problems, and you'll end up trading lesser value items. I think it's risky bringing those high valuables into the trading room in teh first place

[thejabronisayz]

Originally Posted by LittleHattie

So open her separate account remove all PSI and do not let her in KC plus. That's all you need to do.

Don't get me wrong, I agree that scammers are awful and all, but I think that's a little extreme. I mean we constantly hear about scammers, but at the same time I think we all need to realize that maybe 5% of all WW traders are scammers, maybe even less. Most people are normal traders - maybe not overly nice or polite, but honestly looking to trade for items. If your child likes to trade (quite frankly it's ALL my sister does - she does not go anywhere else in the clubhouse), then you would be ruining their fun entirely. No PSIs? Most of the time the PSI is what dictates which pet I'll even buy. In addition, Kinz Chat can be no better. You can't ask for what you want, which gets very frustrating, and more and more people in Kinz Chat are "rapid trade pressers" who constantly just press trade over and over again. This (IMO) is more dangerous in terms of accidentally pressing accept than the "scammer game," which is so unbelievably ridiculous that I don't see how or why anyone would even choose to play it in the first place.

In addition, doing that is essentially admitting defeat. Then the scammers win. We should be working on how to alert Webkinz to these people, reporting them when they perform it, etc, rather than adjusting our entire WW style of play.

[smchood]

Wow, that is just flat out mean. She is little and might of accidently pushed trade. It is good that you supervise her though. Good big sissy!

Unfortunatly, I have has somebody try to play this "game" with me too. I refused, and left. Ganz needs to do something about the scamming before something too serious happens.

[Sundara]

Thanks for the warning, I had several people attempt to get me to play their little "game."

[Awesoma]

Thanks for taking the time to notify us. I can see how a toddler or younger child would fall prey to this. I haven't yet fallen victim to a scammer, but I rather it be me than a little kid that has worked so hard to gain their items.

[wowewe]

Thank you for warning us! Watching a younger child when they are trading should always be done. If no one is around to watch, I think that they shouldn't be in the trading room, for the good of themselves.

The only reason you hear so much about scamming here on WI is because as soon as it happens to someone, they come to WI and tell us all about it. It's just like airplane crashes; they rarely happen, but when it does happen, everyone knows about it because it's so rare.

[broevil222]

Originally Posted by CrystalFlute

this is a good story of warning. I've read so many bad stories about the trading room, I stay out of there entirely for that reason. And so many bad things about kc chat I usually stay out of there too. I think not being a rich webbie will probably avoid some problems, and you'll end up trading lesser value items. I think it's risky bringing those high valuables into the trading room in teh first place

I don't do kinzchat...I've seen people say some really rotten things. I like going into the trading rooms with naked pets...no pretences!!