If you're here to find out how to scam on ECC then you have been misled. Please leave. I would however like to speak on a certain Scamming Spree that recently took place for at least 1 million ECD's worth of assets and possibly more in actual ECD's. I've been reading the proceedings on the matter of 3 different cases. The cases are: Most of these cases have been "resolved" with contracts. Which I personally don't believe will be upheld. But that's just me. And if they are upheld, they will more likely require more scams to take place. It's not my intention to open up old wounds, or defame anyone. I am only concerned in the aspect of the loss. I would like to know if it would be possible to find a way for things like this to not take place. I have a few suggestions but I'd like to hear more if there are any. I don't wish to change the actions taken in these cases but I to prevent this in the near future if possible. I do however feel that this should only take place in cases of high-ECD scams. Maybe a $200k minimum? I'll explain what happened in these cases briefly and use them as a reference only. Felon promises trade of an asset of equal or greater value to Victim. Felon uses the gained asset as proof of "ownership" of said asset to try to sell it. Felon pays Accomplice the gained currency and continues to scam. Felon gives away Asset to Random Person (possibly Accomplice) to get rid of evidence. RollBacks It would be splendid if it were possible to rollback the actions made by certain individuals, including tracking incoming and outgoing money from the Felon as well as items which I'm sure are either harder or impossible to track. This method would however require RollBacks on Felon, Accomplice, Victims, and Random Person. I know it'd be a headache for Andrew and the mods. If even possible, since it'd take a lot of log reading. Mediators This one I'd rather use because it'd be simpler. Kinda. Basically you have Buyer and Seller give the money or merchandise to the Mediator. Mediator then hands the money/merchandise to its respective party. It's simple. It would include Money, Property and most Assets. This method involved trusted players to have a noticeable Rank of some sort to distinguish them so no one tried to impersonate. I would suggest either an In-Game Rank, like Mods or Super-Mods. If not then at least a forum Medal. I would suggest this rank only be available to people with a long loyalty to the server. At least 6 months of playing on the server. At least [$$$]. And Ban as a consequence incase of foul play on their behalf. The reason I feel that something should be done about this is because I personally find distrust in trading with anyone on the server at this point. Which is sad, honestly, that on an Economy based server you have to distrust everyone. It makes me feel as if there is no point to gaining large amounts of money if I can't trust anyone enough to buy things from them or trade with them. You may feel that giving the felon a due date to pay the damages is enough but the fact that no matter what you can be scammed makes trading an unreliable part of this server. I truly love the server. I don't want the easy solution of spawning ECD's just to pay off the Victim because it ruins the economy. I know that. But even simply Banning the Felon for breach of contract wont stop the true scam. Accomplice is totally unphased and over a million dollars richer at the cost of a player getting banned that may not have even come on the server but to pull this scam off and resume playing elsewhere. I hope this comes to the attention of the Mods and Andrewkm. If not. It was merely a thought.
^ Good luck d00d The only punishment that gets levied is a stupid pointless temp ban and an empty hollow promise to pay back. And that is only if the person who got scammed has sufficient evidence to meet the way too high burden of proof. The balance of power in the scamming equation is way out of whack. Not too mention the glaring error of staff lacking the tools to exact proper and due punishment on the myriad of scammers. Honestly bro The best thing you can do is find trusted people and stick with them. Even then you will eventually run the risk of getting burned. Even long time users go bad and end up scamming and stealing. But don't worry They will appeal with a hollow apology and be given a pointless 3-7 day temp ban and be back to do it again when "they are having a hard time IRL"
I know the scamming that's been going on is bad an in happy to be a mediator for anyone that wants it.. I've had a few of my friend already do this Ive got almost $800 into server that I've donated with my own money and over a year of work on just one project so I hope these would be reasons to trust me.. Need more? Then take some time to get to know me Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
First of all, this appears to be a suggestion for a new punishment system. So I will be moving it to suggestions. Secondly, lets try to keep specific names out of this. We try to keep that type of thing to the complaint/ban appeal section or a flame war might be started, which isn't good. I will personally be looking over this in full and give you feed back further.
It's not a suggestion to a new punishment system but suggestion to a new method of trading that prevents or reduces scamming. It is not meant to slander anyone as it was clearly stated and for which reason names were left untagged. The information used on it is available for anyone with an ECC rank of resident and above to view. If I have spilled some sort of classified information then feel free to let me know. On another note. As I mentioned those cases were used as mere examples, I don't intend of changing the outcome of these cases but to find a method to prevent them from occurring in the future. Since this scam took place me and 2 of my friends have greatly reduced our playing on the server as a lot of purpose was lost on the server. I hope that mods can see this as an example of how scams do affect the economy. They do have a positive effect as well as a negative effect. I went from farming >$35k per day to farming $3k in a week... and over the next few week I may lose purpose for playing altogether. I hope that Andrewkm and the Devs find a solution to this in the near future to prevent others from suffering the same fate.
I believe it always comes down to what you are trading, but, there is a safe way to trade just about everything. Staff are always willing to help mediate a trade and give good ideas on how to make a trade safer. i.e.: Use trade signs. Use donation chests. Use the contract system. Use the staff as resources if you feel a deal is shady.
And then still get scammed and the scammer will get a 3 day temp ban and it all starts over again and again and again
Yes in the case for instance of a property purchase or an enchanted items. Trade Signs are useless. Donation Chests require for the money to be given first with no guarantee that access to the chest being truly given. And contract system still have shown to be unreliable as they can be breached and result in a mere temp ban with plenty of time to give away the proceeds of the scam to another player. And I understand that staff themselves usually have their hands full depending on the time of day.
Alright I'll walk you through what I think is the safest way to go about buying something expensive, i.e.: a star tool. 1) Sign a contract agreeing to the sale of the tool. 2) Contact a staff member as a mediator. Have them place a donation chest. 3) Player A puts the star tool in the chest. 4) Player B pays the Staff member the cost of the tool. 5) The staff member checks both the tool and the amount of the money in comparison to the original agreement. 6) If the tool is correct and the payment is correct then the Staff Member hands the star tool to Player B and then pays Player A. If the tool isn't correct then the staff member hands both back to their original owner and says the deal was not gone through completely. 7) No scam.
So I for instance have lost all hope of acquiring more money. Losing several hours of farming sucks. Now that I see how common and easy it is to do, it makes me not want to acquire the money. All I can do is farm money buy ranks and then what? just rant in Global Chat? I get the concept of Hardcore Economy but this is not something we can rely on the good in others. I like believing that not all people are scammers but over time I've been proven wrong. I've been scammed by Presidents and Residents alike. Given the opportunity most people will take it. Granted theres a small chance the other party will trust them and not obtain proof. And if they do all they have to do is follow through with the deal. I just don't like having to rely on another person's honesty. As I'm sure a lot of people feel the same way. I know plenty of times people have refused to sell me something because they don't trust me since im not a popular player nor a high rank. I don't think popularity should be a factor for whether you get a good deal on an item or not. but that's just me.
We aren't required but I don't known any staff who turn down doing it unless they are extremely busy. In which case most of us suggest you poke another staff member. I personally mediate trades frequently. The issue isn't the staff's willingness its that we honestly don't often get people asking us :/.
Makes sense. I'll personally give ECC a shot. I just would like to see more people using that for high dollar trades.
^ this This is exactly what is wrong with the status quo. It's also what I've been ranting about for months to absolutely no avail. It is the single most frustrating thing about this place. That and the arbitrary enforcement of the rules. But the two are related
I was not aware of staff mediation until I found this post by chance while idly browsing. I also have never seen any star-tool for sale/buying ads that mention this system. Would it be possible to add this information to the wiki and/or add it to this stickied thread? http://ecocitycraft.com/forum/threads/transaction-safety-tips.58061 This would help the process become more common knowledge and help to prevent future star-tool scams.
