Hi there jammers! Have you ever been scammed? Sadly, there are a lot of scammers out there in Jamaa, and many different types of scams. I'm here to tell you how you can avoid these devious schemes! Here are four scamming methods, and how you can best avoid them:

1. Trust Trading

Trust-trading is a pretty known scam. The scammer puts a bad item on trade and wants people to trade good items, such as spikes, den betas, and other rare items. The scammer will then accept the trade so that he gets the good items. After that, the person trading the scammer will put the same bad item that they got on trade, and the scammer will trade back the good items. Then, the scammer will announce who is the current winner, meaning whoever traded the rarest items. The scammer will continue this cycle, to build up trust. When a jammer trades a bunch of really good items, the scammer will accept the trade, but leave or lock you out of their den. This is a scam that has been around for a while, but is often prevented with the "Confirm Trade" pop-up, first added in Janurary 2016.

2. Gifting Wars

Gifting wars aren't always a scam, but it's better to be safe with the items you value. The scammer says "Gift me! I gift well back!" A jammer gifts something like a common RIM to the scammer. Then, the scammer gifts something better back, like a den beta. The jammer is happy because they got a better item back. Like trust trading, the scammer will keep repeating this cycle to build up trust. Every time the jammer gifts something to the scammer, and the scammer gifts back a better item. Finally, the jammer might trade something very rare, like a long spiked collar. The scammer keeps the item like usual, but they don't gift back anything. The reason the scammer doesn't scam the jammer right way is that they are waiting to be sent the rarest possible rare item before disappearing. 

3. Sympathy Scam

Again, this isn't always a scam, but it usually is. In this situation, the scammer says something similar to "Trade/gift me, it's my birthday!", "Please donate to my friend who is sick", or something along those lines. The majority of the time, the scammer is lying to get overtrades and free gifts. When you see someone in Jamaa saying something like this, just tell them "Happy Birthday!", "I hope your friend feels better soon", or whatever best fits the situation. This way, if it actually is their birthday, or their friend is actually sick, they'll feel happy. If they are making it up, as most people do, you don't get scammed.

4. Overtrade Scam

This scam more complex. One scammer has lots of rare items on their trade, such as spikes, founders, headdresses, etc. This scammer says that they want an easy to obtain, but uncommon item for their list. An example of the uncommon item is a Fall Harvest Wagon, which you can get from the Twists and Turns seasonal adventure. Meanwhile, the second scammer, standing nearby, has the said uncommon item on their trade list. That leaves their victim trading rare items for the Wagon, hoping they can then trade the first scammer. Normally, a Fall Harvest Wagon isn't worth much. But with this scam, people are trading huge amounts of rares for not-as-rare items. If the second scammer accepts a trade, both scammers flee that server before they get reported.

Pippity also created a helpful video documenting scamming tactics to keep an eye out for – be sure to watch if you'd like to learn more.

 I hope this information helps protect you and your items. If you see a scammer in Jamaa, always make sure to report them right away. Stay safe, jammers!

- Chloedotcupcake