Recent Scammer Issue

[Cordovan]

In the past two days we've had an issue where a scammer is pretending to be a GM and attempting to convince people to follow a link to a web site that can compromise your game account. While we're working to ban this person and take other action to prevent this person(s) from continuing to engage in this behavior, we want the community to be aware that this is a scam.

It's pretty clearly a scam to anyone who thinks critically before following the link, but given the issues it's caused, we wanted to make sure everyone was aware. This person is claiming to give Turbine Points to players who give their account information on a web site. Besides not using the proper coloration or UI elements of a GM, spelling the alleged GM (or my) name wrong, having poor grammar and sentence structure, using Turbine Points instead of the proper LOTRO points, and sending people to a clearly suspicious web site, a few folks have unfortunately found their accounts compromised after giving this person or persons their user name and password.

To be clear: WE WOULD NEVER send people to a strange web site and ask for their user name and password in order to get an anniversary present. If we do LOTRO Point giveaways, it'll be done through other methods. Please make sure to be cautious with your sensitive account information in order to prevent your account from being compromised. Thank you.

[Aedfrith]

To be clear: WE WOULD NEVER send people to a strange web site and ask for their user name and password in order to get an anniversary present. If we do LOTRO Point giveaways, it'll be done through other methods. Please make sure to be cautious with your sensitive account information in order to prevent your account from being compromised. Thank you.

I trust this applies to all the gold sellers we see on Laurelin too? What's your policy on those?

[Cordovan]

I trust this applies to all the gold sellers we see on Laurelin too? What's your policy on those?

We ban them as soon as we see them. We also work to do things like IP and ISP blocking, to mixed results. Gold sellers tend to find ways around just about any block put in place, but that doesn't stop us and the rest of the gaming industry from trying.

[Gyes]

Whew.... boy is that stupid. It's amazing what some people will fall for.

[Macroscian]

Good! We might take for granted that people are not gullible to the extent of falling for things like this but when someone goes to such lengths to steal accounts...

I hope you can find and kill their main accounts as well!

[JiiPee]

We ban them as soon as we see them. We also work to do things like IP and ISP blocking, to mixed results. Gold sellers tend to find ways around just about any block put in place, but that doesn't stop us and the rest of the gaming industry from trying.

GM's don't have word filter in their tools? Just blocking *.tk and other possible free domains would cure lot of issues. I don't think gold sellers would like to buy new domain after every domain ban. However creating new lotro account is much more simple and what I have seen recent gold seller has been using same domain all a time.

[LagunaD2]

He's back on Arkenstone right now, advertising a website that he claims has instructions for an exploit to duplicate gold.

[Dinara]

He's back on Arkenstone right now, advertising a website that he claims has instructions for an exploit to duplicate gold.

I hope you reported him in game!

[Jurny]

In the past two days we've had an issue where a scammer is pretending to be a GM and attempting to convince people to follow a link to a web site that can compromise your game account. While we're working to ban this person and take other action to prevent this person(s) from continuing to engage in this behavior, we want the community to be aware that this is a scam.

It's pretty clearly a scam to anyone who thinks critically before following the link, but given the issues it's caused, we wanted to make sure everyone was aware. This person is claiming to give Turbine Points to players who give their account information on a web site. Besides not using the proper coloration or UI elements of a GM, spelling the alleged GM (or my) name wrong, having poor grammar and sentence structure, using Turbine Points instead of the proper LOTRO points, and sending people to a clearly suspicious web site, a few folks have unfortunately found their accounts compromised after giving this person or persons their user name and password.

To be clear: WE WOULD NEVER send people to a strange web site and ask for their user name and password in order to get an anniversary present. If we do LOTRO Point giveaways, it'll be done through other methods. Please make sure to be cautious with your sensitive account information in order to prevent your account from being compromised. Thank you.

This is really great that you are warning the people of Arkenstone, but wouldn't it also be wise to post this in https://www.lotro.com/forums/forumdi...n-amp-Feedback just in case those doing the scamming move to other servers? I don't happen to play on Arkenstone, I just happened to see this the other day and wondered why it was only posted in the Arkenstone forums.


Forewarned is forearmed. ~

[LagunaD2]

I hope you reported him in game!

I thought about it, but then I considered that anyone victimized by this particular scam would be, themselves, attempting to exploit, and thus undeserving of any sympathy.

I think I am OK with cheaters getting ripped off by other cheaters. But plenty of other people reported him in-game.

[faithfulgemi27]

In the past two days we've had an issue where a scammer is pretending to be a GM and attempting to convince people to follow a link to a web site that can compromise your game account. While we're working to ban this person and take other action to prevent this person(s) from continuing to engage in this behavior, we want the community to be aware that this is a scam.

It's pretty clearly a scam to anyone who thinks critically before following the link, but given the issues it's caused, we wanted to make sure everyone was aware. This person is claiming to give Turbine Points to players who give their account information on a web site. Besides not using the proper coloration or UI elements of a GM, spelling the alleged GM (or my) name wrong, having poor grammar and sentence structure, using Turbine Points instead of the proper LOTRO points, and sending people to a clearly suspicious web site, a few folks have unfortunately found their accounts compromised after giving this person or persons their user name and password.

To be clear: WE WOULD NEVER send people to a strange web site and ask for their user name and password in order to get an anniversary present. If we do LOTRO Point giveaways, it'll be done through other methods. Please make sure to be cautious with your sensitive account information in order to prevent your account from being compromised. Thank you.

After reading Dadi's Lotro Guide on Thursday regarding the scammer, I have passed this warning to those who are in my kinship as well as others in World Chat on the Landroval Server. Yesterday in World, bright yellow lettering appeared with a message from a 'GM' stating as a generous thank you Turbine Points will be given to celebrate the tenth anniversary by accessing a link. It was good to see how the players in Landroval Community became united shouted out that this was fake and warned many not to access the link. I know I was not alone in reporting the scammer because soon after a bona fide GM did appear in World Chat stating this was not real and not to access the website the scammer provided. I am glad the GMs of Standing Stone Games are looking into the matter.

[watevaplz]

Max Level To Use Channels should be level 30 as f2p. The only time there will group related f2p free level content is at that level anyways.

We now have Gold Seller spam and Scammer spam flooding the channels. It is getting outrageous.

[Macroscian]

Max Level To Use Channels should be level 30 as f2p. The only time there will group related f2p free level content is at that level anyways.

Suffering a trial account in FFXIV was the most detached, empty and dead experience I had in any game.
Only when I visited a town did the message log go *ding ding ding* as the gold sellers PMd me
- and once I saw someone in local chat say something.
You cold also be level 10 xp stopped after 24 hours /played or even level 20 after 48 hours /played and every bit of start area content finished.
Three hour buffer for a new account and novice passive for a reroll on existing account is quite enough.

For the gold spammers (apparently an ID theft scheme), ip block and 24 hour GM access.
For this account theft scheme, same. Just need to see what other accounts log on from the same machine(s) as well and kill those.
Just like the botters and exploiters need to have all related accounts (where the money goes to) removed

[watevaplz]

Suffering a trial account in FFXIV was the most detached, empty and dead experience I had in any game.
Only when I visited a town did the message log go *ding ding ding* as the gold sellers PMd me
- and once I saw someone in local chat say something.
You cold also be level 10 xp stopped after 24 hours /played or even level 20 after 48 hours /played and every bit of start area content finished.
Three hour buffer for a new account and novice passive for a reroll on existing account is quite enough.

For the gold spammers (apparently an ID theft scheme), ip block and 24 hour GM access.
For this account theft scheme, same. Just need to see what other accounts log on from the same machine(s) as well and kill those.
Just like the botters and exploiters need to have all related accounts (where the money goes to) removed

There is no commands to send tells for everyone in the vicinity. ( i think they removed it). Obviously 3 hour buffer is not enough considering the amount of Arkenstone spam, everyday.

I don't think is that simple.

[siipperi]

Suffering a trial account in FFXIV was the most detached, empty and dead experience I had in any game.
Only when I visited a town did the message log go *ding ding ding* as the gold sellers PMd me
- and once I saw someone in local chat say something.
You cold also be level 10 xp stopped after 24 hours /played or even level 20 after 48 hours /played and every bit of start area content finished.
Three hour buffer for a new account and novice passive for a reroll on existing account is quite enough.

For the gold spammers (apparently an ID theft scheme), ip block and 24 hour GM access.
For this account theft scheme, same. Just need to see what other accounts log on from the same machine(s) as well and kill those.
Just like the botters and exploiters need to have all related accounts (where the money goes to) removed

You sure you aint describing lotro here? Starter areas are totally dead. You might see one player questing at same time and gold spammers spamming world/trade chat every 30 minutes.

[Familiarity]

They must be related to those damn Nigerian princes.

[KBowz]

https://my.pcloud.com/publink/show?c...2E0mnG5u9AgrJy

Would this be an example of a gold farmer? There was a group of 6 of them all following each other around doing exactly the same things, wearing the same things and with similar names.

(Sorry for the link - I don't know how to put an image into the forum)

[Hankenstein]

what saddends me the most that some fall for it,i think majority if either new or young and naive players following the links... i wish everyone who is completely ne wto loto would some little research prior logging and reading code of conduct

[Zohal]

https://my.pcloud.com/publink/show?c...2E0mnG5u9AgrJy

Would this be an example of a gold farmer? There was a group of 6 of them all following each other around doing exactly the same things, wearing the same things and with similar names.

(Sorry for the link - I don't know how to put an image into the forum)

More likely a multi-boxer. These players run multiple clients and play quite a different game from most other people but there is nothing inherently illegal or nefarious about it as long as the characters are all controlled by keypresses rather than scripts or bots.