Neopets Scams and Scam Sites

Neopets Scams and Scam Sites

Part of playing Neopets is playing responsibly. Neopets will be the first to tell you it is YOUR responsibility to protect your account and your Neopets. TNT has warned us many times not to fall for scams. Even though Neopets is “dubbed” a children’s site, there a great many adults who play too. As a result, a LOT of people have devised ways to cheat you out of your hard-earned Neopoints, items and even your account.

First, no matter what, for absolutely NO reason, under NO circumstances whatsoever give your password to ANYONE for ANYTHING at any time. Neopets will NEVER ever ask for it, so know right off the bat anyone who does is up to no good. TNT can freeze your account without you knowing – why would they ever need your password? That having been said, here are some places where scams can be found:

• Neoboards. Yep. Right at the heart of where we find information, ask questions, and communicate with other players.
• Neomail. Offers for free items or Neopoints if you visit a webpage, usually has a link.
• User Shops. Who can resist a super low price? Beware. Malware or Cookie Grabbers may be present.
• User lookups, Pet pages. Malware and CGs are a constant threat.

OK, I have used the words malware and cookie grabber (cg) twice. What are they? Malware is a code that inserts a malicious virus into your computer and wipes it. A Cookie Grabber is a bit of code that steals personal information such as your social security number, bank account numbers, passwords, credit card information, etc. Not only is your Neopets account at risk, all personal information of yours and anyone else’s using your computer is also at risk of being stolen and used by someone else. Even your entire computer.

Trading Post/Island Trading Post scams: The first one is pretty common. You are out there looking for an Island Paintbrush for example. You are so excited you jump on the chance to finally get that pricy paintbrush you have been saving up for! Sadly, in your excitement, you do not notice one little word following Paintbrush until after you have completed the trade. That word is Plushie.
OR
You find an Island Paintbrush in with a few other things and you place your offer on the lot. Almost immediately, the lot is cancelled. You are contacted by the seller, who apologizes and asks you to place an offer on the new lot that was just created. You happily go off and place your offer, not realizing the new lot contains an Island Paintbrush Plushie instead.
OR
You are browsing the lots, and come across one that has a Cherry Wish Stick for example, and something like “OMG this wish stick will grant you 3 wishes! I got 3 paintbrushes from it!”. Well, wish sticks don’t really grant wishes, and even if they did, it would probably be one use only and “poof”.
OR
A common, everyday item is listed at a very high price, and along with it comes a claim such as “I will give the highest bidder a free Faerie Queen Doll worth millions!”. You will place your high offer; win the lot, and what happens? No Faerie Queen Doll is included.

Chain Letter Scams: These come in many forms, show up on the Trading Post, on the Boards, and in your Neomail. These letters tell you to “email to 10 people”, or “post 10 times”, or “copy and paste 10 times” and you will receive some fabulous item. These do not work! Not only will you not receive your item, but TNT will freeze any account caught passing on a chain letter. And you WILL be caught!

Chat Programs: No one from TNT will ever contact you through any chat programs such as AIM or MSN. If someone claims to be a Neopets staff member and contacts you through any chat program, you are probably being scammed!

Email: One that has been around for a while is to be contacted via email claiming to be a staff member. They are asking you to change your Neopets password, usually for security reasons. A link to Neopets is usually included. If you click that link, you are sent to a fake Neopets site. Your password and everything you have in Neopia can be stolen. No one from TNT will ever use any email address besides Neopets. The will never ask for your password. If you are contacted by someone claiming to be Neopets staff and their email address is someone@hotmail.com for example, it is not TNT and you should report it right away.

Referrals: Clicking on a link will not get you a zillion Neopoints or rare items. This is a scam by dishonest people who think they will get more referral prizes by cheating. If you want to create another account, simply go to Neopets.com and do it!

Avatar/Flash Games: In this one, the scammer offers to get you that Avatar or high score you have been wanting. Again, someone is asking for your password. The only thing you will gain in this scam is either losing your account because it has been stolen, or having it frozen for cheating. Either way, you lose!

Fake Login Page: If the URL at the top of the page does NOT say http://www.neopets.com/loginpage.phtml, it is a fake page and do NOT enter any information. This is yet another way to get your password and steal your account. Neopets never has, and never will, ask you to log in from any other address! Sometimes the scammers use redirecting service such as .tk or cjb.net.

Free Neopoints/Free Items: These are usually for a Free Neopoints Generator or a Free Items Generator. First of all there is no such thing. Second of all, again they are asking you to go off site and provide your Neopets login information, change your password or email address. Another variation of this one is “Go here to get 2 million free neopoints!” Or a Faerie Queen Doll or Paintbrushes. It is all a scam. There is nowhere outside of Neopia to get any of these things, and anyone who claims there is a website that will do this is scamming you.

REMEMBER:
There are a LOT of scammers out there who will try to steal what you have worked so hard for. As you play and have fun, keep these things in mind:
1. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn’t real.
2. NEVER give your password to anyone. And TNT will never ask – they do not need it!
3. Only use the Island Trading Post for trading items.
4. If anyone asks you to go offsite for any reason, it is probably a scam, and you should report it.
5. Pay attention when you are buying. If you are buying a paintbrush for example, make sure the word “plushie” is not part of the item name.

Do not let greed lead you into making a foolish mistake. There is NO SUCH THING as being able to get free neopoints or items by giving away your password. There are no generators, or off-site websites that will give you neocash or anything along those lines. They are ALL SCAMS. They will all steal your account. Many will steal personal information or leave a malicious virus on your computer.

AND REPORT ALL SCAMS AND SUSPECTED SCAMS TO TNT RIGHT AWAY!