- Jagex blocks your password:
This is a common scam when people walk around saying Jagex now blocks your password. They will try and fool you by saying My password is *******. They hope you believe them and then you try typing the same phrase but instead of you using the ****** you put your actual password. This is all they need as they now have both your username and your password and can easily gain access to your account and take all items they can.

- never tell anyone your password:
There are many people who will try and get your password in various ways. They will pretend to be friends and pretend to be helping you but at the end of the day they have only one desire, to gain access to your account and take your items that you worked hard for.

- Someone asks you to change to a specific password:
Simply dont do this they will steal your bank items or what your wearing. This is a common scam aimed at lower level players normally. In general, somone will ask you to change your password to a specific password for various reasons - maybe so they can help you level your account, or get equipment for you or help on a quest etc. Simply do not change your password as when they have access to your account they will just take the items they can and laugh at you for being gullible enough to change your password in the first place.

Runescape Trust Scams:

- swap items with others to gain trust:
Many people will attempt to falsely gain your trust. The most most common method is likely to ask you to give them an item to hold and that they will return it. Sometimes they do return your item but this is so that you start to trust them (later on you may lend them something more valuable and lose it as a result). However, a vast majority of people asking to hold an item to gain trust will simply logout when you give them the item. The items asked for are usually of reasonable value so never do this as no good will come from it.

- building trust over time trading items gradually increasing in quantity until you get scammed:
This is similar to the previous method only it is aimed at gaining a high level of trust so the scam will no doubt be for a high amount of cash or items. Over the course of weeks or months a person will work at gaining your trust. They will help you with various aspects of runescape and speak regularly with you. Eventually they will ask for some very good equipment of expensive items. Take extra caution and insist on holding some collateral incase something goes wrong. The usual story is that your 'friend' will get hacked while they were wearing your valuable equipment. The truth of the matter is that they sold your equipment for cash and had only ever intended to scam you from the outset.

- be weary of boyfriend/girlfriends they may just try and get access to your account or get free items:
This is similar to building trust over time although whether it is a boyfriend or girlfriend they usually expect gifts over time. Gradually gifts will become more expensive over time and you run the risk of losing a very highly priced item once your boyfriend or girlfriend finds another potential target to scam. There are some genuine people who do seek friendship in this way athough the majority will be aimed at scamming people. Caution should always be taken as once you have given the items there will be no way for you to report to Jagex since the trade will likely have taken place a few days previously.

- Recovery questions:
It is important never to reveal these to anyone as it offers hackers and account stealers easy repetitive access to your account. One of Jagex rules is not to ask for personal information. The main reason for this is you never know how anyone would use this information against you. Many people will use personal information in recovery questions so people continually asking personal information may be trying to find out your information held for recovery questions. Take extra caution and report someone if they continually ask this from you after you have already said no.

- Training Account:
Never let anyone train your account for you as they will simply be trying to get access to your account to steal your items. The offer may seem genuine and very helpful, however, the usual case is that you logon and find items missing and nothing has been trained. You can only blame yourself if this happens because Jagex make it clear in their rules that only one person should have access to any account. The reason being the account owner is responsible for all actions on their account and if you gave your password to someone so they would help you train, you could find that not only have they taken your items, but they have made abusive posts on Jagex forums if you had a member account. You run the risk of being banned for this offense and cannot argue the case that it was someone else - simply becase only you should have had access to your account.

- Make you a member:
Someone asks for your password to be able to make you a member. Do not listen as this is against Jagex rules state that only one person should have access to an account and that people cannot create accounts for friends or pay for other people to have accounts. Of course immediate family members are different as Jagex do allow parents etc to pay for their children to play Runescape although they do not allow random people to pay for your account. If someone requests access to your account to make you a member it will surely mean you will be scammed as they may just take your items and not action a membership subscription.

- Hiring bodyguards or protectors for unknown areas:
People may hire bodyguards or protectors and find that the person does what they are asked to do, however, many will try and take advantage when you go into a high level area that you are not able to deal with. They will say they would protect you but in actual fact will just laugh as you die and pick up your items. My advice, is go to the area unarmed and only with what is required ( a key maybe) or just some teleport runes and check the area out first. Then if you really need to go to the area you can ask some of your longer term friends to assist you rather than asking random strangers. You will have a much better chance of surviving if you are among friends than if you went with random strangers who you had to pay money or items to.

- Account sharing:
I advise never to share an account with anyone. Not only is it a direct violation of Jagex rules but there is the added chance that you would fall out sometime with the person you shared accounts with and this would lead to one or all of the accounts you shared being raided of all good items. In addition, you always run the risk of all the accounts being banned by Jagex for violating their rules. Overall, avoid account sharing and stick within Jagex rules and it will lead to less hassles. This applies to family members as well.

Ingame Runescape Scams:

- Wilderness:
People may claim that you will get free items if you follow them. This should be treated with caution as they may take you to the wild and kill you for your stuff. There is nothing you can do to report them as the wilderness is part of the game where killing other players is expected and accepted. My advice is never to go into the wilderness with anything of value, no matter what is said by other people. If you follow that golden rule then if you do get killed while following a random person you will not have lost anything that would take much to replace.

- Swamp Caves:
People may take you here to show you something although you will die if you do not go equipped with a light source. If you have not taken a light source with you then inside the cave you will start taking damage and will eventually die enabling them to take all your items. This is a scam but one that cannot really get reported ingame because you followed them into the caves. If you had banked at Draynor Village Bank and equipped yourself with a good light source ( one that would not go out like the Bullseye Lantern), then you would be fine. Always treat this with caution and be prepared to avoid dying in this way.

- Drop Parties:
Drop Parties may sound good, many of the times they are fine. Before going to drop parties ensure you bank anything that you value. Only ever take something you wish to drop or have nothing with you. The drop party may take place in either the wilderness where you may get killed, or in an area that requires a light source to not take damage (lumbridge swamp caves) or may take place in a dangerous area for your level. Always treat it with caution and expect the worst. If you expect the worst and the drop party is genuine then you will be pleasantly surprised and may well have benefitted.

- Low level wilderness:
People in low level wilderness asking to be killed is normally a scam. On occasions they are wanting you to get skulled and therefore if you died you would lose all your items. They may have a friend ready to attack you when you are skulled or may attack you themselves aiming to kill you. Caution is required as if you do get caught out like this and die there is no way for you to report to Jagex since the wilderness is part of the game and Jagex warns people never to go into the wilderness with things they cannot afford to replace.

Runescape Trade Scams:

- Changing items in trade window:
Players may quickly change either items or cash value in the trade window hoping that you did not notice. This is very common and often people who do this will be using a macro to make the change happen very quickly. My advice is to check the second trade window screen carefully and ensure the correct items are on that window. If the items you were expecting are not there then report the person for trade scamming. If you report within 60 seconds and capture the trade then Jagex will be able to investigate and BAN the player. Jagex staff will be able to determine if a macro was used and since using macros are against the rules can enforce a permanent ban on the player doing this.

- Rares not being rare:
A lot of players aim to buy rares for their bank and show off their wealth. However, many people also try and claim useless or new items are rare because either nobody uses them or very few people have got them. Always know what you are buying otherwise you run the risk of being scammed for a lot of money and not being able to report the person who scammed you.

- New items:
Every update by Jagex that releases a new item into the game will cause the new item to be highly priced for the first 7-10 days. Always be extra careful when buying this as the price will quickly drop as many more quickly come into the game. My advice is to wait and be patient until a market price is determined. Over time most items lose value due to increase in supply within the game or another new item supersedes the usefulness of it. People may also try and sell these new items as rare items and thereby selling at an inflated price.

- Useless items:
Some items are pretty much useless within runescape and do nothing. Some players however try and pass these items off as being rare or valuable or unique. If you are unsure of the usefulness of an item then check on runescape forums. Most people who get scammed this way buy impulsively and without knowing what they are actually buying. Do some research to avoid being scammed like this.

- Unid herbs not being what you expected:
Buying unid herbs is always a chance the buyer is taking. A lot of people will honestly not know what type of herbs they are selling while the scammer player will know exactly what they are selling. The scammer will be trying to sell unid guam, marrentil and tarromin for 1000 coins or more each knowing the true value is much less. There is an anti-scam method available for trading in unid herbs on the runescape forums and should be followed to avoid being scammed in this way.

- Never drop trade:
If anyone asks you to drop trade then one thing is 100% clear, it is scamming. The reason people ask you to drop trade an item is because the item is untradable and will not show up. There are two ways that you can be scammed doing this. The first method is you have an item and want money for it. The person will insist you drop your item and they will pay cash when they pick it up. The fact is they will not ever see the item and so you will lose the item and they will not pay you.

The second method is the more common method and is the reverse of the previous situation. You will want to buy an item they have. They ask for the money and say they will drop the item. You give the money to them and they may well drop the item but will pick it up again as they know it is untradeable. You will have lost your cash while they will have gained your cash and will have kept the item. Jagex insist people do not drop trade so do not do it, drop trading is scamming.

- Armor Trimming/Upgrade:
This used to be a very common scam when treasure items were first released and has died down a bit now. However, it is still prevalent on non-member servers. The simple fact is armour cannot be trimmed or upgraded. Trimmed armour is only obtained from treasure trail clues on member servers. The armour itself is wearable by non-members just the fact non-members cannot obtain it. My advice is report anyone offering to trim or upgrade your armour as it is a scam. The trimmed or gold armour itself is available in the game and can be traded, but it is only obtainable by members.

- Payment up front:
If someone asks you to make a payment up front before any items or resources are ready then 99% of the time a scam. My advice is simply do not trade in this way as you cannot report it at a later time when you realise that it is a scam as the 60 second reporting window will clearly have passed. Always insist on items within the trade so that you know exactly what you are buying.

- Splitting trades:
This is a similar method as paying up front only in this case you may trade a higher value portion of the trade to a player and receive a low value partial trade in exchange. Always trade value for value and not split with useless items, keep trades to 25 items or less maximum.

- Quick Trades:
ALWAYS take your time in trades and pay special attention to the second trade screen to ensure it matches exactly what you feel you were buying. This will severely reduce the chances of you being scammed but will not eliminate them 100% as many people who actively trade scam use macros to slightly change things that look similar to what you are trading and are therefore hard to spot straight away. Again I urge you to thoroughly check that second trade screen as it is your safeguard to ensure items traded are correct. Once you have accepted the trade there is nothing you can do to return items you have traded, even if the player is banned by Jagex for scamming. The reason for this is that too many trade scams are reported for it to be feasible for Jagex to return items that have been scammed.

- Low level characters:
You should always pay special attention to low level characters selling rare or valuable items. Generally they will be a known trade scammer as they likely have a high level character and only created the low level character as a throwaway incase they get caught scamming. Always pay attention in the trade window and report any suspicious actions quickly.

- Team scamming:
This is where more than one person operates to create a demand or interest in an item. It can take two forms, a trust scam where you swap items with the scammer or one person holds valuable items from a friend. The second method is fake demand. One person will walk around selling an item for 1 million gp. Another person will be walking around buying the same item for 3 million gp. You will see this and think ok I will buy the item for 1 million gp and sell to the guy for 3mil gp and make 2 million gp. Wrong!!! ... the 2 people are friends.

What you will actually do is buy the item for 1 millio gp then when you try to sell it to the guy buying for 3 million gp, he will say he already bought it from someone else or will simply logout. You will have been scammed for a considerable amount of money, so take extra caution when you see such activities as there is nothing you can report to Jagex about it as the seller was advertising what price he was selling the item for and you happily paid him the price. There is no way for Jagex to ensure it was a set-up so no action can be enforced on either the seller or the fake buyer. You have been warned.

- Overpricing:
You can check for a price guide on runescape forums or from other sources of respectable runescape community websites. When buying anything it is always wise to look for a price guide so that you can make sure that you are paying what is regarded as a market price for an item. For example, rune hatchet is usually costing up to 20k gp. If you wanted to buy a rune hatchet you would offer 20k gp maximum. If someone selling asked for 50k gp then you know it would be overpriced. However, if you never checked the price out you may think it is ok price because you really wanted a rune hatchet. Dont be fooled by prices of things as even expensively priced items do not always have any practical use.

Runescape Hoax Sites:

- Macros advertising websites:
Some characters will use macros or auto-typers to advertise hoax and scam websites. My advice is never to visit any website that you see openly advertised in runescape as a lot of the time the website may contain harmful content in terms of trojans and Virus' that are aimed at obtaining your password information. Some of the trojans may just be to cause problems for your computer and prevent you having internet access.

- Files on Messenger Services:
Never accept files from unknown sources on any messenger service. Also be cautious when accepting files from people you do know. The simple fact is your friend could have been hacked and it is someone maliciously sending bad files to everyone on their contact list.

- Runescape Password:
Never use your runescape password on any other site - legitimate or not. This is really simply advice as you never know how any site handles password information and if even a legitmate site was hacked then your password information may not be safe from the hacker.

- Runecape Cheat Sites:
Never enter any details on a website offering Runescape Cheats - it will simply cause you to give valuable information to potential hackers. It may cause you to not only lose your runescape account but lose many files and folders on your computer as well as your ability to access the internet.

- Bad Clans:
If asked to join a clan and you have to download anything then be extremely weary of this. It is not unheard of that you could be downloading a trojan or some virus that will give other people access to your computer and your runescape password. Most clans will require you to register for forums, this is normal but please do not use your runescape password as not all clans encrypt the passwords so you would effectively be giving any number of people access to your account. Just use common sense and ensure the password you use for runescape is used for runescape ONLY, nowhere else.

Runescape Cheat Scams:

- Macros or auto-miner tools:
Simple advice is to never use either a macro or auto-miner as Jagex can track them and ban you. Very simple, if you dont use any cheats and dont break any rules laid out by Jagex then chances are you will have nothing to worry about while playing runescape. By using a macro or auto-miner tool you run the risk of being banned by Jagex in addition to the fact you could have compromised the security of your computer in addition to the security of your runescape account.

- Runescape Gold:
Do not buy runescape gold from any sites as Jagex can track unbalanced trades. Once highlighted as an unbalanced trade Jagex can investigate your account and the account that traded the cash ingame to you. If the account that traded to you was traced back to a cheating account then you will be banned along with the account that you traded with. This will mean that you not only lose your runescape account but also lose the money you paid the site for the runescape gold.

- Duplicating items:
If a person claims you can duplicate items by doing x-y-z, then never listen as you may close your game window and drop all your items enabling them to take your items and laugh at your expense. Jagex maintains that it is not possible to duplicate items and if there was any method of doing this it would be considered as bug abuse which would result in your account being banned.