Common scams

In games such as Guild Wars, there are many people who try to get ahead by dishonest means, cheating and stealing from other players. This article aims to arm you with enough knowledge to avoid the well known scams. Be aware of them!

The main article contains hard and fast ways you should act and things you should know to avoid being scammed. See the separate sub-articles for in-depth explanations and less common scams.

Item Scams
Main Article: Item scams (a more detailed listing of the item scams summarized here)

Many scams involve trading or manipulating items in various ways. Keep the following things in mind:
 * You cannot use another player's armor, ever.
 * You cannot use an item customized for another player, ever.
 * You cannot un-customize or customize over armor and weapons, ever
 * Do not buy unidentified items unless you have read the main item scam article.
 * Before buying a quest item, always look it up on GuildWiki first and make sure that item can in fact be bought and used to complete the quest.
 * Before buying dye, read the main article.
 * Monastery Credits and Battle Commendations are worth at least 100 . Imperial Commendations, Equipment Requisitions, Luxon Totems, Kournan Coins, Ancient Artifacts and Inscribed Secrets are worth at least 200 . If you sell them for less, you are cheating yourself.
 * 7 Trade Contracts can be traded for a Ruby, Diamond or Sapphire. Always check the Rare Material Trader for jewel prices before selling your contracts.
 * Always check at the Dye Trader before selling dyes, especially for white dye and black, to make sure you're not selling for less than the trader will give you. Black and White dye are considerably more valuable than other colors.
 * Don't ever buy mixed color dye such as Gold; Dye looks different on every armor set in the game.
 * Never buy gray dye from other players for 1k gold or similar. You can buy these type of dyes a lot cheaper at the merchant. (The standard color after creating a new armor is Gray.)
 * Although there may be uses for them in the future, there is currently no known use for Diamonds or Stygian Keys.

Trade Scams
Main article: Trade scams (a more detailed listing of the trade scams summarized here)

When trading with other players, it pays to be on your guard. Most players are on the level and will not try to cheat you, but there are bad apples out there, and keeping the following in mind will save you much grief:


 * Always hover your mouse over the items you're receiving in a trade an extra time before hitting accept. Make sure you're getting exactly what you expect.
 * Always make sure the trade window actually reflects the person you want to trade with.
 * Do not trust people who suddenly "get bugged" while trading with you.
 * Pay attention when trading for cash. Make sure you're getting the right kind of coin.
 * Never, ever agree to a trade that goes through a third party unless you know and trust that person.
 * Use ecto or black dye to trade values in excess of 100k. Do not engage in trades that would require more than one trading session.
 * Never, ever trust a player who asks you to drop your items on the ground.
 * If trading for a quest item, make sure you look it up on the wiki first to ascertain the exact name of the item you need.
 * Always check the amount. For instance, if you are selling 12 steels at 1.2k, remember it is 1 platinum and 200 gold, not 1 platinum and 2 gold.
 * Never accept an item that is supposedly in a "bag". All bags must be empty to be traded!
 * ALWAYS remember you cannot buy armor from other players, it's automatically customized! Also, if buying weapons check to see if they are customized!
 * ALWAYS watch out for people that try to sell Mursaat Tokens as Ectos, as they look quite similar.
 * Never buy a weapon or offhand just because someone says it has a popular skin. If the stats are poor, the object is worth little regardless of the skin on it.

Adventuring Scams
Main article: Adventuring scams (a more detailed listing of the adventuring scams summarized here)

Various forms of nefarious acts can take place outside of the realm of trading. To avoid getting burned, follow this simple advice:


 * Do not accept up-front fees for running.
 * If you are running another player, they will sometimes say they are going AFK (away from keyboard), and will not return until the run is over. This enables a free run to their desired location. It is recomended that if the person you are running decides to go AFK, they pay all/half of the running fee before they do.
 * Pick up item drops assigned to you as soon as there's a break in fighting. Item assignations last for 10 minutes only, after which it may be picked up by anyone.
 * Entry into FoW and Underworld costs 1000 per party, not per person.
 * Before going to FoW, Underworld, or other high level farming area, first read the main adventuring scam article (link above).
 * If someone calls "gold chest", it is still a gambit, chests are randomized and could still result in a purple item coming out.

Miscellaneous scams
Main article: Miscellaneous scams (a more detailed listing of the miscellaneous scams summarized here)

All the scams that fit none of the other categories. To make your life easier, pay attention:


 * ArenaNet will never, ever ask you for your username or password. Report anyone who does.
 * Creating a Guild does not require a GM (Game Master, an ArenaNet administrator) to help.
 * "Item duplication" is always a scam. Do not let your greed get the best of you.
 * Don't fall for the temptation to download "hacks" or other 3rd-party tools.
 * People will not give you free money when you find them (usually). This is not so much as a scam, but a waste of time.
 * Do not respond to beggars. If no one does, they'll usually stop begging.
 * Do not pay anyone to be taken to a "secret place" or "farming spot". GuildWiki documents all of those better and for free.
 * Do not try to "buy a guild" from someone you do not know and trust, as it may be a scam.
 * Don't ever buy an account or an access key from someone you don't know or trust, as the majority of the time it is a scam.
 * Never "Buy guild members" as the "seller" will give you other accounts or friends names, you waste gold on inviting them AND you just paid him to give you nothing.