Let's get right to it gentlemen, don't bitch about OP or anything, just get scamming!

Shamelessly copied from old thread


What is scam trading?
:phoneline:

First off, it's not scamming. Scamming is for tricks and bitches. Scam trading is more like "ripping off." It is taking advantage of people little knowledge of rarity. For instance, getting a hat for a weapon.

Will Valve get mad at me?
No. They don't care what goes on in the trade box. If both parties clicked ready, they were both willing.

What's the difference from this and stealing?
Stealing (or real scamming) would be swiping a purse from an old lady and running.
Scam trading would be offering a lady 20 dollars for her purse.

A Good Scammer has to start somewhere, if you can't afford those programs that do the work for you, this guide will show you how to rise to the top on your own!

So, you're interested in scamming, hmm? You feel particularly charming, you have a decent assortment of weapons and a good amount of patience. However, who do you scam? How will you know who has the goods and who isn't worth your time? I'm here to help you with that. These examples will help you easily pick out targets from a server full of folks.

This is a real person whose identity I have changed to protect their privacy. They don't have that good of items anyway, you'll see.



Point 1: Usernames. If they have something like "Sharingan Master" or "Wolfman2123", they just may be worth checking their backpack.

Point 2: Avatars. If they have a default TF2 avatar or no avatar at all, look up their backpack. If they have a anime avatar or some sort of meme avatar, look 'em up as well.

Point 3 and 4: Gameplay Stats. This is the first thing you should look at. What year did they join? How much playing time do they have? What game do they frequently play? How many hours have they racked up on those games?

As you can see, this person is more interested in CoD4 then TF2, which means they probably don't play TF2 to get a full grasp on what their items are worth.

Point 5 (Unseen): Steam URL. There's only 3 types of URLs.

You have the Custom URL. Usually their username or something relating to the person. These are the easiest to type and easy to remember. However, this usually means the person knows what they're doing and have a grasp on the Steam Community.

Then, you have the more common ID. What looks like a bunch of numbers are actually two similar URLs. There's two main parts of these IDs:

All of these common Steam IDs start with these 6 digits: 765611. Then, you have two identifiers: 979 and 980.

979 means the account is pre-2009. These people have been around long enough to know what's up and are generally knowledgeable of the community. However, some may just have the account and don't particularly care about the games they play.

980 means the account is 2009 and on. These people are usually newer to the community and will most likely be your primary targets. However, some may become deeply engrossed with a community and become a quick expert on that game. I've run across a few of these people who definitely knew the value of their items. Some 980s will offer outrageous deals since they have few items that they will give up. Others will give up their prized hat for one weapon. We've seen both happen, and I'll bet that most of you have traded with 980s.

So what does this all mean? It means you only have to remember the last 8 digits. These last 8 digits are the unique ID of that person, the first 9 mean nothing. This allows you to go through a lot more people in half the time and half the effort.


Now comes the part of what to offer them. This is easier than you might think. Remember to ask them if they're looking for any items, but it also helps to be a bit of a 'psychic'.



As you can see, this person doesn't really have much to trade for. If you were hurting for items or really wanted that Concheror, you could make some offers.

This person has a fair amount of vintage items, but maybe they really love vintage items and want more to improve their collection. They also lack Heavy, Demoman and Set Items. If they play that class frequently, offer them those items.

SOME USELESS FUCKER'S ADVICE
:phoneline:

• Always trade twice. You have to remember, most people are trying to play the game. If you were in the middle of trying to beat the shit out of a heavy with a fish, you wouldn't be too inclined to click 'Accept Trade' either. Wait a minute or so, or until you see them die on the killfeed.
• Fuck NFS. On the same note of the above rule, ignore 'not for salers'. How many times have you seen someone with 3 hours, and a burning flames tyrants helm, and you asked them for it, and they told you it wasn't for sale? Try to wow them with an offer (remember, not a good offer) and if they decide they actually do want a crit-a-cola, you win!
• You are scam trading, remember. Johnny Nick Nack has buds, and you want them bad. He wants a bills hat. You have a bills hat, and you know buds are worth 2 bills hats! You want to give a bills hat to Sally Saliva or whatever the fuck, I don't care. You put in your bills, and he asks for maybe another hat. Then another. Then another. Pretty soon, it's an even deal. Never lose sight of the objective. You are ripping people off, you're not trading fair.
• Call their bluff. If the scam-ee knows a liiiiiiiittttle something something about value, he likely wont give it away for free, but with luck, you can convince them that it's lower. If they know that their buds are rare, tell them you cant get much more than a bald engie for them these days. They might be dumb enough to buy it.
• Life Lines. If someone is looking for a sandman for their max head or some other amazing deal, but you don't have the weapon, you do have a friends list and tf2tp. You could always try to get it in a few minutes.
• Backpack Awareness. Always have their tf2items or tf2b backpack open when talking to them in trade. Don't offer hats they already have. And if they are very new and don't have paints or dueling minigames, offer those. Chances are, they will take it in a second.
• Be multi-lingual. Get this, lots of TF2 players don't speak english. If Mr. Japan 2010 over here has a big kill, are you just going to give up because he put some alien text in the trade chat? Fight back! Grab a translator and paste what he said in there, then translate your response. Never let a language barrier deter you of a good scam trade.
• Facepunch, unite! See someone from this thread that you recognize in game, shoot them a trade to say what's up. We're all nice to eachother usually. Just check up on your facepunch bro, and let them know that you're with 'em.

Wall of Tips (From V2)
:phoneline:

• Always keep a good supply of seemingly useless items (I.E. ellis caps) to deter people who randomly trade you, or in some cases, a good deal.
• When someone asks for an offer, always start with your lower valued items/hats. Chances are you can detect an experienced trader by their response.
• If something seems too good to be true (I.E. someone asking for a menial value item while offering a much higher valued item) it probably is, and they only seek to scam/troll you.
• Never sell your stuff for less then you payed unless it was a stupid deal.
• If someone wants a specific hat then they will usually give alot for it.
• Consult with the server and friends before a trade so you never do stupid deals.
• If someone unboxes a unusual lowball them all day.
• When a new item comes out its worth 5x more then normal, slowly decreases until it averages out.
• Don't try to smuther and extend the deal to pretend like you are thinking before doing a good deal, the guy would probably come to his senses or will remember a friend of his wants that item in the meantime.
• Don't befriends with the guy you are scamming(AKA adding him/he adds you to his friend list), he would probably want those things back, and it's kinda hard to explain that to him.
• Ellis caps are really worthy for some newbies, alot of them would offer real hats, also remind them it's an all class hat, and they would probably add alot more.
• If someone that looks intelligent offers you a hat nobody wants (Buckaroos,Rack,Prancers) start by saying "Hard to get rid of that X huh?" (X representing the hat), "Been there", the guy would probably understand, thinking that you know the value of things and would then "let you" get a good deal out of it-sounds stupid but it works.
• People that don't believe in tiers are goldmines
• Somethings that a non-trader won't ever get is why you would offer 1 refined for a hat. To them, 3 refined is a hat and that is the minimum they'd take.
• You can actually use the ingame inspect button (For me it's binded to i). Simply point your crosshairs on a teammates and you can see if their hat is vintage, etc. Useful if they're looking for a hat swap

Some Tips for Newbies

-Never tell the person that their item is rare or limited

-Don't trade an engineer while he is working on his shit mid game, he will probably decline any future trade reqests

-Invest in a good scamming program

-Don't use in-game chat when you are trying to scam.

-When they say your offer is tempting, and they are not trading it, always throw in a couple paints

-There is no real server to scam on, don't sit in orange/mariokart all day expecting to get a max head for weapons

Thanks Lemonator!

:siren:HOW NOT TO SCAM:siren:

Code:

11:37 PM - cutepie: did you get that bills hat?
11:37 PM - Vipersnake: No
11:37 PM - Vipersnake: He doesnt want to trade it.
11:38 PM - cutepie: Well that's silly, why not?
11:38 PM - Vipersnake: He wants the modest pile.
11:38 PM - cutepie: V or Nonv?
11:38 PM - Vipersnake: I dont know
11:38 PM - void: hey there beautiful
11:38 PM - cutepie: ______  who's this?
11:38 PM - Vipersnake: I dont know.
11:39 PM - cutepie: listen void
11:39 PM - cutepie: i wanted my son to get that Bill's
11:39 PM - cutepie: I asked a few weeks ago, he's been working really hard.
11:40 PM - cutepie: Everyone's been declining..
11:40 PM - void: you have to admit theres not much evidence to prove youre his mom
11:41 PM - cutepie: We live in Ontario
11:41 PM - cutepie: Canada
11:41 PM - cutepie: what else would you want to prove it?
11:42 PM - void: Facebook page? You're 30, you likely have one as well. Give me Chris' page here, you should be listed as his mother.
Vipersnake left chat.
Vipersnake has been invited to chat.
11:42 PM - void: So
Vipersnake entered chat.
11:42 PM - void: Uh
11:43 PM - void: How bout it
11:43 PM - cutepie: We don't have facebook. I don't want him to be exposed to online predators.
11:43 PM - cutepie: Last time he messed with Myspace
11:43 PM - cutepie: A lot of people asked for his address
11:44 PM - cutepie: Accept his trade request.
11:44 PM - cutepie: He's been through a lot of trouble for something he keeps ranting about
11:44 PM - cutepie: he even used my credit card to buy a lot of stuff
11:44 PM - cutepie: "Hats" I think he was saying. Obviously it's troubling him
11:44 PM - cutepie: So why wouldn't you?
11:47 PM - cutepie: Void, are you going to accept his trade or what.
11:48 PM - void: I don't have any proof that I won't be scammed
11:48 PM - cutepie: Scammed?
11:49 PM - cutepie: Why would he do that. I watch him. He knows better.
11:49 PM - cutepie: A "Hat" for a "Hat" seems equal to me.
11:50 PM - void: I like my Bills though. Why didn't you preorder L4D2 if you wanted the Bills?
11:50 PM - cutepie: I hadn't heard of it.
11:50 PM - cutepie: We don't have much money either.
11:50 PM - Vipersnake: I bought it off with my moms credit card account.
11:50 PM - cutepie: Do you think everyone's lucky enough to afford a lot of games like you?
11:50 PM - Vipersnake: I didnt preorder it
11:52 PM - cutepie: Now look here. I wouldn't let him scam anyone. Scamming is wrong.
11:52 PM - cutepie: Scamming is theft.
11:52 PM - cutepie: My son would never commit theft.
11:54 PM - void: Like I said, I have no proof you are his mother.
11:55 PM - void: If I had proof, I'd consider
11:55 PM - cutepie: I still don't understand how a "hat" for a "hat is a "scam"
11:56 PM - void: Its not that
11:56 PM - cutepie: I have a myspace account.
11:56 PM - void: Its the... premise. I have no proof you are his mother. He wants to give the hat to his mother. Or so he says.
11:57 PM - cutepie: I'm not giving you it, though. Who knows. You could be another predator. We've had this problem before with predators, and that's why I took away his Myspace account.
11:58 PM - cutepie: ______, close the chat.
11:58 PM - void: Cautious girl
Vipersnake left chat.
11:59 PM - cutepie: Look, buddy. My son has been playing a LOT of "Team Fortress 2" which he showed me a while ago (about two years ago).
11:59 PM - cutepie: Normally
11:59 PM - cutepie: I don't let him play more than 10 hours a week
11:59 PM - cutepie: He showed me how some people are making money off this game
11:59 PM - cutepie: We're in a tight spot.
11:59 PM - cutepie: Explain to me why there's a "problem" with trading a hat for a hat.
12:00 AM - void: I'm one of those people.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
12:00 AM - void: I'm one of those people.
12:00 AM - void: I make money off this game.
12:00 AM - void: I like my Bills hat
12:00 AM - void: My name is everywhere
12:00 AM - void: Its in the game
12:00 AM - cutepie: Oh really?
12:00 AM - void: You want to pin me as a predator? Fine, go ahead. My name's right there.
12:00 AM - cutepie: I've played Team Fortress for two years and not ONCE have I heard of your snob self.
12:01 AM - void: You can get it in the game, then find my Facebook
12:01 AM - cutepie: No you can't.
12:01 AM - void: Coldfront, play more maps than 2Fort why don't you
12:01 AM - cutepie: I'm not dumb. I know what to do here
12:01 AM - cutepie: You can't get names from ingame.
12:01 AM - void: Wow you really don't play this game do you
12:02 AM - void: Play Coldfront
12:02 AM - void: once
12:02 AM - void: I dare you
12:02 AM - void: "CREATED BY"
12:02 AM - cutepie: I have played this game for over 600 hours.
12:02 AM - void: Eric "Icarus" Wong
12:02 AM - void: Aeon "Void" Bollig
12:02 AM - void: something "Selentic" something
12:02 AM - void: Tim "YM" Johnson
12:02 AM - cutepie: You can change your profile name
12:03 AM - void: Look in my backpack
12:03 AM - void: I have a Community Eyelander
12:03 AM - void: You don't get that for playin on hard mode
12:04 AM - cutepie: I'm sorry for the inconviencie. I'll have a chat with my son.

Scam Trader Hall of Fame
:phoneline:

Psycho_Shadow - "Official KING of scam trades"

It's rare to go an hour without seeing psycho shadow scamming buds. He, lemon, and murdoco are a major factor in the bud shortage of 2011. He also did the kind act of giving away 2 pairs of buds to some traders who geniunely wanted them.

Lemonator

It's like lemonator has an endless supply of bud scrubs. Whatever trick he has up his sleeves, it's working.Unfortunately, all his scam business has gained him some hate, but it never slows him down.

Murdoco

Him, psycho, and lemon are the king scam traders. Look up to them. Bow to them. You aren't going to get the bills hat if you're in the same server as murdoco.

Suttles

He got a fucking VINTAGE alien swarm hat for close to free. Enough said. Thanks to Benlecyborg and The Pretender for helping suttles pull this one off.

Sir Spicy Buns - "Noble Unusual Rescuer :h:"

He pulls some great trades in, but most notably, he returned 2 unusuals from scammers to his friends. He even sacrificed money out of his own pocket to get one back. Great man.

Errorproxy

Once poor and irish, Errorproxy has made a plethora of trades leaning in his favor. In a month his backpack has become an amassment of hats and beautiful vintage weapons . "Never a V. weapon lost. Never."

Wacka

Has quickly gone from stupid '11er to scamming unusuals left and right. He got a scorching modest pile for close to nothing! Wherever he finds these people, I respect and honor him. Well done sir.

Adamater

A nice addition to the hall of fame. He's gotten a Sunbeams Tower for a Confetti Noble! That takes some skill. You've earned your spot here in the hall of fame. Check out some of his scams here

Intense Funkid

Has pulled off many scams, with a bunch of those being earbuds. He's proven himself worthy of a spot here in the Hall of fame. Look forward to many scams from him in the future.

MaCS
http://steamcommunity.com/groups/staycoolandmature

Jessecar's Scam Trading Resource Site
http://jaycee.game-host.org:8000/scams/index.php

:siren:DON'T ALWAYS ASSUME TRUSTED BUYERS ON SOURCEOP AND OTHER WEBSITES WILL STAY TRUE TO THEIR WORD:siren:
Lemonator, one of the greatest scammers here, sold his max heads and other things to a supposed trusted buyer. This buyer decided today was the day to be an ass and not follow through with payment. Lemonator I'm sorry this had to happen to you and I hope you can get some of the stuff back.

Hope you enjoyed this read, and happy scam trading. Oh and never, NEVER, say to someone that you will pay them in paypal cash or promise them items, and then not pay up. That makes you an asshole, not a scam trader.

snip