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Known Scams - How to Spot and Avoid Them

Below you will find information on the most common scam techniques used and how to spot them so you can avoid them.

Impostors

This is the #1 scam technique reported on our site and one of the easiest to avoid.

  • What is it? - The scammer will create a username on a chat program (Skype, KiK, Steam, AOL, etc) that is very similar, if not the same thing as someone's username on our website. They will then pretend to be that person.
  • How do I avoid this? - The easiest way is to always contact the member directly on our website. If you're talking to them on an off-site chat, it should only take a second to contact you directly on our site to confirm their identity.

Fake Email (Spoofing)

Another common technique used by more seasoned scammers.

  • What is it? This is when you get an email that appears to be from a certain website (domain), when in fact it's not and the email was spoofed.
  • How do I avoid this? If you get an email from a domain, for example from Epicnpc.com and you're not sure if it's from us, don't reply to it. Instead go to the domain itself and use the contact form to reply. This ensures you're sending it to the correct person.
If you're a little more tech savvy, check the code in the email headers. That will show you who actually sent the email.

Paypal Scams

There are a few Paypal scams that are commonly used.

  • Invoice Scam - This happens when you are selling something. The buyer will send you a Paypal invoice instead of a payment. If you're new to Paypal or are in a rush, you might mistaken the invoice as a payment.
    • How do I avoid this? Simply check the payment. If it says Invoice, then it's not a payment.

  • Stolen Paypal Account - This is when a stolen Paypal account is used to send you payment.
    • How do I avoid this? Send an email to the Paypal email address and ask the buyer to reply to it. If the buyer can't, that means he doesn't have access to the email account. This could mean the Paypal account is not theirs or stolen.
    • Compare the email address country domain to the Location Info on EpicNPC.
      Example: If the Paypal email ends with .fr (France), but the 'Location Info' shows they're from Russia, you should refund the payment immediately and stop the sale. It's very high risk.

Fake Middleman

  • What is it? This is when two scammers are working together or one scammer has multiple chat accounts. They say they will pay for a middleman, then the middleman joins the chat, but in reality it's just the scammer on another chat account or their friend.
  • How do I avoid this? As always contact the middleman directly on our site to confirm you are chatting with them off-site.

Resources and Disputes

  • Middleman Services - Find a trusted Middleman here to help you with your sale or trade.
  • Ban List - A complete list of everyone who's been banned and why.
  • Report a Dispute - If you have a dispute or were scammed by a member of EpicNPC, post in this forum.
  • Report an Off-site Dispute - If you have proof someone is a scammer or were scammed off-site, post in this forum.