[Guide] Xero's Guide to Scamming : EVE Online General Discussions

Xeros’s Guide to Convincing Folks of the Otherwise Unimaginable

(Xeros is my alternate forum name, on my site; which is heavily moderated so if you aren't a scammer, you won't fit in)
http://isktaker.forum-motion.net

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[1] Introduction

[2] The Tricks

[3] Scenarios

[4] Social Engineering

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[1] Introduction

When a person thinks of scamming, they think of deception; however in today’s EVE, most scams have already
been tried out/done before, thus being convincing and sincere is what helps drives the most successful EVE
scammers.

All of these conversations are based off of the Payout Scam, a guide on that will be posted later.
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[2] The Tricks

The trick here is to convince others that what you are saying is true, thus being persistent and wordy can pay off;
even on the most stubborn cookies.

1) Be prepared, have your photoshop open; have your game in windowed mode, have pre-fabricated
screenshots ready so you can just insert a timestamp.

2) Details, details, details; it’s good to put time into your pre-fab pictures, because these people are persistent.

3) Calm and collect; the two greatest virtues ever.

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[3] Scenarios

Let’s take this into various scenarios, with the answers/responses below it.


Scenario A.
(The gullible person)

Victim - hi

You - Hello, how are you doing?

(Always be courteous and welcoming)

Victim - are you doing the offer still?

(This shows that the person believes what you are saying)

You - Yes I am, any amount of ISK sent will be doubled, and if you break the record (X amount) you will
get 4x the ISK; please note it is one time per person.

(It’s good to have the one time per person thing; I find it helps increase the odds of getting larger funds)

Victim - okay, ISK sent

(Depending on how much they send, you can either take it or you can pay out; typically if it is a low amount
(In this case I will make it 1,000,000 ISK) I will pay out, and offer them a chance to pay again for a higher amount,
remember earn trust of the low-paying majority is key, however 10m up in some cases is keeper amount; however
there have been times when I would pay 100m out.)

You - Okay, one moment

You - 2m ISK sent

Victim- wow thanks

You – Wait

Victim- ?

You – Tell you what, that was a really low number; I will give you an exclusive offer, so you can get more, I will
give you a chance to send whatever amount, and I will double it, and as before; if you break the record of (X amount),
I will 4x it, but this is your last one.

(It’s good to reinstate it, to show that you’re sincere and professional)

Victim – well… okay…

(Typically the person will send more than before, if it’s,the same amount, you can choose to take it or pay
out, if it’s a small amount, paying out is the best option. In this scenario we will say he sent more.)

You- Alright, I am waiting

Victim- Sent 10 Million

You- Alright, let me check

Victim- K

(You can either choose to close the convo screen or you can continue; it really depends if you want
hate mail or not, typically I do for site content, so I end it like this.)

You (in this case me)- http://isktaker.wordpress.com

(Close convo screen )

Scenario B.
(The rebellious)

Victim- lol, are you serious?

You- About?

(This is a good idea to just use “?”, so it implies that you have no idea what they’re talking about, thus
proclaiming innocence)

Victim- do people really fall for this scam?

You- I am sorry, I didn’t know it was a scam to pay people out…

(Play along on this comment, and this proclaims innocence)

Victim- yeh, you pay people out as your cronies or you just payout the lower payers, but you take the
higher payers

You- Sorry mate, but for your information I have payed everyone out (and if there are people in Jita who
are saying otherwise, say that didn’t pay you), the people in local are just trying to rip me off

Victim- yeh sure lol

You- Tell you what

You- You can try me out, however the same one time per person rule applies to you, but if I don’t pay; you can spam
in Jita to your heart’s content.

(The spam to your heart’s content is a reverse bluff, because typically they won’t do it; if they do,
you can claim photoshop)

Victim- lol nice try

You- Look, if you aren’t going to try me out, you really have no say in this matter whatsoever

(If you play them down like this, it should strike their curiosity)

Victim- (Will either respond to prove that you’re legit, that’s where the previous transactions with your alt
who is the ‘record payer’ is taken in a screenshot from that person when you bring them in the channel or they will
say “ISK sent” or they will say “No nice try”)

(If they ask for proof) – Bring your alt in to the conversation, it’s important that you act differently on your
alt, be impatient and not too wordy/grammatical, and post the screenshot, also be quick/slow on the chat
between you, your alt, and the person; just mix it up a bit. Be convincing, calm and collect; and you will come to one
of the two scenarios, but remember keep trying and question/solve why they are suspicious, put yourself in their shoes.

(If they send ISK)- Depending on the amount sent, you can either take it or payout and offer for one more
chance at the ‘deal’.

(If they say no)- Don’t reveal yourself, because they can use that in an SS; just close the convo window.

Scenario C. (Requires an Alt or Cronies)
Based from this blog post
(The Disturbers)

You- Hello, How are you?

Victim- What do you want?

You- You are saying in chat that I am scammer, may I ask if you have evidence to prove this?

(It's good to be straight up with the person to confront their initial fear)

Victim- It's obvious you're scamming, no need to...

You- Tell you what

You- You can try me out, and you can SS the WHOLE thing.

Victim- Why would I do that when I know you're scamming?

You- Well, I do have a few people online whom I sent ISK to, I can bring one of them in if you want.

(The person is your alt or cronie, it's good if they 'sent' more than 300m ISK)

Victim- Who is it?

You- NAME (don't forget to link him/her)

You- He/She broke the record of ISK sent with (in this case we will use 400m) 400m ISK, and I sent her 1.6b.

Victim- How do I know she's not an alt?

You- Well, trust is a limited thing on EVE, I trust that you do not believe so, besides I have others to back me
up; and if that's the case, how many alts do I have, like 20?

Victim- Well... fine, let me talk to her/him

You- Okay one moment, let me invite her

(It's important to wait a minute or so so accept the invite, so it isn't like you're alt-tabbing to accept)

Alt- What?

You- Hey man, didn't I send you 1.6b earlier today for you breaking the record?

(Now, when your alt talks, you want him or her to be talking as a different personality, i.e. if your main talks
with correct punctuation and is rather timid; you want your alt to type with improper punctuation/grammar and is
rather quick/impatient, so on and so forth)

Alt- yeh why?

Victim- Well... I wanted to do what (YOU) are offering but I am skeptical of a scam

You- I will let you two talk about this, I am going to grab a drink

(Do this so your alt and the victim can talk without you having to alt-tab)

Alt- yeh she sent me the isk, i mean how much aer you sending?

Victim- I want to break the record you set, so maybe 500 or 700m

Alt- if i had more money to send i would send it but i dont

Alt- If i were you, i would go with it

(It's good to reinforce your intentions with your alt without being too suspicious)

You- Back!

(Now that you've made your point with your alt, it is time for your alts exit)

Alt- okay can i go now? I have stuff to do

You- o/

Victim- yeh

(Alt leaves)

You- So have you decided?

Victim- (Will either respond to prove that you’re legit, that’s where the previous transactions with your alt who
is the ‘record payer’ is taken in a screenshot from that person when you bring them in the channel or they will say
“ISK sent” or they will say “No nice try”)

(If they ask for more proof) – Bring your other alt or bring one of your cronies in to the conversation, it’s
important that you act differently on your alt, be impatient and not too wordy/grammatical, and post the screenshot,
also be quick/slow on the chat between you, your alt, and the person; just mix it up a bit. Be convincing, calm
and collect; and you will come to one of the two scenarios, but remember keep trying and question/solve why they
are suspicious, put yourself in their shoes.

(If they send ISK)- Depending on the amount sent, you can either take it or payout and offer for one more
chance at the ‘deal’.

(If they say no)- Don’t reveal yourself, just keep trying by rinsing and repeating the whole 'bring a person in'
which can be another alt or another one of your cronies.

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[4] Social Engineering
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Quoting from:
Social Engineering (Security) - Wikipedia

And edited for EVE uses.
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Social engineering is the act of manipulating people into performing actions or divulging confidential information.
While similar to a confidence trick or simple fraud, the term typically applies to trickery or deception for the purpose
of information gathering, fraud or computer system access; in most cases the attacker never comes face-to-face
with the victim.

How this applies to us EVE Online scammers is that we want to earn the trust of our victims and for them to invest
in our scam.

Pretexting

Pretexting is the act of creating and using an invented scenario (the pretext) to persuade a targeted victim to
release information or perform an action and is typically done over the telephone. It is more than a simple lie as
it most often involves some prior research or set up and the use of pieces of known information (e.g. for
impersonation: fake convo, fake wallet screens, etc) to establish legitimacy in the mind of the target.

"Preparation is key, for that results in success"

This technique is often used to trick a corporation into providing you with a higher rank. The information can then
be used to establish even greater legitimacy under tougher questioning with a manager (e.g., to make certain transactions,
access to the corp vault, etc).

Pretexting can also be used to impersonate corp members, alliance members, investors, conversations or transactions
— or any other individual/action that could have perceived authority or right-to-know in the mind of the targeted victim.
The pretexter must simply prepare answers to questions that might be asked by the victim. In some cases all that is
needed is a voice that sounds authoritative, an earnest tone, and an ability to think on one's feet.

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Applying Social Engineering
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How to perform social engineering in a 2x Ponzi Scheme, you will need:

1) Fake Wallet screenshot

2) Fake Full Screen screenshot

3) An alibi, and/or some cronies/alts

Tricks/Tips for Social Engineering a 2x Ponzi Scheme:

1) Be assertive

2) Be confident

3) Never reveal yourself

4) Have confidants or people that can back you up, ALWAYS!

5) The older your character is, the better

6) As stated before, an alibi on why you're doing the particular 'giveaway'

Usually, a Victim will present you with three scenarios:

a) Can I talk to someone who has done a transaction with you?
(Typically the highest donation person will be the target, in other-words, your alt or cronies)

b) Can I see a Full Screenshot?
(You have shown them your wallet only screenshot, and by request, the Fullscreen)

c) Do you have any proof that you're legit?
(As mentioned before, show them everything you go, remember: "Preparation is key"

Remember the three C's:

C- Calm

C- Collect

C- Confident

Reserved.

Reserved.