Neopets Safety

You switch on your computer and head straight to your favourite bookmarked Neopets page. Look in your account and *O.O* Where have all your NeoPoints gone? Like a reflex, you immediately check your Safety Deposit Box and shop. Nothing there! Or even worse… you can’t even access your account!!! Oh no…this is your biggest Neopian nightmare! Yes, you’ve been scammed out of your account.

It really is a shame that we even have to have this page but unfortunately there are some people on Neopets that just don’t play fair and love to ruin the game for others. They scam and cheat and even try to steal others accounts! Don’t want this to happen to you? Well there are ways to avoid it. The best way is to keep yourself informed of the different types of scams that can be found on Neopets and follow some simple golden rules to help you keep your account safe.

Here we will list the different types of scams that you might see.

 

Password Scams | Shop Scams | Trading Post Scams
Item Scams | Neo-Sitters | Chain Letters | Avatars

 

 

Password Scams

Throughout your time on Neopets you could encounter many password scams. What are Password Scams?? Password scams come in many forms…

  • People claiming to have “NeoPoint Generators” or “Item Duplicators” and give you a link to a page that you just need to enter you username and password and how many Neopoints or the items you want.

  • Someone claims to have found a bug in the Neopets system and all they need is your password and they can give you unlimited rare items.

  • Someone tells you that if you change your email address to one they give you and email them to let them know you have done it, you will be given a kazillion NeoPoints or really rare items.

  • You get a NeoMail (or email) from someone claiming to be Neopets staff and they tell you that they need to verify their records, or they had a database crash, etc., and ask you to send them your username and password.

  • While on the Neopets chat boards or Guild message boards you might see someone say something like if you type your password on the chat boards that your password comes out as stars (****). NOTE: Your password does not come out as stars, so never ever type your password on the Neopets chat boards.

 

These are ALL tricks! Never EVER give your password to anyone for any reason! If you do, you are just handing them your account on a plate to do with as they wish. Remember that…

  1. There are no such things as “NeoPoint Generators” or “Item Duplicators” and those claiming they have such things are only trying get your password and steal your account.

  2. If you are given a link that takes you to page that looks like a Neopets login page or you need to enter your username and password to view it, DON’T DO IT! Instead, backspace back to the previous page to get out of it. If it looks like a Neopets login page you can always check the authenticity of the page by looking at the URL of the page. If it does not say http://www.neopets.com/loginpage.phtml, it is a fake.

  3. Never ever change the email address on your Info page when someone tells you too! The email address they will give you belongs to them and they will be able to do a “Lost Password” request, get your password, gain access to your account and lock you out of the account.

  4. No member of the Neopets Staff will ever contact you through NeoMail except from the official Neopets username theneopetsteam and they will NEVER ask you for your password or any other personal information and anybody else who claims to be staff is trying to trick you. Not even the Neopets Monitors are allowed to contact you.

  5. No member of the Neopets Staff will ever contact you via Email and ask for your password or personal information. If you ever get an email that looks like it is from Neopets that says you need to send them your username and password, etc., or your account will be deleted DO NOT DO IT! There are some people out there that have been masking their email address so that it looks as if the email is coming from Neopets.com but if you look at the full header in your email you will be able to see where it really came from.

    If you ever receive such NeoMail or Email, DO NOT reply to it. Copy all details of the NeoMail or email and send it to Neopets via their Automatic Submission Form

 

Another good thing to remember is that there are no secret codes to become rich over night, there is no web page that gives you millions of NeoPoints, etc. Using common sense is important and remember, if something looks too good to be true, then it most likely is.

 

Password Security

  • Change your password regularly and by regularly, we don’t mean every other month. Do it every week.

  • Do not use your login name or pets names in any form or a word that can be found in the dictionary as your password.

  • Choose passwords which consist of numbers and upper and lower case letters. Make passwords like “n2F0rnS1KsN98JhdY6″. With 52 letters (upper and lower case) and 10 numbers, the possibilities are limitless.

  • Be careful if you access Neopets at public computers, i.e., school, library. When you are done, clear the browser history temp files and cookies for Neopets, and go to another website before leaving the terminal. Then nobody can come in after you and access your information.

 

 

Shop Related Scams

Yes you can even find scams in other players shops or players will use their shops for scamming purposes. Here are some examples of shop scams to look out for…

Buy an item from my shop and I’ll tell you a secret
Some people try to trick others into buying overpriced items from their shops in return for ’secrets’. This is just another scam and they have no intention of giving you anything in return for your purchase. There are no secrets to making tons NeoPoints fast and there are no “hidden” places on the site like a secret Dark Faerie Cave or secret staircase in the Hidden Tower. There are some hard to find locations on the site but there are plenty of honest Neopets players that will give you hand to find these locations for free. We even have a list of them right here for you.

If you buy something from my shop for 10,000 NP I will buy lots of stuff from your shop!
Chances are slim to none that they won’t buy anything from your shop.

Whoever buys the most from my shop wins my grand prize worth over 10 kazillion NeoPoints!
Having any type of contests, raffles, lotteries in their shops (or anywhere on the site) against the Neopets rules as most times these are pure scams. Who knows, the winners may just be usernames of their other accounts. It’s a win all situation for the contest holder.

Links to a fake login page.
Some users make an exact copy of the Neopets login form on another website and link to it in their shop with fake items. When you click on that item you will immediately be taken to a login page that looks just like the Neopets one. However, if you were to fill in your username and password and click the “Login to Neopets” button, your username and password are sent to the shop owner giving them access to your account.
If this happens to you, look at the URL at the top and bottom of your browser and if it says anything other than http://www.neopets.com/loginpage.phtml, DO NOT enter your username and password!

Back space out and click on the “Report This Shop” in their shop and also report using the Automatic Submission Form stating the shop URL which contains the login form.

*NOTE*: Links to sites outside Neopets.com are no longer allowed on the site but still be careful of any site URL’s you find in shops, guilds, pet pages, user lookups or you get via NeoMail.

 

 

Trading Post Scams

There are numerous scams that can be found on the Trading Post. Here are some examples:

I’m leaving Neopets so whoever bids the highest on this lot (usually junk) wins my account with over a kazillion NeoPoints and thousands of rares.
Think about it… if this user was really leaving Neopets, why would they need the highest bid? What do they need NeoPoints for anymore? Selling your account is not allowed either.

I hacked the Hidden Tower and I can get any item in there item for 1 NP! Bid any rare Paint Brush, Petpet, Battledome items and I will tell how!
Contrary to what many people claim, nobody has ever hacked into the Neopets site.

Bid a Baby or Faerie Paint Brush and I’ll tell you where the hidden tower is…
Here’s the link to the Hidden Tower for free.

Whoever bids the highest amount gets these items and a Lost Desert Paint Brush! I have 2 in my deposit box, I gave one away today! No Scam! You can report me!
And you will be reporting them when you don’t get that Paint Brush too.

Give me a Faerie, Easter Negg, or Codestone and I will tell you where the hidden staircase in the Hidden Tower is!
There is no hidden staircase in the Hidden Tower!

If you want to know the secret to making thousands of NeoPoints quick and easily, visit my shop.
There is no “secret” way to making vast amounts of NeoPoints. Hard work and time is all it takes.

The highest bidder on this lot will get the secret to making Fish Neggs!
Sorry but Fish Neggs cannot be made by anything.

I know were the secret passage in the Fungus Cave is to get a FREE Krawk! Highest bidder gets the secret!
There is no secret passage in the Fungus Cave to get e free Krawk. Go here to find out how you can get a Krawk.

All proceeds go to Money Tree. Please donate.
This may sound like a nice gesture on the other person part but it is more likely a scam to make NeoPoints for themselves. If you really want to give to the Money Tree, do it yourself.

Be careful of similar looking items in the Trading Post.
The Magical Gold Chomby Plushie looks similar to a Gold Chomby Plushie. A Fifty Dubloon Coin looks pretty similar to a Five Dubloon Coin. Also be careful of buying Shadow and Stone Paint Brushes. A scammer will put up the Shadow Paint Brush for trade and then close the lot and put a Stone Paint Brush (which is worth a lot less) in its place.

Type this message on 10 different trades then go to the Lost Desert Paint Brush stall, then you will find a random Paint Brush on the floor. It has worked for everyone so far.
Ok well this one isn’t really a scam. It’s just an annoying chain letter that people are doing these days in the trades (and chat boards and NeoMail) that is not true. Posting it will not get you anything except reported and your account frozen.

This Starberry is just like the Starry Paint Brush. Feed it to your pet and it will turn Starry.
The Starberry is a food item and nothing more than that.

 

 

Other Item Scams

  • Crablett - Is a food item and not a Petpet.

  • Strange Green Seeds - Do not grow into something if you put them in your garden, it is a Medieval food. It definitely won’t turn into Negg trees that drop Neggs into your garden.

  • Ghost Marshmallows - Is a food item and not a Petpet.

  • Trilo Bite - Is a food item and not a Petpet.

  • Paint Brush Plushies - You can’t paint your pet with a Paint Brush Plushie - such as Cloud Paint Brush Plushie, Disco Paint Brush Plushie, etc. (Thanks to gotkau3)

  • Primoridal Thing and Spore Blossom - Food items and not rare NeoGarden plants. (Thanks to Poop)

If you do not know for sure that the item will do what they tell you it will, don’t trust them. Do your research!

Remember to always… ALWAYS check the Shop Wizard before you make a bid on a trade lot.

 

 

Neo-Sitters

You’re going away on vacation and think to yourself… “Oh no! Who is going to take care of my pets while I’m gone?” Then you see an ad on the chat boards for a “Neo-Sitter”… someone that will feed your pet and look after your account while your gone. Cool huh? Actually NOT cool! Not only is this against the Neopets rules but it is a scam.

How is it a scam? Ok well first off… your Neopets will never die. So even if you are gone for an extended period of time, they will be perfectly fine. Secondly, in order for someone to Neo-Sit your pets you have to give them your password so they can go into your account right? Giving out your password is a big no-no anyway and second, chances are that when you get back and try to access your account, either all your NeoPoints and items are gone and pets abandoned or the “Neo-Sitter” changed you password and now you have lost your account to them. Not so cool now huh?

Also, if you see someone asking “I need somebody to Neo-Sit my pets while I go on holiday for a month! Will you do it?” - don’t do it. Again not only is this against the Neopets rules but chances are they will need some sort of reassurance, namely your password just in case “you try to hack me”. Once you give them your password the chances are they won’t give you theirs in return or they will give you a fake one. Of course they aren’t going on holiday at all! Bye bye account!

So just say no to the so called “Neo-Sitters”! Like we said above, your Neopets won’t die however, if you still do not feel comfortable in leaving them to their own defenses, check your pets into the NeoLodge! For as little as 5 NeoPoints a day they will be feed and looked after for up to 28 days.

 

 

Chain Letters

“If you post this message on 10 different boards you will get a Faerie Paint Brush and a million NeoPoints.”
Neopets does not reward you for spamming their chat boards. You won’t get valuable Neggs, Paint Brushes or any rare items if you post chain letters. You’ll just get your account frozen.

 

 

Avatars

Avatars are the latest fad, unfortunately some people will go to great lengths to get avatars and often lose sight of what may happen to their account.

Remember if someone offers to log in to your account to get you a game avatar like the Petpet Sitter, Freaky Factory or Meerca Chase avatars chances are that you’ll probably never see your account again. Getting an avatar is not worth losing your items or even worse, your account. It is against Neopets Terms and Conditions to let someone in to your account to get avatars for you, so you may end up frozen for cheating.

You may have seen on the NeoBoards or at the Trading Post, people offering to lend items for certain avatars providing you have the right collateral. Be careful as some malicious people will try to sell you the items rather than lend you the items and have no intention of giving your NeoPoints or items back. Just remember, whether you are borrowing or lending, it’s best to make sure both of you are clear that this is a loan, not a trade, before proceeding. The following is from the Neopian Times, issue 218.

Scenario 1
User A has an MSPP (TCG) card in trades with a lot that says “Gets you an avatar! Will also consider lending with collateral.” User B has some nice collateral and bids on it. The trade is accepted. User B then contacts User A asking to trade back. User A refuses, saying it was a trade. While this may not be nice, it isn’t “scamming,” as it was never clarified to User A that User B’s intention was for the card to be lent to them.

Scenario 2
User A has an MSPP (TCG) card in trades with a lot that says “Gets you an avatar! Will also consider lending with collateral.” User B has some nice collateral, and contacts User A, asking if they will lend them the card if they offer the collateral. User A agrees to lend the card to User B. The trade is made. User B contacts User A again, requesting to trade back now. User A refuses, and calls it a “trade,” even though it was clearly dictated through NeoMails the intention was lending. This is scamming, and is reportable.

 

 

Already been scammed?

What if you are already a victim of a scam? Send an email immediately to Neopets via their Automatic Submission Form - Abuse Report stating your username and time (in NST) when you discovered you were hacked and any other information they might need. It may take from a day to a week or so for Neopets to respond so be patient.