Here is a little guide I have written to share some important facts for those of you who like to
buy world of warcraft accounts or other MMO Accounts.
Rule 1) ALWAYS insist on getting a land line phone number. This is something that cuts a lot of scammers out of the picture right away. Having a land line phone number is much harder to get than a cell number and most people will not be willing to risk giving that number out if they plan to bad things. You can do a free reverse directory search here –>
http://www.anywho.com/qry/wp_rl - to verify their identity. Make sure to give a ring and have a conversation just to be sure the number is legit!
Rule 2) Make sure they have a verified Paypal account. Send them 1 cent and ask them to reply to the Payment received email to verify they also own the email account tied to the Paypal account. Tell them to then send you 1 cent and attach their verified Paypal shipping address. Compare that verified address with the reverse directory address you pulled up in the above step. If those two match and everything else has gone smooth, things are looking pretty good.
Rule 3) Try not to deal with newly registered users or users that cannot prove some sort of feedback at a major trading website. Most scammers are newly registered because each time they scam they are typically forced to take on a new virtual identity. If the person you’re dealing with also has some credible feedback over a long period of time on a large MMO account trading website, you can and should feel much safer about the deal.
Rule 4) Avoid Western Union deals! Lots of scammers like to try to make up fantastic excuses why they will only take Western Union. More times than not it’s because they are a scammer and they feel you have no recourse once they have your money from Western Union. You do have recourse but you can probably kiss that money good bye for a long time. Stealing money through the internet is considered wire fraud and is a federal felony regardless of Blizzards arbitrary terms of service that says something along the lines of they do not permit people to sell accounts, yadda yadda, blah blah. Fact is if someone takes money from you fraudulently online it’s a crime and they can be punished. You can file a complaint at ic3.gov (Internet Crime Complaint Center). It’s a big headache and takes a while, for this reason I suggest just sticking with Paypal. Most legit sellers do not have a problem using it. Fraudsters rarely are able to get all their money out of Paypal before they are found out and their account is shut down.
Rule 5) If something seems fishy or the person you’re dealing with is just doing some things you consider weird, go with your gut. Believe it or not there are some scammers that actually go to this much trouble to scam a couple of accounts. Some times it’s best if you feel uncomfortable in a deal just to back out and say “Thanks but no thanks, I think I am going to pass”. Following TheGameXperts guide to buying MMO Accounts will greatly reduce your risk of ever being scammed but even if they pass the first 4 rules, always remember Rule number 5, Go with your gut feeling!