☆ Your Guide to Gaia Online Safety

[Ebania]

Your Guide to Gaia Online Safety

Our guild community cares very deeply about your online safety and security. We care about protecting this community from Terms of Service violators, and we care about giving you the tools and information you need in order to stay safe in other parts of Gaia Online.

Because of this, we have compiled a thread that offers all of the most recent information on the prevention of being scammed, hacked, or banned. If you browse through these helpful tips and warnings, you will surely lower your chances of being scammed, hacked, or banned dramatically.

Best of luck, and please post any of your related questions, concerns, or comments in this thread!

 

[Ebania]

gaia_star Table of Contents

1. Introduction
   
2. Table of Contents (You are here!)
   
3. Scam Prevention
   
   • What is a Scam?
     
   • Examples of Scams & Their Prevention
4. Hack Prevention
   
   • What is a Hack?
     
   • Examples of Hacks & Their Prevention
5. Ban Prevention
   
   • Bots & Botting
     
   • The Terms of Service
     
   • Conduct and Etiquette
6. Further Reading
   • From Gaia Headquarters
     
   • Account Security
     
   • Other Valuable Information
7. Feedback?

 

[Ebania]

gaia_star Scam Prevention

What is a Scam?

A scam can be defined as any attempt made by another individual (or group of individuals) to trick you out of your hard-earned gold, artwork, or items by other means. It is not a hacking if the individual does not have direct access to your gold or items.

In the upcoming section, you will see examples of methods commonly used by scammers on Gaia Online to steal from Gaians like you. Some of them can be spotted easily, and some of them are a bit more difficult to catch.

Scam Examples and Their Prevention

Real administrators and moderators on Gaia Online, no matter what happens, will never need or ask for your password. Anyone who asks for your password is trying to obtain access to your account in order to steal your gold and items.

That being said, let's look at some examples of scams and how to avoid becoming a scam victim.

The Giftbox Scam


• Example: You and another user agree to an exchange of gold, items, or graphics (if you're an artist or graphic designer). Instead of giving you the items and/or gold they owe you through a trade, they offer to send it to you through the giftbox system while you send your items/gold to them via trade or your artwork via private message.
  
  
• Signs of a Scam: If this person has the promised gold and/or items in their inventory already, there is no reason why they cannot not send you what they owe you through trade.
  
  
• The Risks: If you accept their proposal, they will send you a giftbox; however, the giftbox will not contain what was offered. In fact, it will probably contain a Starter item or an item that costs far, far less than what they agreed to send you.
  
  
• To Prevent It: Insist that all exchanges take place through trade. Hover your mouse over each item to make sure that the other person has sent you everything that was promised. There have been problems with people being scammed because of two items that may look very much alike (such as the Winter Rose and the White Rose Wristlet Corsage). Make sure that you have received everything that was promised - in both gold and items.
  
  
• If You're a Victim: If this happens to you, take a screenshot of where you and this user agreed to the exchange. Take a screenshot of all or some of the following:
  • The trade between you and this individual (if you sent them your items/gold)
    
  • The private message through which you sent them with their artwork/graphics (which can be located in your Outbox or Sentbox)
    
  • The private message from [NPC] Rina in your inbox that came when this individual sent you the giftbox
    
  • The item's location in your inventory.
  Fill out a proper Scam Report within thirty days of the incident.



Conduct all exchanges through trade alone!


The "Get Rich Quick" Scam


• Example: You receive a private message from an individual you may or may not know. They offer to give you, in exchange for a rare or expensive item of yours, an item that's even more expensive or rare. They say that they will send it to you via giftbox and that you should give your item to them via giftbox or through trade.
  
  
• Signs of a Scam: There is no reason this person could not give you this "super-rare item" through trade, where you can easily see what's being given and received.
  
  
• The Risks: They are not going to send you the item(s) that was/were promised; they are going to send you something worth far less in exchange for the item you offered them.
  
  
• To Prevent It: Don't trust these offers! Whenever you're making an exchange with another Gaia, please do so by trade and by trade only. There is no reason to do an exchange by gifting; the possibility of someone scamming you, in an exchange via giftbox, is so high that only a scammer will use that method to get your items.
  
  
• If You're a Victim: Fill out a Scam Report within thirty days of the incident's occurrence with all of the appropriate information. Take screenshots of where this person promised you the item(s) they didn't give you and of other important information that will show the moderator handling this case that you are innocent and have been scammed by another person.

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!

 

[Ebania]

gaia_star Hack Prevention

What is a Hack?

A hack can be defined as the Gaian version of burglary. When someone hacks you, they "break and enter" into your account, change your password, and thus obtain full access to your gold, items, Gaia Cash, guilds, threads - everything.

There is one very, very basic rule that, when followed, will lower your chances of ever being hacked. By following this simple rule, I have been on Gaia for four years and have reported many hack attempts, but I have never been hacked.

Never, under any circumstances or in any given situation, give any individual your password. Ever.

Hack Examples and Their Prevention

Whether you're a new Gaian or an experienced one, the most powerful tool you have against hack attempts is a strong password. It needs to be something that you can remember and something that is extremely difficult (if not impossible) to guess. Play around with capitalization, numbers, misspellings, and even different languages with your password! This will make it very, very difficult for anyone to be able to guess your password - even if they are familiar with your favorite sports teams, foods, or even the names of your relatives and friends.

The Moderator/Administrator Impersonation Hack


• Example: A Gaia Online user contacts you, and this individual claims to be a Gaia Online administrator or moderator. S/He tells you that you have been reported for a violation of Terms of Service and threatens to ban your account from Gaia Online if you do not cooperate and send the individual your password. (Please note that this sort of encounter can occur in other parts of Gaia Online, such as a game, the forums, or a virtual world. No matter how or where the user contacts you, they are attempting to scam you and can be reported for their offenses.)
  
  
• Signs of a Hack Attempt: Moderators and administrators have special usernames that are colored according to their area of site management. Please see this thread for a complete list of the staff and moderators of Gaia Online; anyone who is not on this list is not a staff member or moderator of Gaia Online, and anyone who is on this list is a staff member or moderator of Gaia Online and will never ask you for your password. That is guaranteed in the first rule of the Rules and Guidelines of Gaia Online. Also, being reported for violating Terms of Service does not necessarily mean that you will automatically be banned; a moderator or administrator may look into the situation, undergo an investigation, deactivate your trading pass, etc. But a moderator or administrator will never ask you for your password in order to do these things.
  
  
• The Risks: If you give this person your password, they will have complete access to your account. This means that they will have access to your hard-earned gold and items, and that they can trade them to any account. They will probably lock you out of your account by changing your password to something only they know.
  
  
• To Prevent It: If you ever find a message like this in your inbox, or if you ever come across a person on Gaia Online who asks you for your password, do not respond to this person; instead, report them to a moderator immediately. If you do not want to be bothered by that individual in the future, you have the option of ignoring them. One tip that I recommend is to take frequent screenshots of your inventory; once every two weeks is fine. This helps in the case that you get hacked or scammed and need screenshots to prove that valuable gold and items have been stolen from your inventory.
  
  
• If You're a Victim: If you have already sent this individual your password and they have already changed the password to your account, try Gaia Online's password recovery system and see if the scammer (who is technically a hacker now that s/he has invaded your account) has changed your account's email address; if s/he hasn't, obtain the new password, log in, and change the password and email address immediately and fill out a proper Hacking Report within thirty days of the incident. If you are not so lucky and you have no way of accessing your hacked account, log onto a mule or secondary account and fill out a Hacking Report.

Real moderators and administrators will never need to ask you for your password!

The Phishing Site Hack


• Example: You receive a private message from someone; it could be someone you've seen before, someone you have never seen before, and it can even be from someone on your own friends list. They can tell you that they want you to vote for them in the Avatar Arena this week, or that they want you to check out this cool thread on Gaia. The person might say that they want to show you this cool website where you can download some programs or bots (learn more about bots under Section 4 on Hack Prevention) that will give you more gold. If this person has experience in coding, you might even see a small pop-up come up that asks you for your username and password.
  
  
• Signs of a Hack Attempt: If a pop-up comes up that asks you for your password, you should immediately know that it's a scam because you should know that anyone who asks for your password intends to steal your gold and/or items from you. If you come across a message like this, report it to a moderator immediately after closing out of the pop-up. For the other examples, however, you should hover your mouse over each link and click "Properties." If the link does not go to Gaia Online or to a website you know and trust, it is not safe to click.
  
  
• The Risks: You may be redirected to a website with cookie grabbers (which raid your browser's recent cookies and find your password there) or key loggers (which record everything that is typed into that page), and your password could land in the hands of some hacker.
  
  
• To Prevent It: Simply do not click links to places you do not know. Ask your friend to send you the Gaia Online link to whatever it is they want to show you instead of a link shortened by Tinyurl or any other URL shortening service. Always hover your mouse over any link you're about to click, right-click it and hit "Properties," and make sure that the link you're going to begins with www.gaiaonline.com. If the link does not go to a place on Gaia Online or to a website you know and trust, do not click it.
  
  
• If You're a Victim: If you come across a page that resembles a Gaia Online log-in screen, check your location bar; if the link does not begin with www.gaiaonline.com, do not type in your username and/or password! If you come across a cookie-grabbing or key-logging site, clear your cookies and then, on Gaia Online, change your password immediately. Then, run a virus scan. If you have already fallen victim to a phishing scam and cannot access your account, you have been hacked, and you need to fill out a proper Hacking Report within thirty days of the incident.

Never click links that lead to places you're not familiar with! Make sure that every URL you click on begins with www.gaiaonline.com!

 

[Ebania]

gaia_star Ban Prevention

Bots and Botting

Everybody loves gold. Even people who donate thousands upon thousands of gold to charity love gold. A love for gold is certainly one thing that all Gaians have in common -- but how do we earn it?

It's easy to be overwhelmed with the price of that one special, perfect item; it's also easy to be overwhelmed when we see the wealth of our friends and of strangers. I know I felt a bit out of place when I first joined Gaia; as a matter of fact, when I joined back in mid-2005, there weren't nearly as many opportunities to obtain gold as there are now, and there definitely wasn't as broad a variety of items and activities.

You, as a member, have the opportunity to earn your gold and your items honorably -- through perseverance and dedication. This has not changed since I first joined Gaia -- regardless of the different circumstances. You always have the choice to either do the right thing or to do the wrong thing.

But what is the wrong thing? Botting.

A bot is an "automated script" used to generate gold while you're not at your computer or at a much faster rate than you would by participating in activities here on Gaia. In other words: If a program is doing it and you're not, it's a bot.

The Rules and Guidelines of Gaia Online say that, if you are suspected of botting, you may be permanently banned from Gaia Online. Needless to say, botting is not worth it and you will lose more than you gain by doing so.

The Terms of Service

The heart of Gaia Online's rules and regulations is its Terms of Service. If you haven't done so already, please take a few minutes to read through them and understand their implications.

The Terms of Service prohibits the following activity:

• Giving out personal information on Gaia that could be used to find you in real life
  
• Threatening, defrauding, or making any offending remarks to any member (which includes "trolling")
  
• Posting pornographic material or any material that goes above a PG-13 rating (including child pornography or any material that may infringe upon the security of a minor)
  
• Infringing upon copyrights or stealing work from others
  
• Spreading viruses or any other damaging software
  
• Sending chainletters to any Gaian ("Pass this on to __ people and you'll have a great day tomorrow!")
  
• Attempting to scam/hack another member; asking for someone's password or giving away your own
  
• Botting, or using software in your browser to generate gold artificially
  
• Using gold to buy real-life things or using real-life currency/items to buy Gaia gold/items
  
• Using Gaia for any illegal purpose

The Terms of Service requires you to:

• Read the Rules and Guidelines and follow them
  
• Read and follow the rules of any Sticky or Announcement in Gaia's forums
  
• Understand that Gaia has every right to change the Terms of Service at any time
  
• Be thirteen years old or older during your time of registration for Gaia Online
  
• Keep your password a secret
  
• Understand that Gaia has full rights to edit or delete any inappropriate posts or messages you may send and that administrative action may be taken against you for breaking the rules

This is a condensed version of the Terms of Service and is no way complete; there are many other things you might want to be aware of, but these are the main things that get people into trouble. If you abide by these rules, I guarantee that your chances of ever being banned or contacted by a moderator will be very, very small (if not nonexistent).

Conduct and Etiquette

However important the Terms of Service may be, common courtesy and etiquette when interacting with other Gaians is something only experience can teach you. Just remember the following things when making friends:


• Even though cursing is allowed on Gaia, it doesn't make you sound respectable or intelligent. You may be the most sophisticated intellectual on Gaia, but as long as you're using four-letter vulgarities around me, I really am in doubt of that. Even though Gaia is very liberal in its policy with language and even though there is a word-filter function that can come in very handy, you are less likely to offend others and thus make more friends when you stay away from shocking or gross words.
  
  
• Your post doesn't have to be an essay, but please -- use proper spelling and grammar. We in the Newbie Supporting and Training Guild are not judgmental of people who use "chatspeak" or "netspeak" when chatting in the forums. But many people in outside forums aren't so forgiving, and they do underestimate the intelligence of people who type "lyk dis." However you chat with your friends is completely up to you, but when making a post in a public forum, please try to make your post, to the best of your ability, clear of netspeak.
  
  
• Use a post style that makes me want to read your posts. Try to use a legible font and post style when making a post; make sure that the size of the font is not too big or not too small (anywhere from 9 pt to 14 pt is fine) and that the color is not too light. Rainbow or gradient font may look pretty, but it is frustrating to read and to quote. Finally, try to stay away from quote trees, which is caused when you quote someone who quoted someone else, who quoted someone else, etc. Try to quote only the person or post to whom/which you are responding.
  
  
• Sarcasm is not easily read on the internet. Be careful with what you say and how you say it. You can avoid a lot of pointless drama if you are very clear, concise, and polite in your post. Playful sarcasm can come off as hostile or challenging to a member who may have had a bad day.
  
  
• Keep all of your private matters private. People come on Gaia to have a good time; no one wants to be bombarded with past PM exchanges or personal matters that exist between you and another Gaian. If there is harassment going on, report and ignore that person; do not drag bystanders into the situation.
  
  
• Do not beg for items or gold. It is frustrating to everyone involved. If you beg another Gaian for a share of their wealth, several things might happen: you might receive a nasty message in response from that person, be added to that person's Ignored List (meaning you will no longer be able to contact them), or be reported to a moderator for harassment. This goes back to what I said before about working for your gold and items in an honorable way -- begging, on Gaia, is not honorable. It is a slap in the face of those who did earn their gold and items honorably, so please refrain from doing so.
  
  
• Read the first post and the rules of a thread before posting in it. You will save yourself embarrassment and you will save the topic creator a lot of stress if you follow their rules and stay on topic. Purposely attempting to cause distress to the topic creator or to others engaged in discussion in the topic, otherwise known as trolling, is against the Terms of Service and can result in action being taken against your account.

 

[Ebania]

gaia_star Further Reading

The links below are all guides here on Gaia made by moderators or fellow users. Some are older threads, but all have helpful information.

From Gaia Headquarters

• Terms of Service
  
• Rules and Guidelines
  
• Safety Tips
  
• Gaia Online Help Center

Account Security

• Hacker Warnings: Suspicious Links/PMs
  
• Avoid Getting Hacked!
  
• Protecting Your Account

Other Valuable Information

• The Gaian Dictionary: Common Gaian Words and Acronyms
  
• Becoming a Respectable Gaian
  
• Gaia: Getting Started Guide

 

[Ebania]

gaia_star Feedback?

Do you have any questions, comments, suggestions or concerns about your account's security and the information this guide provides you with? If so, please leave a post here, in this thread, and I will respond in a timely fashion. Your feedback is extremely important because the information you provide me with may protect another Gaian from having their account's security compromised. Here in the Newbie Supporting and Training Guild, maintaining a safe, nurturing, and educational environment is our first priority; thank you for helping us in our mission! 4laugh

Thank you, and please stay safe!

 

[Ebania]

gaia_star Reserved  

[Ebania]

gaia_star Reserved