Those who sell lose their gaming account and do not get any money or those who buy do not get an account and get the money back. As is so often the case, only the third party laughs - here the criminals who steal the gaming account without paying themselves. Our partners from Watchlist Internet ( HERE ) warn.

What is triangle fraud?

In triangular fraud, as the name suggests, there are three parties involved. Firstly, there is the selling person who offers their goods or their account. Secondly, there is the criminal person who wants to steal the goods or account without paying and therefore copies the sales advertisement and offers it elsewhere. Third, there is the buying person who comes across the copied sales ad but pays for the first person's original ad.

The person selling receives the money and sends the goods or the gaming account to the criminals. The criminals have what they wanted and are making off with it. However, the person making the purchase waits in vain for the goods or the account and tries everything to get back the money they paid for. This means a lot of trouble and effort for both the person selling and the person selling.

The triangle fraud in detail

The following graphic illustrates the process:

The triangle scam seems complicated, but for criminals it is a simple trick - Source: Watchlist Internet, symbols by Gregor Cresnar / Noun Project
The triangle scam seems complicated, but for criminals it is a simple trick - Source: Watchlist Internet, symbols by Gregor Cresnar / Noun Project
  1. The fraudster searches for a product or an account on classified ad portals. He expresses interest to the honest seller and even announces that he will transfer the amount for the goods via PayPal or to the bank account in the next few days.
  2. At the same time, the criminal copies the honest seller's ad and posts the offer on another classifieds platform. The criminal waits until the honest buyer comes forward and wants to buy the goods.
  3. The criminal gives the buyer the seller's account or PayPal details. This transfers the money to the seller.
  4. The seller has received the money and is therefore shipping the goods or the account. However, the fraudster gave his own address. So he receives the package with the goods or the message with the account details that were paid for by the honest buyer and changes the login details. The buyer who has paid honestly, however, waits in vain for the goods or the account.

Who is left with the damage?

The damage occurs either to the person buying, who paid the money but never receives the account, or to the person selling, for example if PayPal was used and the money can be returned.

But even if the money cannot be returned, the person selling it may face trouble. If the buying person files a police report, the trace of the transfer leads directly to the selling person.

Retrieve accounts via support

If you have sold a gaming account and it has ended up with criminals instead of honest customers, you can try to get the account back through the game's support. Under certain circumstances, games offer the opportunity to get back accounts that have been taken over and hacked.

What protects against triangle fraud?

Triangular fraud is sometimes particularly difficult to recognize as fraud. However, the following points can be taken into account to reduce the chances of falling victim to this type of fraud:

  • Compare profile, contact and payment details: If, for example, the name of the sales profile and the name of the bank or PayPal account owner differ, caution is advised.
  • Buying and selling face to face: Such fraud is impossible if the deal is concluded at a real meeting. In general, this means that most scams on classified advertising platforms can be ruled out.
  • Be aware of strange delays and excuses in communication: If you end up with criminals in a triangle scam, there may be repeated delays in chatting or making payments. This may be because the criminals have to communicate with sellers and buyers at the same time without either side noticing anything.

Gamers should also be aware of other scams that our partners at Watchlist Internet have put together here

Source: Watchlist Internet

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