New tell spam problem lately

This needs to die in a car fire already. Up to 5 times in the last couple days alone with me.

https://i.imgur.com/jUjy7oG.png

*Edit: Yes I reported it.
*Edit 2: Censored

This has been happening for months now.
Sadly, it'll only stop if people stop falling for the phishing attempts. The fact that it's been going on for so long (and usually sent via a player who's account was obviously hijacked) just shows how many people fall for these scams.

Also you should probably not include the player names or the full URL in your screesnhots.
As I mentioned, the player sending you that tell is a hijacked account. They'll likely get their account back from the scammer after some SE customer support. They'll probably have no gil left and nothing of value to their name. But the last thing they want is their name up on wanted poster because someone else took a screenshot of a scammer controlling their character. Yes it's that players fault for falling for it 100%, but SE also doesn't take kindly to the name and shame tactics.

Not really sure why they are protesting about the update which is scheduled for later in October - so the Devs should produce content and then sit on it until next year? or maybe they are more upset that there is a totally even footing on the new housing wards instead of them being FC only?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bearded

Not really sure why they are protesting about the update which is scheduled for later in October - so the Devs should produce content and then sit on it until next year? or maybe they are more upset that there is a totally even footing on the new housing wards instead of them being FC only?

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They aren't protesting against anything. It's just the fake hook they are using to lure people into their phishing attempt. Before they started using this version of the phish they were using fake contests/draws for gil as the hook. I suspect they switched over because they found that more people fall for the current one than the gil contest one.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bearded

Not really sure why they are protesting about the update which is scheduled for later in October - so the Devs should produce content and then sit on it until next year? or maybe they are more upset that there is a totally even footing on the new housing wards instead of them being FC only?

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The tell isn't about the patch. The tell is a phishing scam.

What's sad is the number of players that fall for it because they haven't been taught simple online safety tips.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bearded

Not really sure why they are protesting about the update which is scheduled for later in October - so the Devs should produce content and then sit on it until next year? or maybe they are more upset that there is a totally even footing on the new housing wards instead of them being FC only?

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Read it again. It doesn't say anything about what patch they're objecting to, or what "this sensitive time" is.

A few months ago we had this same discussion and people were asking what was so controversial about patch 5.3.

It's designed to be everlasting and vague and to let your mind automatically fill in the blanks.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Iscah

Read it again. It doesn't say anything about what patch they're objecting to, or what "this sensitive time" is.

A few months ago we had this same discussion and people were asking what was so controversial about patch 5.3.

It's designed to be everlasting and vague and to let your mind automatically fill in the blanks.

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Pretty sure it started back in Q1 with the start of the pandemic, and all the issues with that.

Oh I see - was not clear from the redacted part that there was a link to a phishing site. Makes sense now

every other day on reddit there is a post of someone saying they fell for the phishing scam. this still happens because it works. please educate yourselves and think twice before doing anything that gives you pause.

There are multiple fundamental bits of knowledge many people are sadly lacking which include:

1. Don't trust links from strangers.

2. The official forums only require you to be logged in to make posts, not view them.

3. SE never asks for your one time password until after you've entered your account name/standard password correctly.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Avatre

Pretty sure it started back in Q1 with the start of the pandemic, and all the issues with that.

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My point is, just because it started with the pandemic doesn't mean they're referring to the pandemic. By using the vague term "this sensitive time" the exact same trap message can be sent out for years to come, and people will keep filling in the blank with whatever sensitive issue might be going on at the time.

People who fall for these probably fall for Nigerian prince too.

Last couple of days? Lucky you! I've been having scam Pm's since I started playing MMO's in 2004.

Ignore it? Learn to live with it?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Fhaerron

Last couple of days? Lucky you! I've been having scam Pm's since I started playing MMO's in 2004.

Ignore it? Learn to live with it?

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We may accept this fate, or defy it, but we cannot deny it.

Real talk though, I really would like a context menu option for reporting these like we have for RMT. The Support Desk report system is far too slow for how frequently these are occurring now— It feels like it's not really worth the trouble when there's just going to be a new one within a day.

Not new. It feels like it's been happening for about a year.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by LuckShance

We may accept this fate, or defy it, but we cannot deny it.

Real talk though, I really would like a context menu option for reporting these like we have for RMT. The Support Desk report system is far too slow for how frequently these are occurring now— It feels like it's not really worth the trouble when there's just going to be a new one within a day.

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Doesn't take that long to fill out a Support Desk ticket, at least not on PC. I can do one in about 30 seconds now with a quick copy/paste of the tell, mark it "Phishing Scam" and send it.

What I wish SE would do is post a Lodestone notice that will appear on the launcher, just as the old Twitch scam notice still appears. They can list sample language from the 3 tells that primarily get used as examples (the scammers will no doubt come up with a new one eventually) and stress that players should never visit links received in game, especially from players they do not personally know and trust (or even a friend in case their account has been compromised). There will still be idiots who fall for the scams but at least it should be fewer than get caught now.