Cheats and Scams
RuneScape is home to millions of people from many countries and walks of life and, like any community, there can be a few bad apples.
- — Jagex[src]
Beneath is a list of cheats and scams commonly found in RuneScape. This page is not meant to promote scamming, but rather to prevent players from being scammed. Using these scams and/or cheats will result in action taken against the player’s account. Although the trade limit update made many scams obsolete, many scams have come back due to the free trade update. Players must be warned NOT to use any of the below methods as they are against RuneScape Rules and will result in banning of the player’s account or even subsequent accounts used by the player.
Since RuneScape is an MMORPG, it would be unfair to have “cheat codes” in the game. Therefore, none exist in RuneScape. Players who offer so-called “cheats” such as free gold coins or memberships are usually either scammers or misinformed players.
There are still three main ways to “cheat”; bug abusing, account sharing, and macroing. Please be aware that these are not the only cheats, as bugs and glitches are also considered cheating, just to a lesser known effect. Most cheats available on other games aren’t accessible through Runescape, as it has to do with the unique way in which RuneScape is coded, and vice-versa.
The removal of Free Trade and the Wilderness put an end to most scamming, as players could no longer scam others for valuable items without paying for them; the most a player could theoretically gain from scamming was 50k. Also, players could no longer lure players to the wilderness and kill them.
The return of both Free Trade and the Wilderness caused an outbreak of scams, most notably the “Flower Game”, “Trust Game”, and “Double your Money” scam- being that players could transfer large amounts of wealth. This guide will hopefully ensure you outsmart the returning scammers to RuneScape, and help everyone in the ongoing “War on Scammers”.
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Bug abusing
Bug abusing is the act of using programming errors to one’s advantage. Bugs are rare, and are usually quickly reported and patched. Jagex does not offer rewards for reporting bugs, however. There was one exception to this rule.
Players who abuse bugs may be subject to action being taken against his/her account, up to or including a permanent ban.
Suggested action: Players who know about bugs should report them to Jagex via the “Submit a Bug Report” option on the main page of RuneScape under ‘Help’. If a player sees another player abusing a bug, then they can be reported for knowingly exploiting a bug under the honour section. As long as the player reports the bug to Jagex straight away, without spreading it to anyone else until Jagex fixes it, and does not continue to use the bug any more, then the player WON’T get in trouble. If the player doesn’t tell Jagex, or deliberately uses it again and again, then it will be considered breaking the rules.
Account sharing
Account sharing is having two or more people controlling the same character. Each account should only be used by ONE person. Account sharing is NOT allowed. You may not sell, transfer or lend your account to anyone else, or permit anyone else to use your account and you may not accept an account that anybody else offers you.
Suggested action: It is difficult to tell if a player is character sharing unless the player admits it. In this case, the player should be reported for buying, selling or sharing an account located in the honour section.
There are two methods Jagex uses to stop two or more people from using the same account:
- Prohibiting the same computer from simultaneously having two or more RuneScape clients running. If you try to open a second RuneScape client (even with a different web browser), a simple message will appear that says the player is violating the “terms of service” and will not let you connect.
- Simultaneous account usage. This means that two people are not only sharing the account, but are trying to log in at the same time. Since a player can’t be in two places at the same time, this will be logged and may be used by Jagex to identify people who are sharing accounts.
Jagex doesn’t have a problem with players having multiple character accounts, but players shouldn’t share accounts with other people. Sharing your account with anyone, including family members and/or friends, means that you are breaking a game rule and this can lead to your account being banned.
This also includes moving or lending items between a player’s own accounts, known as drop-trading. None of a player’s accounts should be interacting with each other in any way.
Scamming
There are many scams in RuneScape that a player may fall for. These scams may cause the player to lose their money, items, or even accounts. Scams tend to come and go due to updates. For example, the Gravestone update reduced scamming greatly by preventing players from immediately being able to pick up a player’s items after dying. Although Jagex has made an effort to limit scamming as much as possible, it still persists today. A list of antiquated scams can be found here.
All usernames used in the examples are hypothetical, and any resemblance to real usernames are coincidental.
Item Scams
Money For Information Scam
Player 1 sees a cool item/weapon wants it but doesn’t know how to get it. Player 2 “tells” the Player 1 how to get it. The scam is most often performed with uncommon or unusual items like a Rune defender or Barrelchest anchor rather than common ones such as a Steel longsword.
Example 1:
| Player 2: Hey dude, give me 10k and I’ll tell you what this item is. It’s really good and you only need level 1 ATK to use it Player 1: Ok, here’s the 10k. Player 2: Ha ha, stupid noob.(or) Player 2: tells player something about the item but a few minutes later Player 2 teleports away or logs off, leaving player 1 still not knowing what the item is and with 10k less. |
Suggested Action: Report the player for item scamming. Ask a more honest player about the item or look it up on a fan site. (Note: If the player actually tells you what the item does after being paid, you CANNOT report him/her though this is rarely ever the case.)
Claiming an item is rare when it isn’t
A scammer may claim an item is very rare, when it is actually very easy to obtain.
Example:
| Player 1: I need some help with this miniquest. Where am I supposed to get an Eye of Newt?
Player 2: It’s very rare and almost impossible to obtain. Player 1: Then how will I finish this quest? Player 2: It costs 20,000 coins. I’ve got one of the few ones in existence. You want it? Player 1: Sure! Player 2 sets up trade offer. Player 1: Why is it showing up as 10 coins? Player 2: That’s a glitch. Don’t worry. |
Suggested Actions: Jagex NEVER had a glitch like this once, so report Player 2 for item scamming. This scam is relatively easy to avoid if you double check the guide price on the trade screen. However, if a player were to offer an item for a ridiculous price, it is NOT considered scamming unless the player explicitly states such an item is rare and/or unobtainable, like in the example.
Trust scam
Some players might attempt to trick other players into playing “trust games” making you to trade expensive items and such, NEVER PARTICIPATE IN THESE TYPES OF GAMES! “Trust game” scams have now resurfaced as a result of the free trade update.
Example 1:
| Player 1: Follow me for free rune chain! Player 1: We’re gonna play the trust game Player 1: Whoever lets me hold the most valuable item wins! |
Example 2
| Player 1: Wanna join my clan? Player 1: You’ll need to trust me first. Player 1: Give me your r2h and i’ll give it right back. |
Example 3
| Player 1: Hey, I’m quitting and giving away all of my stuff, but first I need to see if players are trustworthy enough.Player 1: Give me a few items and I’ll give them back along with an “extra” bonus item. |
Example 4
| Player 1: Follow me to play the game of Trustworthiness, 7 Million,I’m quitting and giving away all of my stuff, but first I need to see if players are trustworthy enough.Player 1: Give me a bid, And I will give it right back, highest bid wins. |
Example 5
| Player 1: follow for 20mPlayer 2: o wow 20m! i rlly want it
Player 3: omg 20m!!! plllzzzz gimme it Player 1: ok bid and who gets highest bid wins Player 2 and 3: Player 2 and 3 bid and are struggling to get a higher bid, player 3 wins, he is told to meet at the bank for his money but just as soon as player 3 is about to recieve his money from player 1, player 1 logs out and player 3 does not have his money and lost all of his money (and possibly all his stuff) |
Suggested actions: Immediately after the host provides evidence that he is playing the trust game, the player may report him/her for item scamming in the honour section of the rules. However this is not the case now as item lending has been put into place.
Wilderness Luring
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Main article: Luring#Wilderness luring
Wilderness Lure would be when a player would announce that they were doing a Player Killing video and encouraged the victim to bring anywhere between 1 to 3 of their most valuable items, telling them that they would never skull. The victim would be led into 23 or so wilderness where they could not teleport with the scammer and a friend of his to help. The scammer would then trade the victim a chinchompa (item), telling them to wield it and put on auto-retaliate and it would make a “cool explosion.” Since chinchompas have an area effect, the explosion would hit the nearby friend and the victim would be skulled. At this point the scammers would team the victim, killing them, and causing them to lose their items.
Ice Plateau Scam
Ever since the old style Wilderness returned on 1 February 2011, this scam has become quite common. A high leveled player (120+) advertises a drop party often on a crowded world at the Grand Exchange. Many people bring their most valuable items with them and follow the scammer who will lead them to a random location. The scammer will then teleport everyone to Ice Plateau and kill everyone in sight, thus looting everyone’s valuable items.
Example:
| Player 1: 200 m drop party!
Player 2: Ooh, cool! I want to be in it. Player 3: Me, too. Player 4: I’m coming, too. I want some good stuff. Player 1 teleports all participants to Ice Plateau, kills them and takes their items. |
Suggested action: It is rather difficult to tell if the player in question is legitimate or not until he/she teleports others. As this is considered a form of luring, it is indeed considered a scam so reporting is the most viable option. To avoid this scam, always check twice before hitting the “Confirm button” so you know where you are being teleported to. You can also just bring nothing and accept the teleport to see whether it is actually a scam or not.
Double Money Scam
A scammer offers to double another player’s money. Often, the scammer starts out with low values to earn the player’s trust.
Note: This old scam has resurfaced with the re-release of the old wild and free trade. Anyone offering to “double” or “duplicate” your money is simply trying to scam you.
Now, many players that dislike this scam have started “reverse scamming.” This is asking for a 1M+ double, and saying that a 10k and 50k double would prove the legitness of the would-be scammer. The player that got the resulting 60k gain would then not ask for the 1M double, resulting in a 60k loss for the scammer.
Player 2: Give me 1k and i’ll double it.
Player 1: Sweet!
Player 1 goes to bank, takes out 1k.
Player 2 gives 2k to earn Player 1’s trust
Player 2: Cheers!
Player 2: I could do it with 100k, too.
Player 1: Sure.
Player 1 gives Player 2 100k.
Player 2 logs out.
Suggested Action: Report the scammer.
Player House Scam
Some players will try to give you a rare or expensive item for something you might have.
Example:
| Player 1: Hey ill give you my abyssal whip for your rune armour
Player 2: ok sure Player 1 brings Player 2 to his player-owned house. Player 1: ok put all of your armour on the table and ill put my whip on the table. Player 2 puts all of their armour on the table. As soon as Player 1 sees the armour he kicks Player 2 from the house and takes the rune armour. |
Suggested action: Make sure you report the player and just remember that if a deal is too good to be true, then it’s probably a scam.
Trade password for item scam
Some players will claim to give away their password for a certain item they want.
Example:
| Player 1: I’m giving my pass for dragon plate. |
Suggested actions: Simply ignore them and report the player item scamming. Even though they are mentioning their password, they can’t be reported for password scamming because they are not scamming for someone else’s password, only their items. Since they are offering their account (even though they would probably lie about or not even say their password), they can be reported for Account sharing/trading.
Show Inventory for Amount Scam
This scam, like the Ice Plateau scam, is a recent one appearing on 1 February 2011. Some players will say that they are filling other people’s inventories with a certain item, such as Amulets of glory. They ask people to show what they have in their inventory so that the scammer knows how many items to give. Actually, the scammer ends up trading the item they are giving away for something much more valuable. In excitement of getting something for free the targeted player often forgets to take their items out of the trade and quickly clicks accept.
Example:
| Player 2: Giving free sharks show inventory so I know how many to give!
Player 1 sets up a trade offer. Player 1: Alright, here’s what I got in my inventory. Player 1 shows all the various items in his/her inventory (which may be higher value than the items offered by the scammer). Player 2 puts up number of sharks equal to 28 minus Player 1’s number of items shown in trade. Trade takes place and Player 1 realizes he/she unwittingly gave the scammer everything in their inventory in exchange for something less expensive. |
Suggested action: Pay attention to what you are trading before you hit the accept button. As the number of free inventory spaces is displayed on the trade screen, careful players can easily avoid this scam. The wealth transfer is also displayed. If the questioned player had the intention to steal your items, report him/her for item scamming.
Surrogate Trader Scam
This scam involves a team of scammers, at least two, one of which is on the victims “Friend List”. The friend will PM the player, asking them to see if they can find a supposedly rare item at the GE, offering to reimbursetheir victim after obtaining it. The seller who the player finds with the requested item offers it for sale at a greatly reduced cist, in cash or expensive items. As soon as the trade is made, the remote friend ignore lists the player and the trader logs out.
Example:
Player 1: (in PM) Hey, are you at the Grand Exchange?
Player 2: Sure, you need something?
Player 1: Yeah, see if you can find me a Ruby Chalice. I’ll pay $150 million for it.
Player 2: Okay..
Player 2 conveniently finds a seller who offers the item in trade for far more valuable items without checking the actual value of the requested item, make the trade and loses their possessions.
Password Scams
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Main article: Cheats and scams/Password scams
Password scamming is a more serious kind of scamming where a player steals another’s password.
Miscellaneous
The following are not actually scams and are not reportable, but they are still considered against the spirit of the game.
Fake Skillcapes
Fake Skillcapes are non-existent items which some users use to scam others. For example, the cow skillcape was allegedly given to a player that killed 10,000 cows (some players additionally lied that the skillcape would come with a cow costume and an emote). This was actually a scam, to waste a player’s time. Some scammers would also secretly record gullible players killing cows for upload to YouTube.
Fake Quiting Party
This scam is when people claim they are quiting and lead players to a hidden area. In this hidden area, people would ask you to play a Trust Game of betting. If they are quitting then they would normaly give their stuff away or give it to someone poor and not bet on it. The scammer then accepts and returns items. After a few minutes of betting people think it is not a scam and bet millions. The scammer then teles or logs out with a few million extra.
Item Lending Trick
Some players who want an item for a long period of time and not paying the correct amount of coins, may try to offer the incorrect amount of coins.
Example:
| Player 1: Lending whip! 10K an hour!! Player 2: Can I borrow it for 10 hours? Player 1: All right. Player 2 offers 100K and player 1 offers the whip for 10 hours. Player 2 removes the 100K, replaces with 1gp, adds the 100K back, and quickly removes 90K and accepts quickly. ‘Player 1′ accepts. Player 2 teleports or logs out. |
Suggested Action: Unfortunately, Jagex doesn’t regard this as a scam, because you are not losing any items, and the scammer can give a very good excuse if they are banned.
Flower Game
“The Flower Game” is a player-made game on Runescape which involves gambling. The player hosting the game will determine how much a winning bet will be multiplied.
Because this game can be used as a method of scamming, players should be wary of any deals that seem too good to be true, and must understand that they are playing the game at their own risk, as is the case with any gambling game. If a so-called “dealer” is legitimate, ask him / her to trust you (exactly the same way he / she is asking you to trust him / her) and take your bet after the winner is determined, much the same way that he / she is asking you to trust him / her to give you your winnings after the flower grows. If he / she is unwilling to do this, it is a scam. Don’t be fooled – avoid being scammed.
How the game is played:
The gambling player will trade the host any number of coins and bet on which color flower the host will plant. If they guess correctly, the host will award them with a prize (usually 3 or 4 times higher than the original bet).
Sometimes hosts will claim that they are offering extremely high priced prizes with a low gambling price. Many of these are scams, so it is important to play at one’s own risk. They may also deploy a friend to pretend to win the game and trick others into playing.
Example:
| Host: Flower game! 2 tries for 500k! Prize is Dragon claws! Partner: Ohh I want a game! *Partner loses* Host: Gf your 500k 😉 Partner: Darn you! I want to try again! *Partner plays multiple times, possibly cursing the Host to make it more convincing, until he eventually wins* *Partner trades the Host and equips the claws* Partner: Omg I can’t believe this! Tyyyy dude you are awesome |
Here is a list of flower colors that can be planted:
- Blue
- Red
- Yellow
- Orange
- Purple
- Brights
- Pastels
- Black (very rare)
- White (very rare)
The chances of winning a game are roughly 1/7. See flowers for more information.
Dice Game
The so-called “Dice Game” is simply another form of scamming along the same lines as the “Flower Game”. The player will ask you to give him / her cash, and he / she will claim to pay you your “winnings” if the correct number comes up when he / she rolls the dice in his / her clan chat. This is simply a new “twist” on the old “trust game” scam that has resurfaced as a result of the return of the free trade. If a player wants to play the “Dice Game” with you, simply tell that player that you will pay him / her your bet after the dice roll – after all, it’s the same thing as paying them first and trusting them to pay you your “winnings” after the dice are rolled. Even if the player offering the dice game is an honest player, offering a fair game, they may not agree to trading your money after the roll, fearing that they will lose out on the bet if the betting player loses. Keep in mind that although this is sometimes a scam where they will not pay out for a winning roll, some players are hosting legitimate games of chance.
Rounding money scam.
This scam is similar to doubling your money. It seems more legitimate as the scam takes place over one trade instead of two. The scammer will claim to round your money up to say the nearst million coins and ask you to place your money in the trade window so they know how much to give you. They will then put up the requried money and click accept. The scam only works if the target forgets that they have offered money. A scenario where this scam is used is where a target has 3.1 mill and places all of it up in a trade. The scammer then offers 900k and clicks accept. The target player forgets that they have the 3.1m in the trade and accept it they will find themselves 2.2m down.
Antiquated Scams
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Main article: Cheats and scams/Antiquated scams
Many other scams existed other than these, but a lot of them have been rendered obsolete or are very rare.
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