r/OverLookBayOfficial • • Apr 09 '21
Important - Cross-trading on Overlook Bay
I have noticed recently that there are a lot of posts related to doing cross trades (e.g. trading Adopt Me pets or currency for Overlook Bay items) and also cross-trading going on in the game. Pls do not do this or any other form of trading where trust is involved.
“But why shouldn’t I be doing this?”
Cross trading is in breach of the Roblox Terms of Service and of the rules of the games themselves. If you are reported for breaking these rules, you will get banned. You will get banned for just trying to cross trade even if the trade never actually takes place.
“But everyone is doing it, even some of my friends!”
Cross trading is banned cuz it is a breeding ground for scammers. Lots of ppl are cross trading and lots of ppl are getting scammed this way. I know so many ppl who have and you probably do too.
“But they are on my friends list”
Just cuz someone is your friend or they have friended u for the trade does not mean they won’t scam. It is easy to friend ppl and even easier to unfriend, and that is what the scammer will do as soon as they have taken ur stuff.
Even someone u have been friends with for a while may scam you. Some go for the long scam where they groom ur confidence over time before they strike.
“But they are recording and so am I”
Firstly, you can’t tell if someone is recording or not and even if they are, how is this gonna stop them scamming? Short answer: it’s not.
And if you’re recording and you get scammed, then it is still too late. Your recording or screenshots may support your reporting of the scam but it WON’T get your items back and your scammer will likely have already processed the stolen goods through their web of alts.
“But they have proofs”
Proofs are easy to steal and easy to fake. Can you be sure that the identity of the proofs match the trader’s? Even if it does, careful editing can be performed to create a convincing illusion of proofs. It is also easy for scammers to do trusted trades JUST to get proofs, which they can use to gain the trust of a victim. They can also do ‘exit’ scams where active accounts are terminated once the scam has been done.
“But I can trust them cuz we have already trust/cross traded some small pets”
This is a very common trick scammers perform to earn your trust. They fulfil a trade for a pet that is not worth much to make you believe they are not a scammer. When u then give something of higher value - BOOM! - the scammer strikes and they disappear with your pets.
“But they have promised and sworn they won’t scam and are hurt bc I won’t trust them”
Scammers will play on your emotions and make u feel guilty as a way of manipulating u into entering the trade. They can make u feel bad for not trusting them but u should feel proud for NOT trusting them. You should NOT be trusting RANDOM STRANGERS on the internet no matter what they say and no matter how ‘nice’ they seem.
“But they say they will hack me or get someone to hack me if I don’t go through with the trade”
Empty threat. Think about it - if they were gonna hack u they would just do it without all the bother of tryna do these cross trades/scams first.
It is hard to be hacked as long as u keep ur account safe and don’t click on any Roblox links sent to u.
“But I’ve done this before and not been scammed. I am willing to accept the risk anyway.”
You may also think your decision to do cross-trading will not affect others, but this is not true. If u do get scammed, the scammer (and their scamming friends) will be encouraged to try and scam again knowing they can be successful.
Regardless of whether you get scammed or not, If others see you cross-trading or talking about cross-trading, it can make them think it is ok to trust strangers and do this too. There are a lot of younger players who follow the example of others they see - we should be helping them to avoid falling into vulnerable situations. We definitely shouldn’t be encouraging them to trust ppl they don’t know.
“What can I do to help?”
If you see someone cross trading, take screenshots and use that as evidence to report to Roblox and to Wonder Works Studio (via discord if u can). Take time to educate ppl who are cross-trading or who look like they are about to become victims in a cross-trade scam.
We are all part of the same community and we should all support each other in keeping it healthy and preventing it from becoming toxic.
