Trade Safety

[Bat]

It has come to our attention that we may have some users in our midst that are attempting to link seller activity in this community to accounts, pets and commodities on Neopets. We are currently working to track these individuals down and remove them, however we wanted to remind you to be careful about what sorts of information you share privately and publicly. Please be especially cautious when it comes to engaging in compromising discussions with newly registered users that you don't know or trust. Remember to report posts and private messages that break rules or probe for information. For those of you who are posting advertisements to communities outside of clraik, please be mindful to make sure that you aren't inadvertently outing yourself. If your posts to clraik look similar to your posts on other sites, then the people that are after you will make that connection and use that information against you. Using different usernames, avatars and contact information will not protect you from being identified if you aren't rewriting your advertisements.

Let's weather this nonsense like we always have. Stay safe, everyone.

[Synth Salazzle]

I'm going to write an entire guide to internet hygiene and having good opsec thanks to this post.

Edit: if anyone wants to collab let me know, I'm doing a write up in notepad as we speak.

[Zenitsu]

Kindly bumping this up again for more reach.

Thank you for looking out for us, Bat, and all those who have been shedding light, dedicating their time and resources to protect us, and working to remove these perpetrators. It's a shame that some people don't have anything better to do with their time than prey on and cause trouble for our lovely members and sellers. It's quite sad, actually.

You can never be too safe, so exercise great caution and stay safe, everyone. I will be extra wary of newer users, unknown faces, and those with low iTraders, and I recommend that all of you do the same. Remember to promptly report any posts or private messages that violate the community rules or attempt to extract personal information in any way. Let's look out for one another. Thank you!

[pppp3]

BFA! it's SO funny (in a not so funny way) that there are some people out there with enough time on their hands that they become neopets unofficial FBI. it's honestly SO chronically online. go outside and make some friends, pat a dog, sniff some flowers.. it makes me feel sorry for the people doing it. lol

[SourSkittles]

BFA! it's SO funny (in a not so funny way) that there are some people out there with enough time on their hands that they become neopets unofficial FBI. it's honestly SO chronically online. go outside and make some friends, pat a dog, sniff some flowers.. it makes me feel sorry for the people doing it. lol

What drew me to this site initially was the trading area. I didn't want to jump in right away. I have done quote on quote trades similar to this site but only as a receiver. I don't have a lot to offer but trying to get my ducks in a row so to speak before I even attempt to do so. I want to get into it eventually but will proceed with caution. I am hoping to first do some "trades" with long established players/members of this site as the receiving party!

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My reply brought me this cute userbar that matches my changed user name!

[Bulbasaur]

A perfect time for this to come up. I now dont feel as bad with wanting to sell/trade with familiar faces and those with a decent amount of feedback.
I want to not only be safe myself, but to be safe for those around me.

I come here to enjoy and play the game in a way that we all share.
So its disappointing to know that there are these little rats moving around here that just want to act like fools.

[Evelynn]

I will never understand people who do shit like this. Like c'mon, we're one of the places that keeps Neopets alive. What do you get in return? Internet clout from like your 3 anti-cheating friends?

[Rebel_Minx]

Literally laughing out loud and the internet/neopets cheating police! I haven't initiated any trades yet, as the receiver, mainly because I don't have the $$ to do so, but when I do, I will be taking to utmost precautions! These people are lame!

[Buizel]

It's insane behavior to do things such as this, especially since most of the hate that the userbase spreads about us is based on their own imaginations. :S Sorry to break your hearts, but no, there isn't a ck staff member that is some underground TNT member like you all wildly theorize. :P TNT giving users hundreds of items has absolutely nothing to do with us, so why don't you just ask your hero n_t to reveal whoever it is doing it? It's a kids game y'all.....please touch grass and try not to think so hard about our community lol.

Especially when it's a free site to register to! ;) Actually join and engage with the community and make your own personal judgement about clraik instead of just believing the word of some hivemind.

[SourSkittles]

In my own defense I do a lot on neo to. I wouldn't be Surprised if some people on here actually know of me on neo.
I am trying to find away to participate without my main account being involved in the intermingle or everything.
Like no direct trades from that account.
I would have to get to know someone pretty well on here to even phathom mentioning my user name on the site.
Might start utilizing a handful of shell accounts i have in the future.


I really really want to downsize my pets. Max on main and 4 sides. There all converted pets never really been a fan of UC lol.

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Un-Related (I am pulling out Userbar's like crazy today,) 3 Popsicles & The Besties and when I submitted this post Pokemon master popped up? The newbie one doesn't look right in that setup. It will have to do though,

[Excalibur]

bumping this while understanding what is to be expected of me. really sucks we have to go through this...

[Unown]

I wouldn't be surprised if Beth is a member here.

Usually the ones that are the most anti-cheaters are cheaters themselves lol

[Megiddo]

I wouldn't be surprised if Beth is a member here.

Usually the ones that are the most anti-cheaters are cheaters themselves lol


Makes for a good cover story when they get caught.

"Why are you a member of Clraik the cheating site?"

"That? Oh, I just use it to call out the people buying and selling pets and items"

[pppp3]

I wouldn't be surprised if Beth is a member here.

Usually the ones that are the most anti-cheaters are cheaters themselves lol

whooooo is beth lol, give us the tea

[Harvest Goddess]

Thanks for the post!

Imagine being so miserable in your own life that you go out of your way to ruin how someone else has fun and gets enjoyment from a dying fucking pet site.

If you’re lurking this thread because you’re a miserable vulture and you engage in trying to connect users to their offline aliases, get a fucking life, find a fucking hobby, and for the love of god get off the internet.

[smelly]

Hopefully this doesn't make people too scared of trading with new(er) users or those, such as myself, who have been here for a while but don't post so often.

I was looking to get some shells soon - although it seems as though there aren't so many for sale at the moment anyway.

[Crooked]

Super lame that this is going on, and also a good reminder to be careful. People suck.

[Bat]

Anybody visiting the trade forums is required to visit this thread before they are allowed to proceed, so bumping isn't necessary.


Hopefully this doesn't make people too scared of trading with new(er) users or those, such as myself, who have been here for a while but don't post so often.

I mean no disrespect in saying this, but you've posted 4 times in 5 years (including your post to this thread), you have no iTrader feedback, you have no avatar and no profile picture, and I'm guessing that if I looked, I'd probably find that you mostly drift towards controversial discussions when you visit the forum. There are probably a few people around that will sell to you regardless of how lived-in your account looks, but you're correct in assuming that people would generally be wary of you. I don't usually go the route of bluntly saying this sort of thing when a person openly claims that they're lurking, but this thread is discussing a problem with people stalking our community and attempting to identify our sellers. If you don't want to give us the impression that you're one of those people, then you would be more than welcome to put in the effort to engage with the community and put us at ease.

[Buizel]

Sorry, but I feel the same way as Bat. If anything, I hope this board serves as a precaution to sellers to be wary to newer users. This community has been burned one too many times by users playing as detectives and outting the accounts of sellers.

Building trust is apart of any deal. You'll become more and more trusted as you engage with the community, utilize the iTrader/rep actions, and don't just lurk on site for years.

But please, I don't intend for this message to be taken as an attack to any who fit in these categories. We're all just trying to play Neopets in the safest manner possible. :)

[Masterplayer44]

Thank you for bringing this to everyone's attention, being around this site for as long as I have (granted with large breaks between), leadership here always has the communities safety and best interests in mind with the decisions they make and is why this site has been as safe as it has, for as long as it has. Appreciate the non stop work you all put in day in and out for us.

[Totodile]

I wouldn't be surprised if Beth is a member here.

Usually the ones that are the most anti-cheaters are cheaters themselves lol

im also lost who is beth? gimmie the tea homie :o_o:

[Bat]

Please direct conversations like that to the under your skin ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) thread.

[whyamihere]

Thank you for keeping this community safe!! Also to anyone playing detective on this site, fuck you. Go touch grass.

Edit: Separately, how do I encourage my buyers and sellers to put in feedback for me, do I just outrightly ask it once the transaction is done? Also, if I have repeated transactions in the same time frame with the same user, do I give multiple reviews? Sorry with all the questions..

[DrillyGang]

Rule number 1: no snitching :(

[Synth Salazzle]

Thank you for keeping this community safe!! Also to anyone playing detective on this site, fuck you. Go touch grass.

Edit: Separately, how do I encourage my buyers and sellers to put in feedback for me, do I just outrightly ask it once the transaction is done? Also, if I have repeated transactions in the same time frame with the same user, do I give multiple reviews? Sorry with all the questions..

I personally literally flat out ask if they don't do it automatically.

[Politoed]

Rule number 1: no snitching :(

Snitches get stitches.

[Cherubi]

Thank you for saying this, Bat. It's a good reminder in general since we get caught up in chatting and being friendly that it's easy to forget sometimes the intentions of people aren't sincere like we think. It's really unfortunate. :(

[Misha]

I just want to pop in and say that if something happens and you are outed, if Drizzy is still around, I'll sick homie on you and it will not be good for you.

- - - Updated - - -

on the person that outed you***

[Spoildlittleme]

How low can you go!! Womp womp womp!!!

[DrillyGang]

How low can you go!! Womp womp womp!!!

Lower than my opinion of myself apparently which is the lowest known measursment in the universe! ツ💯

[abaj]

These people aim for individuals who just want to buy a few pixels with their lunch money because they can't get TNT to do anything about 40,000+ bot accounts and the well known cheaters. They still behave exactly like the snitches that they are back in elementary. Truly the game for manchildren.

[birdies]

Oof. I'd suspected this was happening based on a couple of recent things I'd seen, but had hoped it was a one off.

Personally, I've had a couple of good experiences with newbies / new sellers but I have rules for it - take proper precautions and make sure the pets won't be going to your main/personal accounts. Know the pet's background and ask as many questions as it takes to be comfortable. If you're not completely comfortable, don't trade.

Also advice for new traders that helped me: buy first, from reputable sellers. If you get a reputation as a trustworthy buyer you're also likely to be a trustworthy seller. Ideally, interact around the forum and let us get to know you! And don't expect anyone to give you more information than they're comfortable with. I'm *still* always hugely grateful when I'm trusted with more than the essential details.

At the end of the day, neopets trading and likely neopets as a whole would be dead without the black market, and most people you'll encounter here are kinder and more trustworthy than people you may run into on Neo itself. Trying to out people here to 'protect' Neo is just a massive self burn.

Stay safe everyone and please don't be dicks.

[Synth Salazzle]

Update DarkSkies is now heavily involved in the safety guide and it is now a team effort.

It's a really, large, and very important guide with a LOT of work going into it so I hope it's as useful as we're projecting.

[Izakaya]

Bumping this up again because I believe this thread need more view just for safeties.

[Sakuras]

Update DarkSkies is now heavily involved in the safety guide and it is now a team effort.

It's a really, large, and very important guide with a LOT of work going into it so I hope it's as useful as we're projecting.

looking forward to this guide, please crosspost it here once it's done! thanks for looking out for the community.

[Buizel]

Bat stated prior the board doesn't require bumping since you're required to view this thread when you go to the Trading section.

[Synth Salazzle]

looking forward to this guide, please crosspost it here once it's done! thanks for looking out for the community.

We're both experiencing a little burn out. But the guide is past the rough draft stage at this point.

We still have information to add but I'd say the guide is about 60-70% done at this current point. We're both taking a bit of a break today because there was a lot of formatting work yesterday.
Also would like it personally approved by Bat before we post. Just in case we missed something important, or there's some sort of error that might hurt rather than help. Normally I wouldn't go that far at all but I want it to be as accurate and helpful as possible

[Meepit]

Man people care too much about stuff that isn't disruptive to anyone. Buying a few things here over dealing with weeks and even months of nothing on the site is such a relief when you already spend your days dealing with people for a living.

[Stsbroughtmehere]

I think she wants to smooch nT

[Rhaenyra]

I know someone is stalking me, but I think it's someone actually on Neo, not necessarily someone here. A side got frozen for "buying Neopoints," even though I've never used that account to buy items... (any tips to get it back lol?)

[Cinnamoroll]

I know someone is stalking me, but I think it's someone actually on Neo, not necessarily someone here. A side got frozen for "buying Neopoints," even though I've never used that account to buy items... (any tips to get it back lol?)

Submit a ticket in regards to being wrongly targeted. If you think someone is going after you and you know who it is, report it.

[Synth Salazzle]

I'm sorry about the guide not being done yet, I have had back to back medical procedures for a few months now and honestly? I'm burned out and tired I had another one 2 days ago and I am honestly just tired and cant think straight. I have to go through minimally 2 more of them too and i'm just TIRED.

I promise it is still coming I just don't feel well.

[Crooked]

I'm sorry about the guide not being done yet, I have had back to back medical procedures for a few months now and honestly? I'm burned out and tired I had another one 2 days ago and I am honestly just tired and cant think straight. I have to go through minimally 2 more of them too and i'm just TIRED.

I promise it is still coming I just don't feel well.

There's no rush! Take all the time you need to recoup. 💙

[Synth Salazzle]

There's no rush! Take all the time you need to recoup. 💙

Going through second to last one today. I will be FREE soon.

I will be honest though right now I'm more distracted by synths and video games and I just have been taking down time in general and even my chores are slacking rn.

I promise it's still coming though.

[Alister]

Going through second to last one today. I will be FREE soon.

I will be honest though right now I'm more distracted by synths and video games and I just have been taking down time in general and even my chores are slacking rn.

I promise it's still coming though.

this statement has a familiar vibe, and as someone who VERY often lets a feeling of obligation toward hobbies make me feel irrationally guilty for pivoting to other things/just not being productive in my free time in general, please don't join me here lol. You just got your dream synth. Video games are a fantastic distraction when reality is stressful. Enjoy them and allocate your free time however you like without guilt.

[Synth Salazzle]

this statement has a familiar vibe, and as someone who VERY often lets a feeling of obligation toward hobbies make me feel irrationally guilty for pivoting to other things/just not being productive in my free time in general, please don't join me here lol. You just got your dream synth. Video games are a fantastic distraction when reality is stressful. Enjoy them and allocate your free time however you like without guilt.

I was wrong, I still have 2 more after today. Bleh. It's fine though I'm almost in the clear. Just a few more months.

And thanks, I needed that. I'm putting a lot of pressure on myself to finish which makes me go "i got enough goin on rn i dont wanna do this too"

[SilverStones]

Thank you for the heads up!

[SomeClown]

Really awesome to see the community stillalive, and well! Long time member, and it's awesome to see The Bat is still patroling the skies around us!

[PrettySarcastic]

I know this is "pinned" as it's an Announcement, but of late I have observed some similarities in what people are posting that they want to purchase here, and similarly "desperate" sounding posts on the Neoboards.

Please be cautious with this.

If you are loudly seeking one thing offsite and also looking for it on site, it becomes very simple for judgmental harpies to flock around you.

This could very easily be coincidental but just a reminder to take your privacy seriously! <3