The scam

Three weeks had gone by since my last update. Time really flies. During this brief hiatus I lost a good chunk of my savings to a scammer, which, in turn fueled me to grind level 4’s even harder to make up for my loss. Thanks to CCP extending the downtime it finally seems like the appropriate moment to reflect upon the past.

What happened? It all began when Dax Jr. decided to test out a fitting for his Tristan ahead of a frigate tournament organized by former fellow corp pilot, Marckis. I say former because a few days ago he left after announcing he was ‘bored.’ What corp? Good question. I joined a corporation named The Dark Forge Enterprises, a laid back 45 man strong high sec corporation that doesn’t specialize in anything… yet. More about the corp in a later post. So there I was in Dodixie to collect a small ancillary current router that I purchased minutes ago.

Before I continue, you, the reader, must be made aware of the fact that I have a certain acquaintance that sends group mails at times offering to buy minerals, and at other listing items for sale. When I saw my mailbox blinking, I thought it was he. Below is a common scam in EVE that unfortunate people, like me, fall for.

So conveniently alphabetical… wasn’t too late to notice.

The only way I could get back was to get him kicked out of his then corp. Some lessons: a) trade hubs are the playground for scammers ranging from mail spammers to ponzi schemers, b) never use direct trade with anyone, the only exception being your alts, and c) scamming is a part of the game so shame on you for giving away your assets. Read the crime & punishment forum or at least ask an experienced player in corp channel for advice before undertaking any impromptu transaction. I’m now the butt of every Dominix Navy Issue jokes in the corp thanks to the incident.

The Tristan I was spinning in the station while I lost my money managed to destroy three frigates in row. Marckis, who organized the event, left without a word leaving me as the only pilot with a winning record. The tournament isn’t going forward, and I doubt it will, given the eagerness of getting it done, or the lack of it.