Hello and Welcome to "Kittyxneo's No Worries Guide to a Safer Account." All this information that follows is very important. A good Portion of this information was given to me by an Actual Hacker who tends to cause mayhem frequently around Neopia (don't worry he's frozen now along with the Scam Site that him and a whole bunch of other Hackers used) I received this information right after my account was Cookie Grabbed (to know more about it go to the bottom section) The on ly reason I got my account back was because of the Email Address. (This happened twice and the second time my email address changed, but the secret word wasn't so I stayed on Neopets all day until I could change the email back to my own.) I received the Secret Word to my account and when I logged into my account I had a mail from a user who claimed to be the Hacker of my account. He told me he was sorry and then returned all the items that he stole from me. (That was a little over 150k and about 300k in items.) He then gave me his MSN so that we could talk. I added him on my list and he told me everything. From how he hacks accounts to how to keep your account safe so that it doesn't EVER happen to me again. The next day after this conversation my account was frozen for "falling for a scam" I filled out the information sheet and 2 weeks later I received my account back. I don't think that I should be the on ly Neopian with this information so it is all provided for you below. If you have any questions please feel free to ask.
Basics
OK so lets start out with the basics. Now for common sense reasons Never Ever give out your Xword to anyone (not even your bestest bestest friend in the whole wide world) because you never know what's going to happen. Don't fall for any scams of any sort.
Use your best judgment. The scammer will seem nice at first but don't be fooled. They will scam you. If you feel uncomfortable with this person at any time or sense fishiness then just say "no thanks" and stop talking to them.
If they start giving you problems you are allowed to report them for "harassment" don't be afraid to say "no" because if you are your account may be in danger.
If you are lending out an item and you say collateral. Stick to that collateral. Don't make any exceptions. That's what you want to lend out that item and if that user does not have it then just say "I'm sorry, come back when you have the correct amount
Try not to stick out. Don't be doing anything that you think will make you pop out in Neopia. That will make you an even bigger target. Yes, I know that we all want to be famous but don't go bragging around the boards or be constantly giving away items (I know its a nice thing to do but it will make your account more wanting)
Below are some more detailed ways to keep your account safe. Read them carefully and feel free to mail me any kind of questions that you have. Believe it or not but there are people out there that will do whatever it takes just to have a draik. Whether that means scamming you out or Hacking.
Keep Track of all your Information. From All the pets you abandoned, to how many mails you have and what they are about, and all your Neofriends and Trades you do with everyone. If you do get hacked, this information will help you beyond all belief to get your account back.
Your Secret Word
I can't stress enough on how NOT to give out your secret word. Never Ever Do it! Make sure that your secret word is something hard to guess for others but somewhat easy for you. Just read below on some Secret Word tips (All of these tips came form the hacker that I talked to so if you do all of the following no program will ever be able to get your accounts access information)
1. Never use a word that has "meaning" for your Xword. Such as: don't have your Xword something like "titanic1" because Titanic is the name of a movie/Ship/meaning of Big or huge and has a meaning. Try not to use words like "icecream100"; the word ice cream has meaning. Do you get it?
2. Now Neopets has a rule that you must now have at least on e number/symbol for your word. I am guessing that they realized that if you have something like that in your word your hacking chances would decrease.
3. Most programs for cracking your secret word use all words/with numbers 00-99 so it's a lot safer to have Symbols in your Xword. IT is suggested to use at least one weird symbol in your Xword. The more weird symbols (any number using the shift key with # 0-9) you have the safer you will be. It is ok to have numbers in your Xword but with just on e symbol, no one will ever be able to hack into your account with the special programs out there.
4. Having your Xword somewhere on your computer is also strongly suggested (save it in Notepad, Microsoft Word) so incase you forget it you can just look it up.
5. If you have any side accounts (most of us do) it is a good idea NOT to have all your Xwords be the same. If on e is hacked, the others will still be safe, but don't make them complicated. I just suggest taking your main and making it the different on e and have all the others be the same.
6. Don't have your Xword be the same Xword for other sites/email addresses. If a hacker were to figure out your word then they could also go into your email address and mess everything up. Make it different and don't have it something that is to easy to guess.
7. Frequently change your Xword. Don't keep it the same forever. The more you change your Xword the safer your account will be.
8. TNT WILL NEVER ASK YOU FOR YOUR WORD. THEY DONT NEED IT. THEY CREATED THE SITE AND CAN GET IT ANYTIME THEY WANT. SO NEVER GIVE IT TO ANYONE CLAIMING TO BE TNT. I can guarantee you 100% that they are lying.
E-Mails
Now we all know that in order to make an account on Neopets you must first have an e-mail address. Most of us have some kind of messenger as well, and sometimes we give our email to Neopets friends to talk to them on your messenger. Which is almost always the same e-mail address as our Neopets account. I suggest that you have Two different email addresses. One for Neopets, don't ever give this one out, and One for messengers. The reason is because if your new "friend" on Neopets just so happens to be a hacker then well its a lot easier for him to get into your email address if its the same as your messenger. There are many programs out there that you don't know what they do and I don't think any of you want to be the guinea pigs to find out how the program works.
Some people may get emails from what is claimed to be "The Neopets Staff" explaining to you that you have done something wrong and want you to explain through email why you shouldn't be frozen. Then it will ask for your word and username. OR it may be something along the lines of them claiming to delete all "inactive accounts" and they want you to give them your username and Xword so it stays safe. DO NOT FALL FOR THESE. People purposely make fake email addresses that are Theneopetsteam@___.com. or NeopetsDeletestaff@__.com. on e that I got (from when someone got into my account and changed the email was "neopetscreation2@gmail.com" Watch out for that email!) TNT will never ask for your Xword so just delete the mail and ignore it (or you could do what I did when I got on e. have a little fun with it. give them a fake login name and word or just mess with there heads:))
PIN #'s
Neopets did just recently add a Great new feature that I think EVERYONE should use. It's Pin Numbers! They can help you and protect your account. These Pin numbers make it so that you have to submit your 4-digit pin number before you do certain tasks. I suggest you have ALL the options checked (they are your bank, SDB, Shop, Unequipped items from your Pet, Gallery, Pound, and Email changes) if for some ironic reason a hacker does get into your account and you have a pin number. Then there is no way that your account is in danger. They can't do anything because they don't know your Pin Number. Cookie Grabbbers will NOT be able to retrieve your PIN number so it should alwasy be safe. If they do know your Pin Number,(you would have to give it to them) I'm sorry and report your account right away so it can get frozen and the hacker will get kicked out. :(
Most Common Scams
Now we have all either Heard of People Getting Scammed or Have been Scammed ourselves. Right? Well here are some of the most common scams, and some tips to help them get prevented.
Scam: Lending out an item and not getting it returned.
Prevent: If you have collateral, Stick to your collateral. Don't make any exception. If a user does not have what you are asking for just simply say "I'm Sorry, come back when you have enough". If you are lending for free, then be SUPER CAREFUL. It is very nice of you to lend for free but you must understand that there are consequences. Now I know that not everyone on Neopets will steal but when you lend for free you will always come across that on e person and they will ruin it for the rest of the bunch. Make sure you have a good background check on this user first before you lend for free. It is not a 100% guarantee that it won't get stolen, but it could possibly prevent it a lot more.
Scam: You are asked to Log in again on Neopets
Prevent Make sure that the URL on the top of the screen is www.Neopets.com. If you look at the top of the page and it is NOT the URL above then don't log in. re-type in www.neopets.com into your browser and re-log in. Making sure that the URL above is www.neopets.com.
Scam: You can get free Neopoints and items if you give someone your word and other information. Some of them if not all of them are found outside of Neopets on other Neopets boards.
Prevent: These are ALL scams. An easy way to tell if it is a scam of not is if you are required to give out your Xword or any other kind of information. This includes ALL outside websites..weather it be neopoints or to get something free on your account or an advanage toward your pets..think of it this way
If it involves you giving any more information then your Username and
ONLYyour username then it is a scam don't fill out the special form that they ask..just report them immediatly.
Scam: Change your Email address to something else or Change your Xword to something simple. In return you will get a fabulous prize and be the most famous person in Neopia.
Prevent: This is a scam. Don't ever change your Email Address or Xword because an email says so. All kinds of Scams happen like this. If you do give this user your information then you just gave access to a scammer to your account.
Scam: Having Someone Else get an avatar/trophy for you on your account. You give them your Xword and then you never see your account again.
Prevent: You will probably never see your account again after that. Either 1) The Scammer stole your account or 2) TNT found out about it and froze your account (for cheating. you did not earn that Trophy/Avatar yourself, someone else did it for you) so be on the lookout. There are ALOT of those out there.
Scam: The person makes a board saying that if you post your Secret Word it shows up as ----- or ******* or in some way where you cant see it. Then they say "SEE ------- it works!
Prevent: Sometimes they might have other users come on and post ------- as well, then claim "Ya, it works". But TNT has said that they don't filter your Secret Words on the NeoBoards because some people have obvious dictionary words
-Thanks sonnet_writer for telling me about that one!
Scam: You are asked to Click on a referral link and sign up again with Neopets.
Prevent: These don't ever work. The scammer wants a referral prize. They will say that you will get a million nps if you click on the link and make a new account. When what you are really doing is giving that Scammer a prize for there devious work.
Scam: Copy and past this message on 10 boards and then go to Fairyland and you will find 1 million baby paintbrushes and have 100 million neopoints. TNT staff has approved this.
Prevent THIS IS A SCAM! You do not get 10 baby paintbrushes or 100 million Neopoints. You get suspended for 2 days because you were passing around Chain letters. They are really annoying and no on e likes them. Alls it does is make you look like an idiot.
Scam: Trading with someone OUTSIDE the Trading Post. You send them an item and they will send another back to you.
Prevent Don't make any deals with anyone unless you do it through Trading post. That way you will for sure get what you want and not have any problem with scammers. But make sure its what you asked for. If its not just "reject the offer
Scam You received a neomail from someone claiming to be a TNT worker.
Prevent This is not a TNT worker Unless the username is "theneopetsteam". That is an official TNT account and you may have seen it around the boards freezing up certain subjects. If anyone other then the "theneopetsteam" account mails you and claims to be TNT. Well then, they are lying and report them immediately.
Scam: Getting an account from someone who just claims that "they don't want it anymore
Prevent: This is a lie. If that user really didn't want there account anymore they would either just leave it alone or self-freeze it with the self-freeze link. What they are trying to get at is for you to go and change the Xword right away. They have already changed the email so it will be impossible for you to change it to your own. Then on ce you are in they will mail the Xword to themselves, see your Xword and then go to your Main account and log into it. They do assume that your Main account's Xword and the account you've just taken Xword will be the same. If its not the same Xword then yay for you. You are smart enough to have your main account's Xword something different. They will then just kick you out of their old account by changing the Xword again and try it on someone else. Please report that account right away if you come across this.
Scam: You are going on vacation for a long time and someone offered to Watch your account for you
Prevent: Don't fall for this. If you are leaving for a week and do worry about your pets then just stick them in the Neolodge. They will be safe in there. They get fed, and played with in the Neolodge. There is no need for a "pet sitter". And I can assure you that you WILL get your account back when you come back.
Scam: Buying a Paint Brush Plushie and thinking it was an actual paintbrush. OR buying/Trading for an item that is surprisingly cheap that is really rare.
Prevent: Make sure that you look at the items that you are buying first.AND the little grey box and what it says before you buy it. Make sure the items are exactly what you want and the grey box says exactly what you want. If someone is urging you to buy the item, then that user is probably a Scammer. Take a look at the item. Some items sound alike and also look alike in Neopia, but don't be fooled. Make sure it's exactly what you want.
Scam: Buying a junk item from a shop and being promised to be sent an expensive item later
OR
saying to bid on a junk item with the collatoral that you have for an avatar item and then get blocked.
Prevent You will never get anything in return. What you are doing though is giving this user an AMAZING profit and we don't want that now do we.
and for the avatar items MAKE SURE THAT YOU ARE BIDDING ON WHAT YOU WANT. not anything else..don't even "show" them you have collatoral. you can show them on the item that you want to borrow..they have the power to accept/reject the offer so it doesn't really affect them much.
Scam: You and a friend from Neopets decide to make an account together but...you loose all the money you put into it
Prevent Well for starters. Don't ever share an account. You can never trust someone 100% that lives 10,000 miles away. If TNT finds out that you have shared an account then that account along with both the users other accounts will be frozen as well.
Scam:You are promised a really cool shoplayout/userlookup/guildlayout if you give someone your secret word.
Prevent: if you are going to get a new user lookup. Get it through code blogs. Don't have someone put it in for you. You will not get your account back.
Scam: You are told that if you buy an item from a shop you will be sent an expensive item/ be able to be there NF and participate in there 1np auctions.
Prevent Don't fall for these. You will NOT get an item in return and you won't get to be there NF for their 1 nps auctions!
Scam: you bought an item on the trading post, but its not what you expected.
Prevent Take a good look FIRST at what you are bidding on. Make sure that it will do what you want. The on ly things that can paint your pet are MAGICAL plushies (not normal) and PAINTBRUSHES (not plushies).
Scam: You see that that you can buy an account by bidding a certain amount of nps but don't worry "you'll get it all back"
Prevent You will NOT get it all back. It is a scam and you are NOT allowed to sell accounts anyway. Report anyone you see doing this.
Scam: They ask you to send NP or give some expensive Item so you can adopt the Neopet
Prevent But they don't have to abandon their pet, and the chance that you actually adopt the pet is very low, cause someone else may adopt the Neopet before you even had a chance. So either way the only one who is getting better with this transaction is the on e "selling" the pet. If you want to adopt a pet so badly, just go to the Pound and choose on e of those unfortunate Neopets.
Scam: You Just adopted a pet from the pound. It is an AMAZING pet...but you get a mail from the "former owner" claiming that they "accidentally" abandoned the pet.
Prevent:(you can't accidentally abandon the pet, you have to push the abandon button close to 5 times before it goes through.) or they are wanting the pet pet back that is attached on to it. You do NOT have to give the pet back or the pet pet. It is yours. You got it fairly from the pound. It doesn't matter if you interrupted a transfer or not. Plus TNT states that: "If you disown your Neopet all pet pets will go with it. on ce you disown your Neopet absolutely anybody can adopt your Neopet, there is no guarantee you will be able to get your Neopet back again if you change your mind.
Scam You have all these avatar items that you need and donated some money for someone to get an avatar item that they will lend you or you see a very cheap Piñata in a shop that is claimed to be the avatar piñatas.
Prevent Don't ever donate to someone's avatar fund to who claims to lend to you once they get the item because they won't lend it to you and be careful for the piñatas. only TOY PINATAS can be opened. Not furniture on es.
Scam: You are told that if you advertise a certain Code then you will be rich or are told that if you enter in a code somewhere you will get rich quick
Prevent you will get frozen for advertising codes, and there is NO WAY to get rich quick on Neopets.
This is what Neopets said about "selling secrets" in the Editorial Section week 48 2002:
It is scamming innocent players out of items for something they don't even have. Anyone we find doing this will be frozen (if you see any of these, please report that user by using this form. If you really want to find some secrets or hints, check out some of the really cool fan sites or message boards. If it's a site/board/post that is really worth reading it will not try to scam you out of items, ask for your code or anything like that.
Scam: You bought a Rare-Item Code from someone and found that it doesn't work, and you even lost __nps from it.
Prevent Buying Rare item codes from other users is against the rules and chances of when you recieve the code are very slim that it hasn't been used yet. About 100% of the time is it worthless and no longer usable.
ScamYou got a neomail from a user telling you that you scammed them and are going to get reported.
Prevent Don't be scared. If you didn't do anything you are not in trouble. Even if they do report you, they don't have any proof and you can't get frozen if you don't have any proof.
Scam You were at a public Computer and went on Neopets. now you can't get into your account again
Prevent If you log on to Neopets on a Public Computer. Make sure that you log out. Because if the next person that goes on does go on Neopets and sees that you are still logged in. I am sure that they will help themselves to your account.
Cookie Grabbers
What's a cookie?
A Cookie is a Data file that contains all of the information from the sites that you visit. On neopets that means they Capture your Secret Word and Username. Deleting your Cookies Frequently will Log you out of your Account along with ALL your account on every other site. If you are most concerned about Losing your other account on the internet for other sites..then just ALWAYS log out of neopets after you are done for the day. Logging out DOES delete your cookies from neopets.com and logging in creates a brand new one.
YOU still don't understand? WEll, a Cookie Grabber is a Program/Script that can be put on a website/page and the owner of that site/page will try to get you to visit it. Once you are on the Page, the Grabber will then take your information from your cookies (note the word: Cookie Grabber)
A cookie grabber most of the time is a blank popup that will appear and close quickly. When it is opened, it tricks your browser into thinking you are visiting neopets.com, so your browser sends your cookie to it. This is how it works offsite as well.
If you have been (or think you have been) CGed. then immediatly, log out, THEN change your Secret word. Logging out (Again) Deletes your cookies from Neopets.com. But they Hacker STILL has your username and secret word so its very important that you change it as soon as you can. You have to remember that the Hacker has to go into your account manually. the computer only gave him the information. So if you change your information ASAP you will have nothing to worry about.
Now i'm not saying to NOT visit any outside links incase their is a cookie grabber. thats called Paranoia. Just be careful. if you think you hit a Cookie grabber. log out of neopets and then log back in so a new cookie can be created, change your secret word, and then continue on with your happy Neopian life.
Another warning: if you downloaded A program (automatically on your computer) and opened it, you could also get a virus on your computer which gives the hacker full control over your computer. He can do whatever he wants, like deleting files etc. Or it could be a Trojan Key logger, which keeps track of everything you type. The scammer will know ALL your entry codes within minutes. So Be VERY careful about what programs you download. because one of them just might be a keylogger, and certainly don't download programs from people you don't know (even Neofriends can become scammers, cause scammers never use their own accounts). Having a virus scanner on your computer is a pro. Also spy ware is a way to get information about your computer, so you also should download Ad-Aware and Spybot to eliminate those. Frequently updating your program will also help ypu BIGTIME to protect yourself against keyloggers.
Please Neomail Me(kittyxneo) if you have ANYTHING to add, have any comments, or have any updates that I do not yet know about. I appreciate all the help I can get.
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