Hello everyone, how are you? These days are very hot but that's not the topic of this relatively short blog, because I'm going to share here a blog made by CaioAdriel: https://caioadriel.newgrounds.com/news/post/1559089

I originally wanted to add in my blog about the famous and still very effective "I have accidentally reported you" scam, and I strongly advise you to give it a read in case you don't know how it works, but then I preferred to make a separate post to show an interesting pattern that added a layer of variety to this scam; asking for money to basically recover the account after the scammer even created an account for the victim after their original account is about to be suspended.

I post here the dump file where you can read better all the conversation between CaioAdriel and this bastard, because NG alters the resolution of images when posted on blogs and forum threads, and I would like people to focus on the language used by the scammer, because there are some common traits:

https://www.newgrounds.com/dump/item/058a8bd088b72a20d9e72726c62b3279

https://www.newgrounds.com/dump/item/c3141bd666e832dd0e1d3fd5b03221ec

So in this different strain (I used virology terminology not as coincidence, we are bacteria and the scammers are the phages ready to infect us), the victim is asked to pay a sum that in future might even rise, not that differently from what happens with the "Hello pervert" scam e-mail which started with relatively low prices to increase with time. So as I said, the victim is asked to pay a sum to verify the account status, and the sum would allegedly help to remove the ban and would be part of the ownership verification process.

The first common element of this scam is the impersonal addressing tone when referring to the victim with the generic "Discord/Steam user", very cold and apparently professional but that's not how member staff addresses people, and in general the site you use. Even when making a NG account and you go to your email to validate the email so you can fully use the account, you are labelled with your username which gives a more personal contact between the site and its userbase.

Second common trait of the scam is the use of the adverb "kindly" (in the dialogue it is repeated three times)

Third, absolute lack of empathy when the victim vents their frustration/fear/sadness; instead of trying to confort the person, the scammer keeps repeating the procedure that would allegedly help the person

Fourth element is the demanding tone that can increase or stay subtle, but it's always present in order to pressure the victim to act as quickly as possible (just like thieves, scammers want to be rapid and disappear after they got what they wanted) while at the same time they try to reassure the money will be refunded in order to make the victim more compliant to send money.

I find interesting that money was involved for a Discord scam, at least to me because in all cases I could read, I never saw it mentioned. Usually money is more frequent with "I have accidentally reported you" Steam scams, like it's mentioned here:

from: https://help.steampowered.com/en/faqs/view/3195-9FFB-BA06-F25B

@caioadriel if you are reading this, I know you are devastated and sad, and I'm deeply sorry for this but you can still recover your Steam account by contacting Steam Support Help site: https://help.steampowered.com/en/wizard/HelpWithAccountStolen

Scroll down the main page: https://help.steampowered.com/en/ and click on Account:

Then scroll down and click on "Help me sign in to my account":

Then "My Steam account was stolen and I need help recovering it":

Scroll down and click on "Reset my password"

If you act quickly, you can still recover the account as Steam Help Support page states at the end:

I still believe you can recover it, if you contact Steam Support page. Don't let the negative emotion to freeze you, take a deep breath and go in the links I provided in this blog. You also have lots of proof of this scam to eventually send them.

In case you feel to make a Discord account, I share here some visual advise on how to secure your account asides from 2FA, strong, long and random passwords or a passkey alternatively:

extra protection layer 1

extra protection layer 2

extra protection layer 3

https://discord.com/safety/protecting-users-from-scams-on-discord

I hope you can recover the Steam account at least. I send you a virtual hug.