Sharking Methods, Tips To Prevent Yourself From Getting Sharked.

[TheVenomWithin]

First off i'd like to note i'm not a good writer like Angel or Derpeh, but I feel i'm one of the more qualified to make a guide like this. Let's get into it! I'll update this with more information as it comes around, I just wrote what was on my head at the time. Have any information you'd like me to include in here? Feel free to comment those ideas below and they will be greatly considered. Also make sure to give this thread a like!

 

FAQ:

Q: What is the difference between sharking and scamming?

 

A: There is a huge difference between sharking and scamming, and a lot of inexperienced traders, usually children will rant about how they got scammed, when in reality they didn't. Scamming and sharking are two very different things. When it comes to scamming, your items get stolen. Whether it may be from said middle men, paypal scammers, or otherwise different types of scams. When it comes to sharking, you were merely tricked or otherwise convinced to do a trade that resulted in you losing profit, but you still got the items you wanted to begin with. There was no trade agreement broken.

 

Q: Does SteamRep ban/mark for sharking?

 

A:The answer is no, no they don't however, Please do make sure to report said users to outpost, PPM, and the vast other majority of communities that do handle sharks. In a few rare cases, the shark may get cautioned on SteamRep, however they will not be fully marked.

 

Q: I got sharked! How do I report the user?

 

A: You will need evidence in order to report this user. It's required that you have the steam logs, As well as the trade history of the event taking place. Check the users ID @Steamrep.com, And report that said user toward their partners that do deal with sharking.

 

Q: Why do sharks do what they do?

 

A: That answer is simple. Greed, Money corrupts, as so does power. The difference like listed above with scamming and sharking is that the user will not get SteamRep marked, thus making it legal for them to trade on certain servers, backpack.tf, and other websites. They have no hearts, and do not care that they ripped the said user off.

 

Q: How do sharks find me? 

A: Frequently, the most common sharks use premium @Backpack.tf or otherwise premium on other sites like scan.tf, tf2endgame.com, and so on and so forth. These sharks look for people with low hours, low friends, trades, and otherwise garbage inventory minus one or two items that they've personally unboxed.

 

Methods Sharks Use:

1. The rush tactic. The shark will rush you in a trade, telling you he has to leave and  he'd like the trade done quickly. In MOST situations, this is a suspicious act that also goes down in paypal scams. If they try and rush you, it's a clear sign they may be attempting to shark you.

 

2. The "Your item is unpriced on backpack.tf" In most situations now due to steam updates like making an item untradeable for 7 days and automatically setting users profile and inventory to private it is a lot harder to shark. However the user you are dealing with most likely has knowledge of backpack.tf, outpost, and other sites but blindly follow bp.tf. Backpack.tf is useful for providing prior sales, however the hat can be extremely outdated. It is most common for sharks to buy unpriced or otherwise outdated and overvalued hats to attempt to convince the said victim to giving up their item for cheap. If their hat is unpriced the shark may attempt to convince you that your item is worthless, as it is unpriced. Avoid these users.

 

3. Faking C/O's. A lot of sharks will try and tell you about how they've received many offers worth more than your hat. This brings up the question which you can ask the said shark yourself. If your item is worth more, why are you trading for mine? They might come up with excuses, ex "I like it more" or "I prefer that class". If you have any doubts about a  trade, DON'T DO IT! Always take your time. Ask the user you are trading with to take that "50 bud offer" and come back to you then. Better safe than sorry!

 

4. The "My friend is and he says its worth " This is another common tactic used in sharking. Sometimes the shark will have a colleague that he uses to attack the said victim into believing that his item is worthless. 

 

5. The "Use the man co store prices OR use the market prices" Market prices are great and all, But they are not the most reliable. In many instances the shark may attempt to trick the user, telling them their weapons are worth $ as they are in the store, Or showing people selling his item for a lot more on the market. Be cautious and wary of these users at all times.

 

6. The "I'm an admin at  so trust me, I wouldn't shark you" Frequently, sharks use this method to otherwise convince you they are trustworthy. (Having a high value backpack also tells the victim that this is an experienced trader they are dealing with)

 

7. "Craft hats and certain levels are worth a lot" Whereas this may be true for level 100 items, and crafts under 100 they do not add a whole lot of value. Typically a shark will try to add you, and tell you that because his craft is below 100 it is worth a few buds. This is false. It adds value, but that's very small. Avoid leveled items and crafts as they usually add little or no value.

 

How to protect yourself from getting sharked:

Here are some personal tips I suggest to prevent yourself from getting sharked.

1. Make more friends! Commonly the shark will look for a user with very little friends, usually a couple dozen or below.

 

2. Ask your friends to leave you profile rep. Of course profile rep doesn't matter that much, but it will scare off a shark a lot if there are a dozen or more comments saying "Good trader, +Rep!" This is because the shark is looking to prey on inexperienced traders, not traders that've traded before.

 

3. If you unbox an unusual or get an otherwise rare item, The best way to protect yourself is to merely not sell the item till you understand it's value 100%. Always ask friends, Check outpost for what other people are selling for, and check it's price on backpack.tf. It's also important to see the offers listed on outpost, as they will generally give you an idea on what that item is worth.

 

4. Get more TF2 hours! All the scanning websites are designed to filter out users with a certain amount of TF2 hours, as they are looking for newer traders in the game. Play the game, or even idle. The more hours, the lesser chance you'll get sharked!

 

5. Check the users outpost. Almost ALL of the time, if the user is trying to shark you this isn't his first time. He's likely an experienced shark, and will probably be banned from outpost. (Unless he is careful)

 

6. Don't accept blind adds! If you are added by a reputable person, whether it may be staff on a trustworthy website, or otherwise a solid user overall make sure to get help from them. Feel free to ask them to background check the users adding you, It's important to note on the side that you should ignore any adds from a private profile, no avatar on steam, or a steam level of 5 or below.

 

7. Put a name tag, description tag, or paint on your unusual or item! This'll cause the item to change history IDS, thus marking your item as not the original owner, which will likely cause the said shark to ignore your item.

 

8. Never make the first offer. If a user wants your item and is attempting to shark you, they will always ask you what you want for it. Make sure to always ask the user at hand what they want to offer on your item, then determine if its a fair price or not.

 

9. Go on your profile description via steam and write "Hat is not for sale, do not add me" This will discourage sharks or other users from attempting to buy your hat (Assuming its not for sale to begin with)

 

Check a users rep here:

http://www.tf2outpost.com/ Biggest trading website for TF2 up to date, They do ban sharks.

 

Bazaar.tf: A website similar to outpost, Smaller, but still overall solid. They ban sharks.

 

Steamrep.com The biggest and most reputable website up to date. Use this website to check for scammers.

 

Backpack.tf This website is used to price unusuals and other items

 

Rep.tf Overall a great website to see a users overall bans rather quickly

http://www.forums.f-o-g.eu/forum.php A second best to SteamRep, They do not handle shark reports.

 

https://forum.harpoongaming.com/  Another rep site, They do handle shark reports.

 

 

Make sure to check the users information using all the sites listed above, This'll greatly improve your chances of not getting sharked! How do you find his information? First go to his or hers steam profile. Make sure to enable  URL addresses, this is done by going to steam, settings, interface, checking the box that says "Display Steam url address bar when available." and push ok. You can copy that users id into the websites listed above to get a clearer view on the users reputation.

 

Here are a few videos i'd suggest taking a look at that get into more depth and detail on the matter:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13ecPooSDAs

[The Penguins]

This would have been helpful before I bought a fab for 6 ref

[JakeTheAwesome]

When I clicked this I thought you were going to teach me how to shark

 

I am disappoint

[TheVenomWithin]

When I clicked this I thought you were going to teach me how to shark

 

I am disappoint

Stealing Tom's post I see.

[JakeTheAwesome]

Stealing Tom's post I see.

What?

[TheVenomWithin]

What?

Derpeh made the guide about not getting scammed, and Tom wrote something similar.

[JakeTheAwesome]

Derpeh made the guide about not getting scammed, and Tom wrote something similar.

Oh. I never saw that.

[Professional Map Painter]

Harpoon Gaming take sharking reports.

[TheVenomWithin]

Harpoon Gaming take sharking reports.

Noted.

[w0lk]

People should take your advice, because you're pretty advanced in sharking.

[TheVenomWithin]

People should take your advice, because you're pretty advanced in sharking.

Exact reason I made the guide myself. Thanks for agreeing with me.

[knavesmith]

Exact reason I made the guide myself. Thanks for agreeing with me.

White hat sharker. :3

[BOOM!]

"Just because you dont like nuts and bolts does not mean I will sell it for less"

 

u wot m8

 

Selling nuts and bolts TC for 550 buds add me

[TheVenomWith1n]

White hat sharker. :3

Wouldn't a white hat sharker shark just to learn the methods and help people avoid it? Venom is more like a shark that later got guilty and decided to help others.

[BOOM!]

My left ear enjoyed that video.

[knavesmith]

Wouldn't a white hat sharker shark just to learn the methods and help people avoid it? Venom is more like a shark that later got guilty and decided to help others.

I'm pretty sure White Hats help others, but I'm not entirely confident on the meaning of White Hat.

[TheVenomWithin]

"Just because you dont like nuts and bolts does not mean I will sell it for less"

 

u wot m8

 

Selling nuts and bolts TC for 550 buds add me

A few of the guys quotes in that video don't exactly make clear sense, Although I did link him because I felt a few of his points were spot on. He essentially is referring to sharks points that say "Oh your hat is nuts and bolts, I'll give you a few keys for it". Just because it's an effect the shark or the community may not like, Doesn't mean he has to sell it for dirt.

[Pilobacon]

tl;dr, are you the new aces gamer?

[Explosion-chan]

I'm pretty sure White Hats help others, but I'm not entirely confident on the meaning of White Hat.

White hats are usually people who used to be Black Hats. Your statement was accurate.

[TheVenomWithin]

tl;dr, are you the new aces gamer?

Uncertain if this is sarcastic or not, I believe AcesGamer made tutorials on HOW to shark, not how to prevent it but took them down due to popular demand.

[The Recluse]

I'm pretty sure White Hats help others, but I'm not entirely confident on the meaning of White Hat.

If you do something for personal gain to the detriment of others it is 100% a black hat.

OP was a blackhat and would be considered a white hat now. Just like that dipshit that wrote blaster at 14 or whatever and now works for a security firm.  

[Pilobacon]

Uncertain if this is sarcastic or not, I believe AcesGamer made tutorials on HOW to shark, not how to prevent it but took them down due to popular demand.

It was indeed, extremely sarcastic.

[LaughingLollipop]

man thats a pretty complex list... mines a bit simpler.

 

1) don't trade with wayne

[TheVenomWithin]

man thats a pretty complex list... mines a bit simpler.

 

1) don't trade with wayne

You realize posting that can and will warrant you a warning point.

[krawtch]

You realize posting that can and will warrant you a warning point.

 

as well as pretty much anything I post at any given time.