-*-Introduction-*-​

This is a thread to inform the community on how to prevent scams from happening when you buy features from other users. Although scammers will always be here, learning who they are and how to avoid them will greatly enhance your EcoCityCraft experience and isolate these unfortunate incidents.

-*-Why Should I Read This?-*-​

Most people in EcoCityCraft want to support the server for in-game features, EcoDollars, priority connection, Survival Games, or just to help this server expand and improve. The unfortunate fact is that a lot of people cannot afford to support the server. However, these users can rely on other users purchasing features for them in exchange for EcoDollars. This is a great system for those who cannot afford to pay real money, but it can generate some of the largest scams our server has seen. By reading this guide, you will learn how to prevent scamming and still get the features you dreamed of!

-*-How Can I Prevent purchase Scamming?-*-​

A user is usually not banned until after he scams, and even when the user is banned, the Staff does not compensate victims of scams. Therefore, the easiest way to prevent purchase scamming is noticing the actions/status before the scam. This way, you can prevent the scam beforehand and hopefully have enough evidence to file a user complaint before the user commits any more fraudulent actions.

Can I Tell if Someone is Possibly Scamming?
You can detect 90% of scammers by asking yourself the following five questions. If you answer "Yes" to any of these, the user has a higher risk of being a scammer than a person with all "No."

1. Is the user's rank less than Mayor?
2. Does the user have a supporter rank of less than [$$$]?
3. Has the user been on this server for less than a month?
4. Has the user recently been banned?
5. Has the user ever been reported for scamming?

Unfortunately, there is always the 10% of players who are veterans of ECC but just try to quit the game with a "bang". You cannot tell that they are scamming just by looking at their past history, but they can easily be detected by their actions. If you answer "Yes" to any of the 11 following questions, the user has a higher risk of being a scammer.

1. Has the user been talking about quitting the server?
2. Has the user been playing the lottery more excessively than usual recently?
3. Is the user going on a "spending spree"?
4. Does the user accept offers that are under "$1=5k EcoDollars"?
5. Has the user been selling mass purchase features for a minimal amount of time?
6. Has the user sold most/all of his belongings on this server?
7. Is the user acting different/awkward?
8. Has the user been rejecting to give screenshots?
9. Does the user refuse to let you pay in separate payments (half before/half after, 3 payments of $20K, etc.)?
10. Has the user recently been offline for a long period of time?
11. Does the user refuse to offer you a transaction ID?

Can I Tell if Someone is Trustworthy?
The easiest way to buy a purchase feature with a minimum chance of scamming is to insist that the user sends you a screenshot of the successful transaction. To find a trustworthy player to buy a purchase feature from, ask yourself if the user has any of the six following aspects.

1. The user has had successful feature purchase reports under this thread: Trading EcoDollars for Supporter Features.
2. The user is a Mayor+ and/or a Staff Member.
3. The user agrees to send the transaction ID upon successful payment.
4. The user has been on EcoCityCraft for over 3 months.
5. The user has a purchase rank of [$$$] or higher.
6. This user has a long standing positive reputation within the community.

-*-What Happens After the Transaction?-*-​

When should the feature go through?
Features should process within 15 minutes. Please note that features will only process when you are connected to the server. If a feature does not go through you should forum PM andrewkm with a transaction ID as soon as possible for the situation to be looked into.

Did I get my supporter feature?
Use the /myfeatures command in game to see if it lists the supporter feature you just purchased.

I didn't get my supporter feature!
Before taking action against a user for purchase scamming, please be sure of the following:

• You have not received the feature.
• You have been logged into the server for at least 15 minutes after the other player says they purchased the feature.
• User cannot provide confirmation of purchase.

If all of these are true, please take any and all evidence you have of you paying the user for the transaction and the agreement in place and post a complaint in the Ban Appeals/Complaints forum for the staff to look into for cases of supporter feature scamming.

If you would like to help the community, please fill out the User Supporter Evaluation Feedback Form here:
[FEEDBACK] *Trading EcoDollars for Supporter Features!

Thanks to @Skylexia for originally writing this thread and most of its contents.