Anyone else get scammed?

Jan 22nd early morning. I was in the New Citizen's IM. We were talking about different clients or something. A web address was put up in the IM and being the (airhead) trusting soul I am, clicked on the link and entered my username and password. It looked just like any other sl web site.

When it didn't work I figured I was logged into sl through 1 viewer and I couldn't be logged in twice so I didn't think anything of it. That is, until sl tried to boot me because I was trying to log in from a different site.

At first I thought it was a computer glitch so I closed my web browser and reopened sl. It happened a second time. Then after the 3rd time a red flag (finally) went up. I logged into the real sl web site and did my best to change my password, but it was too late. I was scammed. My entire bank account was gone forever. The transaction is from Streeter Maven Whom I never met, but he didn't care. Apparently I gave him all my money. I reported it to the lindens, but the web site I was sent to no longer exists, and neither does Streeter Maven. I haven't heard back from the lindens either.

I'm posting here to tell anyone who may have had a similar scam to let the lindens know. Scream it out. Get them to give us our money back and stop such thieves. We work hard for our lindens let them know that and maybe we can get our money back

As unfortunate as this is, LL won't give you your lindens back. You are the one who made the mistake when you typed your user name and password in that site you went to. Your Second Life account page is a secure page (encrypted) to prevent unauthorized access to you account. But, when you allow your account to be compromised by willingly typing your user name and password into an unknown website there is nothing they can do. It's not their fault in any way........they are not liable.

You should AR this Skeeter Maven though........for theft. You're only hope is that LL is able to track this person down and recover your lindens. But don't hold your breath........he/she is long gone (probably less than one minute after the funds were removed from your account).

Thanks for posting this as a warning. The scammer chose NCI because of the noob quota. Perhaps a notice should go out to all of those new members not to click any links sent to them from anyone associated with NCI. It seems like a profitable little scam and will probably happen quite often in that group now.

what do you mean by your bank account? Do you mean your realife bank account or your slexchange account balance?

I strongly suggest being very wary about links posted by any unknown avatar name in any group chat. Scammers will target open and public groups simply because they know there is a broad target available. NCI will not tolerate such behaviour and the group officers will take note of this name and file an appropriate Abuse Report. (^_^)

It seems as though this person has already been reported and wipe, considering you say the name is missing now. (^_^)

NCI is first and foremost a volunteer help and education group and will not tolerate the use of the supplied resources for scamming, unsolicited advertising, or personal abuse. If you ever happen upon people using NCI group chats for these purposes, please feel free to contact any group officer and file an abuse report with Linden Lab if the activity violates the TOS. (^_^)y

(By the way, you can find online officers by clicking the "<<" button in the upper right and looking for the BOLD avatar names in the list. =^-^=)

You have to be careful about these groups that give off the air of authority but rely on volunteers they have little control over. Imnotgoing is a volunteer who really has no authority to post NCI policy statements anywhere.

You can find the person you need to speak to by going to the NCI website: http://www.nci-sl.org/blog/

Or try the SL wiki on the sub-groups in NCI
http://wiki.secondlife.com/w/index.php?title=New_Citizens_Incorporated&diff=681333&oldid=prev#Prominent_Figures_in_NCI

Sorry for your troubles.

I'm speaking factually and under no self claim of authority over any group or policy. (=_=)

Whereas you have zero association in NCI and hold no stake in the group's success beyond your personal vendetta against me. (=_=)y

Speaking factually or not - you cannot make public statements about NCI policies just because they allowed you to volunteer there - that is mis-representing yourself just as much as the guy that posted the link in the NCI group chat.

I recall NCI took on a person for public statements after the Executive Director left. I am sure that person is not you.

We see these wannabe police departments and folks seeking power over others all the time. New residents should be aware that these groups have people in them that may speak out of turn at times.

I'm not misrepresenting anything. And YOU, of all people, have no say in this matter anyway. (=_=)

I am an NCI land officer: If I determine someone should be banned from an NCI location, they will be banned. (=_=)

I am an NCI instructor: If I provide a lesson on NCI land, I get compensated an hourly wage. (=_=)

I am the NCI New Citizens Mall manager: If a 120 day or younger avatar approaches me asking for free mall space, It's my duty to provide it and make sure they're not placing BIAB or stolen goods. (=_=)

I am an owner/officer of one official NCI chat group. The rules in that group are simple. PG chat, no drama, and no advertising. The officer policy on advertising; eject immediately. (=_=)

I follow the rules like any other NCI volunteer/oficer/employee and I am quite aware of them. So, there is now flaw in my logic when I reiterate these rules in regards to conduct while on NCI land or in NCI chat. I said it before and I'll say it again: I make no personal claim of authority and you need to stop whipping your personal vendetta around as if it means something. (=_=)

I haven't seen much of our PR girl lately. She's a good friend and has been prone to taking breaks from SL for very valid reasons. At the moment, she seems to have faded away again. I'll have to ask around. I miss her. (._.)

volunteer.

Volunteering is a humbling experience - not an opportunity to parade around alot of titles and false authority.

Perhaps LL will look into the group functions more now that the COMMUNITY PARTNERS program has begun. There could be even more abuses coming our way through these loosely managed volunteer groups.

Yet, you parade around a false sense of authority over me as if you think you deserve it. (=_=)

I stated nothing under claim of authority, simply echoed standing guidelines placed by SL and NCI in regards to interactions using NCI chat groups. (=_=)

You're the one that BS'd about authority. (=_=)

And, as if your information is even loosely correct. It's called the RESIDENT HELP NETWORK. (=_=)

http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Resident_Help_Network_Portal

Please, don't try to place yourself on a high-horse when you can't even leap to slap the saddle. (=_=)

Here, allow me to quote the Linden Lab Community Standards:

Given the myriad capabilities of Second Life, harassment can take many forms. Communicating or behaving in a manner which is offensively coarse, intimidating or threatening, constitutes unwelcome sexual advances or requests for sexual favors, or is otherwise likely to cause annoyance or alarm is Harassment.

I'm sure that totally damaged your sensibilities of what I'm allowed to say. How dare I reiterate Linden Lab's rules on a public forum as if I might actually know them... (=_=)

Now, put your personal vendetta away. You're not actually helping anyone here. (=_=)

You stated what 'We at NCI will not tolerate' - your toleration at NCI ends with you - because you are not placed in any position to enforce policy there.

Keep it real.

It is this type of power craze that messes up good efforts. No one officially from NCI has even made a statement about this breach. I think you should wait and allow the person given this volunteer job in the NCI group to do what they are put in place to do. No one is running over to the NCI Mall and making changes when you are not logged on.

Stay in line.
_____________________________

Sadly this sort of free-for-all in well-meaning groups allows scams like the one played out on the OP.

Perhaps chat should be turned off in that group for the new recruits (unless that group is used for asking questions).

The chat group is specific for asking questions. It's open enroll, open membership, open chat, and all residents are welcome to join for free at any time. Joining can be as simple as finding the group in search or clicking Pengi the penguin at NCI Kuula. (^_^)

New Citizens Inc.

* No Advertising Allowed*
NCI is a voluntary association, dedicated to providing information, education and assistance to Second Life users (new and old), in order to maximize the benefits that they can gain from Second Life. NCI believes that new users who are better educated, supported and prepared benefit all of Second Life. NCI does not operate for profit and is not motivated by any desire for monetary gain.
On the web: http://www.nci-sl.org/
Rules: http://nci-sl.org/wiki/doku.php?id=policies:groupim

______________

And... I see you injecting words. Your twisted reality is showing again. (=_=)

My words: "NCI will not tolerate such behaviour and the group officers will take note of this name and file an appropriate Abuse Report."

Your words: "We at NCI will not tolerate"

And, I'll reiterate... NCI does not tolerate scammers that abuse the open and public New Citizens Inc. group and if you're faced with such a person, please report their avatar name to a group officer (which can be found in the name list of the group in BOLD) so that proper actions can be taken. If you find that their actions violate the Linden Lab TOS, please file an Abuse Report as well. (^_^)

Lias, is this "bad" advice according to you? Would you prefer scammers take over public open-enrollment group chats? Do you want to continue to support the problem while detracting from people offering genuine solutions? (=_=)

And, you don't know what a Land Officer is. I'm in no position to define policy, but, I AM in position to enforce it. It's been that way for since about October 2008. You don't know this. It doesn't matter to you. You like to think it does, but, you're not involved so it doesn't. Do us all a favor and mind your own business. (^_^)y

Maybe someone WHO HAS AUTHORITY IN THIS AREA at NCI can see what can be done to tighten security in the open-enrollment group. Perhaps chat can be turned off and open, free Q&A groups can happen through-out the day and announced by AUTHORIZED officers in the group.
Land is not the open enrollment new resident group Immy. Don't overflow.

Immy you are not involved - and you should not pretend to be just to boost your ego.

And we can take this off road;
http://www.secondcitizen.net/Forum/showpost.php?p=126296&postcount=51

To inject what I believe is the most important point of this thread (besides who has authority in where) is that don't click on links from people you don't know........sort of like common sense but it's important enough to repeat. And if you think it's safe to go take a look at something, then take a look at the http heading..........if it does not say https (that's 5 characters the last being an "s" (ess) then it is NOT a secure site. If such a site asks for any username and/or password without the "s" and I'm not expecting to be anywhere that would require such information (even with the "s" it's time to think "scam"!! That would be enough for me to immeditately exit the site............it's almost guaranteed to be a bogus or rougue site.

We do that too. But, it's unreasonable to close off productive Q&A to a global audience by requiring them to meet in little time slots for the day. The fully open, 24/7, free-for-all group has been a total success since Brace launched it back around 2004/2005. Why change a good thing? (^_^)

That said, I have authority to say "Come on over to Fisherman's Cove this coming Saturday at 6:30PM to 7:30pm SLT for NCI Q&A with Beverly Montgomery and Imnotgoing Sideways as your hosts."... Though, that's already listed in events search. All are invited. (^_^)y

NCI land, NCI group. Don't create a schism where there is none. (^_^)y

I am involved. I volunteer in that group and want to see it succeed. Seeing that there is a claim that the scammer account in question has disappeared, it's pretty much up to the OP to pursue the issue with Linden Lab directly from now on. This person was never an associate with NCI, just another avatar with a scam to feed. Which leads to my repeated advice in this whole ordeal: Report the person to an officer and Linden Lab. (^_^)y

Why? To help you hijack yet another topic just to drive your personal vendetta against me? HA! It's your own OP too. It'll be fun dragging that thread off topic since YOU are the one to derail it. (^_^)

You're cute when you're angry. (^_^)y

If they logged in under your name they must have passed the Lindens onto another Av.
There would be a trail of some kind. All the way. LL would have the ability to trace everything including who registered the website, the IP location of the user etc.
But I guess they don't want to.

^^ This. (^_^)

And, not only for group chat... IMs with strangers, open chat, blue boxes from unknown avatars.... Heck, even links in Emails from friends and family should go under a bit of scrutiny. (^_^)

Brings me back to when my dad was sending Ecards to everyone... One of the "new" Ecard sites he found wound up being epic infected. I was last in line to get the mail, so, the following "I got a virus" messages served as a warning. Needless to say, I never clicked the link. (^_^)y

That would be severely lame if they didn't. I'd re-open a support ticket on that insanely just to see that customer support is what it says it is. (._.)

If not, it's yet another true case of "Buyer beware"... Even if you're not a "buyer". (T_T)

Because of what the OP wrote. Perhaps this issue should be addressed and some sort of security put in place.

And it is not your place to decide what is unreasonable for that group - since management of that group is not your responsibility.

It is known as 'task descriptions'. The janitor does not answer the receptionist's telephone. Stay in line.

But you are just saying the scammer was not associated with NCI. I do not belive the scammer was associated - but he was a member - and that has some impact on the group. By posting this here the OP will at least get someone IN AUTHORITY of that group at NCI to pay more attention to it. I believe that will be the only positive outcome.

There is no "security" for open enrollment groups. Linden Lab made sure of that. We can eject and AR, but, we can't ban. it's just not available. (T_T)

The stripper in the bar across the street doesn't tell the hotel floor security what to do either. I am in line. You don't know what you're talking about. Mind your own business. (=_=)

Anyone and everyone can be a member of NCI. That's the point of the group. Residents helping residents. People can and will join NCI on their first day to the million and first day in SL. Any less would be a disservice and devoid the point of an open Q&A group for new residents and the New User Experience. (=_=)

NCI can't be a closed club where names are checked at the door to keep the "bad ones" out. I need to remember what the numbers were, but, the NCI group grows by the minute. Why? Because NEW RESIDENTS of SL want help. What do they do? Join NCI, no questions asked, then get to ask questions 24/7 as they learn their way. Keeping the group open to all from day-1 is a service, not a flaw. It may not be the way YOU like to run a group, but, it's not YOUR group. Heck, last I checked you're not even a member. (=_=)

So, why do you care? What is your aim here? Are you actually attempting to help the OP, or, is this just you continuing your personal vendetta against me? (=_=)

You are not 'floor securty' for the NCI open enrollment group.

We can read the group information
http://wiki.secondlife.com/w/index.php?title=New_Citizens_Incorporated&diff=681333&oldid=prev#Prominent_Figures_in_NCI
Your interpretation of this group's policies are your own.

This group has a Board of Directors that decide what policy is. Frontline volunteers should not be making policy statements in public forums. That is how bad things start to happen.
You cannot decide this Immy. You volunteer at the Mall and you teach some classes. Stay in line.

Those are questions you need to ask yourself.


This is a cautionary tale that shows that even if people are members of a group - and may have an officer role in that group - the may still has no real authority in that group. New Players should not put any trust in anything coming from these groups without checking thoroughly.

Isn't it past you guy's bedtime?

And you Peggy?

Naww.........i'm off work tomorrow.

But I do want to point out that both you are acting like Chosen Few and I did one night nearly a year ago...............I think we both were a little embarrassed the next morning.