An important heads-up about scammers in SL
Hi peeps. I have an important post to make here, so please read it.
No doubt you’re used to seeing people spamming group chats with links to their stores, but there’s a new scam going around now. This was just posted in a large group:
GET 2000$L Instantly, Just Verify Your Avatar [URL redacted] Click, Verify, And WIN 2000$L !!!Â
Of course it’s too good to be true. For one thing, the only verification your avatar should do is age verification on the official Second Life website. What you would be logging into at that link sent to the group is a scam site that will harvest your avatar name and password. Other ‘links’ that are being given out include things like, “Check out my items on SL Marketplace! [URL here] – They’re all adult, so you’ll need to log in.”
Yeah, right. You’ll need to log in to the link they give you, with your SL name and password. And guess what? Before you know it your L$ balance is zero (and any associated payment method, be it credit card or Paypal account, is cleared out) and they’re using YOUR avatar to spam the same crap to other groups, thereby getting YOU reported and in trouble (and probably ejected from all your groups and banned from a lot of land).
If someone posts a link to Marketplace like that, just open your own personal bookmark to Marketplace (one that you made, that you know is safe), or go from the official SL website, log in, and then search for their avatar name. If they’re genuine, you’ll see their products.
NEVER LOG INTO ANY WEBSITE OTHER THAN THE OFFICIAL SL ONE (or the official SL Marketplace) WITH YOUR AVATAR NAME AND PASSWORD. AND CHECK THE URL OF THE PAGE; THESE SCAM SITES LOOK EXACTLY LIKE THE REAL SITES!
In short, be VERY careful out there. If you have clicked on a link, then log into the SL website and change your password immediately. Also change the password on the email account associated with that account AND any important websites that you used that email account for.
Stay alert out there, and make sure your SL account stays safe. Here ends your PSA for the day :)
UPDATE: Ironically, I have to disable commenting on this post, as – in the few hours since I published it – it has already attracted half a dozen massively long spam comments that my Askimet filter caught.