nailsare1 + pasteljosh (AJPC)

Do not attempt to track down or harass any of the scammers we post. We only ask that you report them, and maybe block them.

Hey gang! Danny here with a scammer and their accomplice that I caught several days ago. I saw nailsare1 advertising that they were giving away the spike on their list in their den.

The spike in question was a pink long. I went to their den to see what was up.

After a few minutes, nailsare1 finally returned to their den and asked us all to come inside. First things first, they told us to buddy them if we planned on participating. This is a big red flag. Scammers will often ask participants to buddy them so they can lock out people they think are catching onto the fact it's a scam.

I buddied them so I could stick around. After someone asked if the giveaway would be in the form of a wheel, nailsare1 said we would be doing trusting instead. Trusting is a commonly used scam that involves giving somebody an item and they give it back to you, with the best trusted item winning the giveaway. This is nearly always a scam, as there is no reason to give someone your items if they are just going to give them right back, as well as absolutely no reason to put this much faith in a stranger on Animal Jam.

Many people voiced their concerns about this, and nailsare1 said they could leave if they wanted, as they "had the right to". This is another common tactic scammers will employ, as it makes them seem sympathetic, and by extension, more trustworthy. It's also somewhat a form of guilt-tripping - sure, you could leave, but then you would miss out on getting a spike, right?

You should always be cautious of people who seem like they're putting on an act, especially if it's in conjunction with the other common red flags I have mentioned, and especially if they are asking to be trusted with your items.

They replaced the spike on their list with some trust fodder and asked people to start trading.

At this point, it was pretty obvious this was a scam to me. I started sending JAGs to others in the den, asking them to report nailsare1. One person I sent the JAG to told me they had been at one of nailsare1's earlier giveaways and knew it was a scam. They also told me that "pale" (referring to pasteljosh, another player in the den and basically the only person actually trading nailsare1) was at the giveaway before as well, and they suspected they were nailsare1's main account, or at least their helper.

pasteljosh was quiet for most of the giveaway, only chiming in with the occasional "eek" or "oop" to show they were still there, despite the fact they had opened the giveaway up by trading nailsare1 a spiked wristband. You would think they would be more invested in the giveaway, but apparently not.

pasteljosh also subtly tried to convince others in the den to trade nailsare1 their items, as the other players were discussing what rares they had. One player said they had a Cami's Frog, to which pasteljosh told them they were going to win, if they traded it. If pasteljosh was actually trying to win the giveaway, it is unlikely they'd be telling other players ways they could beat them.

After a few minutes of nobody else trading, nailsare1 started wrapping it up, asking if anyone could beat the spiked wristband pasteljosh had traded.

They said pasteljosh would receive the spike if nobody else traded anything to beat their trade, as if pushing the other participants to trade them something they could accept.

Nobody else traded, and soon, nailsare1 announced pasteljosh as the winner.

They made a big production out of it, and pasteljosh put the spike on as if to prove to the few of us remaining that they had really received it.

After this, nailsare1 made sure to clarify that they didn't scam, as had just been proven by them giving pasteljosh the spike. None of us were buying it though.

They also unbuddied us shortly before locking the den and, when we commented on that, told us it was just so they could "know if we were participating".

pasteljosh also stuck around after they won the prize, and after one of the other players made an offhanded comment about them being the same person, pasteljosh took a moment to note they were not the same person. Regardless, I'm still led to believe they're in cahoots with each other.

Surprisingly, nailsare1 didn't lock the den, but everyone left anyways.

Make sure to report nailsare1 and pasteljosh for scamming! Remember to stay safe and always trade fairly!

-Danny