Random Saturday Ep 63: AJHQ Instagram Contests

Hey all, Jade here with this week's Random Saturday! Today, we'll be talking about Animal Jam's Instagram contests!

 

On February 5, 2016, AJHQ introduced a new feature to their Instagram page- contests! These contests were a sort of replacement for the now-discontinued Daily Explorer contests (including Jammer Snaps, Epic Dens, and News Crew).

AJHQ's Instagram contests are typically a den or outfit contest, centered around a specific theme. Participants post their entries for the contest with a specific hashtag, then AJHQ goes through the hashtag and picks a set of winners. The winners are then featured on the AJHQ Instagram and receive a special prize in both Animal Jam Classic and Animal Jam. Past themes have included "AJFriendshipDen", "AJPWcastle", "AJLemurs", "AJDayAtTheBeach", and many more!

The number of winners for each theme does not appear to be set, but AJHQ will typically run each contest for at least three days and pick at least five winners per day. Prizes are also random, but tend to be relatively rare items.

Overall, I think this feature is a pretty cool one! If you have an Instagram account or can make one, these contests are a great way to have fun on Animal Jam and possibly win some rares! (Please keep in mind that you must be at least 13 years old to use Instagram.) 

Have you participated in or won any of these contests in the past? Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments!

lorelei06235 + allister10 (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 all! Jade here with a scammer that was submitted through our report form. The user who submitted this scammer wished to stay anonymous, so I will be referring to them as "the Jammer". 

Around three months ago, the Jammer was hanging around in Jamaa, when lorelei06235 went into their den and Jam-a-grammed them to follow them. After the Jammer went to their den, lorelei06235 asked them if they would be willing to film an intro for their new AJ YouTube channel with them, and the Jammer said yes. They also said that they would give the Jammer 4 den betas as a thank you gift. 

lorelei06235 then asked the Jammer to subscribe to their YouTube channel, which they did. After that, they told the Jammer that they spoke a little bit of French and asked if the Jammer could go on Animal Jam's French server. They told them that there was a link to the website in their YouTube "about" page. The Jammer checked out the link, and it looked like it was legitimate, so they clicked on it. It took them to a page that looked exactly like the Animal Jam home screen, so they logged in, but nothing happened. They refreshed the page a couple times to see if it was glitching, but it didn't work. 

The Jammer then went to the normal Animal Jam page and logged in, but the game kept logging them out. lorelei06235 Jam-a-grammed them and asked if it was working, said it wasn't working for them, and told the Jammer they could try again tomorrow. The Jammer then decided to change their password just in case something had happened.

They logged back in with their new password and checked their inventory, and all their spiked collars were gone. They checked lorelei06235's account, and the hacker had blocked them. Soon after, lorelei06235's alt account, allister10, Jam-a-grammed them and began gloating about hacking them. 

The site that the Jammer logged into was a phishing site- a website that poses as something it is not in order to steal people's information. The "French" AJ wasn't actually Animal Jam, it was a different website that had a URL that was nearly the same, and was designed to have the same login page. Since the Jammer logged in on this page, thinking it was normal, lorelei06235 was able to steal their password and get into their account. This type of hacking has been getting much more common lately- a guide on how to recognize and avoid it can be found here.

Please report lorelei06235 and allister10 for personal info and make sure to watch out for anyone attempting the same methods! When in doubt about what someone is asking you to do, just don't do it. You don't have to do anything that you think could hurt you or your account. If you have any questions about how to avoid this hack, please read through the Agent Insights post that I linked up above. Stay safe out there, and Jam On!

imperfectchildrenn + ffrogg + Kyanofox (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.

Hello everyone! Agent Neon here with my first ever scammer post! Today we are discussing ffrogg, Kyanofox, and imperfectchildrenn. All of these are separate Jammers working together to scam. Ffrogg was advertising in Jamaa Township they were giving away their list in their den, which included a black long and red long.

I proceeded to go to their den to investigate. I warned everyone and made sure they knew it was a scam. I was locked out of the den, but luckily had a spare. ffrogg claimed that they would spin a wheel to determine the method of giveaway, and it landed on first to jag for the red long.

imperfectchildrenn won this round, which I thought was suspicious as they had an outfit that looked fit for a red long. I asked them to put it on trade, but they said not right now. Shortly after, ffrogg announced the next giveaway for the black long would be troll. They assured everyone that it was not trust.

After asking why we could not trade directly for the spike, my spare was locked out. I was determined to get more evidence, so I went back in as another spare, pretending to not know what was going on so I would not be locked out again. ffrogg announced that imperfectchildrenn was winning with a pink long wrist, and Kyanofox was competing to beat that. Then, imperfectchildrenn left unexpectedly without a reason why. When that happened I thought that maybe imperfect was not a scammer, but more on that later. At this time, Kyanofox was encouraging another person to trade, defending the scammer. 

The person said no, and Kyanofox won the black long. I went on another spare again so the scammers were not suspicious, went to ffrogg’s den, and Kyanofox came into the den shortly after. 

After this, I buddied ffrogg to see where they were, and the same two spikes were on trade again from the previous giveaway. Also, their location was in imperfectchildrenn’s den. I went there, and saw Kyanofox accompanying ffrogg in the den. They admitted to scamming on Discord, but said they are doing it for another person and they hacked a scammer. 

So everyone, be careful with people claiming to give away items and stay safe. If it seems too good to be true, it most likely is. Have a wonderful day everyone!

Agent Insights Ep 55: Auto-download and how to stop it

 

What's up everyone! Today, I bring you your next episodes of Agent Insights! Today's topic isn't necessarily AJ or PW related, but it could be good to know nonetheless. Without further ado, let's start!

Auto-downloading occurs when something online gets automatically downloaded into your computer. This can happen without the user clicking a button on the screen that says "download". This is because the download could have been triggered by other means such as entering the website itself. Hence, entering malicious sites could result in a virus being auto-downloaded into your computer. There is a way though, to stop such auto-downloading from happening. 

One way to stop it is to enable the function of getting your browser to confirm the download location. For this post, I will use Google Chrome as an example. When that function is enabled, a popup will show whenever something is downloaded onto your computer. That popup will ask you where you'd like the file to be downloaded. If you wanted to download the file, you can select which location in your computer it would be downloaded to. If you didn't intend to download it, you could instead click "cancel" and stop the download. Next, I will run you through how to activate it.

First, click on the three dots at the top right hand of chrome. It should open this list. Click settings.

After you click "settings", the following options should show up. Click "advanced" followed by "downloads".

Finally, you should see these options. Toggle the switch for "ask where to save each file before downloading" on, and you're done!

That's all from me today. Stay safe and jam on!

-Dew

Random Saturday Ep 62: Tiki Trouble

Hey everyone! This is Clover with a new edition of Random Saturdays! This week, we are focusing on the adventure Tiki Trouble on AJPC.

This is one of Animal Jam's seasonal adventures, which means that it only comes out once every year. Tiki Trouble is a Summer adventure, first coming out on July 20, 2017. It most recently came back out on August 13. The adventure can be played by all jammers, however certain prizes are only available as a member.

Whenever you click on the adventure, you will likely be put with a few random jammers, or maybe even nobody, however, if you go to an empty server with your buddies, you can play with them! This adventure is best played with a group of other jammers, since whenever I played alone, I wasn't able to finish.

Once you enter the adventure, Tavie will explain that you need to earn 3 pearls from the Tiki Statues in order to complete the adventure. There is also a 17 minute time limit to complete the adventure, so you have to be quick to complete it.

Whenever you find one of the Tiki Statues located on the island, you will have to complete a set of tasks. For this, I used the "Koa Tiki Statue" as a tutorial on what to do.

Once I clicked the statue, I got a popup that said that I had to find jewels in order for the statue to speak to me.

Most of the time, you only end up mining fossils, however, there is a chance that you will mine blue crystals, which are the jewels that the statue is looking for. Once you complete this task, you will be asked to collect 3 different pieces of fruit for the statue before receiving the pearl.

When you receive the pearl, it will appear as an item next to your animal (shown below) and you must bring it back to Tavie in order to receive your prize.

Once you bring the pearl to Tavie, you will receive 2 treasure chests that contain the prizes. Unfortunately, I'm a nonmember, so I could only collect one of the prizes.

Whenever you receive all 3 of the pearls, you will receive your final prize. The nonmember prize is simply one of the tiki statues, however members receive random clothing items, and have a chance of receiving a Rare Spiked Collar or Wristband.

There are also other things you can do in the adventure besides collect pearls! For example, there are different Trader NPCS (animals not played by any jammer) on the island that you can talk to. They will explain that they love to collect different items, and if you bring them one, you will receive some gems.

Once you bring them an item they want, you will receive 25 gems. The items they want are the common drops from doing any action that has an item the Tikis want as a rare drop.

There are also different treasure chests located around the island, which usually contain a random number of gems, though they can also contain Octopus Archways. Some chests can be found rarely when mining, fishing or digging in the shallow water. These chests can drop Gold Bricks, Diamond Encrusted Gauntlets, or Giant Sea Shells respectively.

Finally, there is a passageway that can only be opened by Arctic Wolves. I'm unable to open it, since I don't have an Arctic Wolf. However, if the passageway is opened, you can enter a cave that has a few of the crystals that you use to mine inside it, as well as a treasure chest. If you open it, the treasure chest will either give you a Palm Tree, a Mangrove Tree, or a Pineapple Plant.

Another thing worth noting is that flying animals (eagles, owls, etc.) are able to fly above cliffs and deep water, while land animals have to walk around them, making it easier for flying animals to collect certain items!

That concludes this Random Saturday post! Stay safe on Animal Jam, and have fun playing this adventure!

-Clover

darkspiritgirl + Warriors242 + Mowlia (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.

 

Welcome back to another scammer post! Today, we'll be looking at a scammer that was submitted to us through the Scammer Report Form by an individual who wishes to be called Promo.

Around a month ago, Promo went to a black short giveaway in Warriors242's den. The scammer told them at the beginning of the giveaway that they would be using the trust method, and that they would be allowed to decline, but accepting would get them more points. Trust is almost always a scam, so it’s best to always stay away from it, especially with those you don’t know. 

After a while, everyone left the den except for Promo, their buddy, Warriors242, and Mowlia. At one point, Warriors242 stated that Mowlia was winning because they traded a spiked wrist and accepted. Supposedly, they then traded the wrist back to Mowlia. 

A scammer would most likely not trade a spike back, so Mowlia was likely an alt account of Warriors242. Additionally, Mowlia was a nonmember account with only three achievements, which makes it even more likely that they were an alt.

After refusing to take part in the trust trading, Promo and their buddy were locked out of Warriors242's den. Promo decided to go back to the den on an alt account to investigate some more. When they got there, they found Warriors242 trading with a jammer by the name of darkspiritgirl.

Promo left the den, believing that darkspiritgirl was likely Warriors242's main account. Shortly after, darkspiritgirl began Jam-a-gramming them and telling them that they were just “making a trade with their buddy.” In order to prove themself, darkspiritgirl went on Discord and spoke with Promo and their buddy.

 It’s noteworthy that darkspiritgirl Jam-a-Grammed Promo as if to prove that they weren't a scammer, but later claimed that they had no idea what Warriors242 had done. If they weren't a scammer and didn't know that Warriors242 had scammed, they wouldn't have felt the need to Jam-A-Gram Promo.

darkspiritgirl claimed that they were making a trade to be nice to their buddy. Promo's buddy then pointed out that darkspiritgirl had a necklace on trade when Promo saw them in the den, and accused them of being the scammer's main. darkspiritgirl then told them that it was a typo and Warriors242 was the one being nice. It's unclear if they meant to say that Warriors242 was trading them a wrist, or if they meant something else.

Later, Promo went online and found darkspiritgirl wearing a black short. This confirms that darkspiritgirl was likely Warriors242's main, as the timing of them getting the short collar was very suspicious.

Additionally, a day later, Promo found a New Jammer advertising a “Get black short off my list!” giveaway. This reminded Promo to take a look at darkspiritgirl's items. Sure enough, darkspiritgirl was no longer wearing a black short- so, this New Jammer was likely another of their scamming alts.

Luckily, darkspiritgirl did not successfully scam anyone, at least in the attempts that Promo witnessed. Please report darkspiritgirl, Warriors242, and Mowlia for attempted scamming. Be sure to stay alert and don’t fall for scams! 

-Agent Aqua

Agent Insights Ep 54: "Golden" Pet Pigs

 

Hello everyone. Flint here, to talk about a minor point that's still worth bringing up.

Golden pets are usually worth a lot. These gold-colored variants of other pets range in value from only 2 being confirmed in the game in the case of Golden Armadillos to a decent short at minimum for Golden Bunnies.

You may have seen or heard of Gold Pet Pigs before. These pigs are colored gold, and wear a top hat. These are not real gold pets, however, and aren't worth anything. This is because the top hat and the gold color are an accessory that can be obtained by visiting the Pets Only Party or the Play as Your Pet Party. All you have to do to get one is buy a pet pig from the diamond shop, and wait until one of those two parties rolls around. There are no Golden Pet Pigs besides these ones.

Anyone who claims that they have a Golden Pet Pig and that it's worth a lot is lying. Don't trade anything more than what you'd trade for an in-store item. There are no Golden Pet Pigs, only regular pigs with an accessory.

That's all for today. Just remember that Golden Pet Pigs aren't real gold pets and aren't worth anything. Bye!

Random Saturday Ep 61: Color Cloud and Color Coordinator (AJPW)

 

What's up everyone! Today, I bring another episode of Random Saturdays! The topic for today is about the color cloud and the color coordinator in AJPW. Without further ado, let's get started!

Both the color cloud and color coordinator are features that can only be used with a membership. Both are features that allow you to pick colors that are not readily available on the palette. We have a separate Random Saturday (Tuesday) that touched on secret colors. You may find it here.

On to the main topic. I will touch on the color cloud first. The color cloud can be found in your pack hideout. The color cloud is run by Arthur's (the travelling salesman) buddy, Hugh.

Hugh is the raccoon and the paint palette is the color cloud. In order to use it, all you gotta do is to step inside the color cloud like so. 

After that, you can walk out and view your new colors! The color cloud allows you to get random colors that are not on the palette as shown below.

The top color is neither in the list of secret colors nor on the readily available palette.

As you can see in the palette, there is a button that says "Color Coordinator". What is does is that it allows you to pick colors that are similar to the accessories that you are wearing at the moment.

This is the screen I see when I hit the Color Coordinator button:

Some of the colors in this palette are not available in the normal palette.

So, if you want to get funky with your colors and are a member, you can use those two methods anytime to get colors not on the palette. Do bear in mind though, that the colors from the color cloud are completely random! You may not get the same color combination on two different occasions!

That's all for this post! Stay safe, and Jam On!

-Dew

exoticooo (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 guys, Sunny here with a scammer submitted to us by Fire via the Scammer Report Form!

A little over a month ago, Fire spotted exoticooo advertising a giveaway at their den with a prize of a green short collar. They went into exoticooo's den to investigate, and the scammer followed them in about a minute later.

The first thing exoticooo told the people gathered in their den was to leave if they thought the giveaway was a scam. This is a common tactic used by scammers during giveaways, in order to quickly remove anyone who might call them out, and to make people feel bad for assuming that they're scamming. 

exoticooo's trade list at this point contained three necklaces and one green short. The scammer never specifically stated that the giveaway method was going to be trust trading, but did tell the attendees "IF YOU ARE NOT GOING TO TRADE PLEASE GO". It was strongly implied that you were supposed to trade good items for the necklaces, which makes it trust trading, and thus a likely scam. If someone were to trade a good item for the necklaces, exoticooo would probably accept the trade and lock their den.

When the giveaway began, two people started trading exoticooo. Fire asked if they could decline the trade, but exoticooo said that they couldn't.

One of the Jammers in the den started saying that the giveaway was a scam, after which exoticooo began insulting everyone in the den, then locked them out.

Please report exoticooo for attempted scamming, and watch out for scammers like them. Stay safe!