Agent Insights Ep 33: Infiltration (and why there's a rule about it)

Hello, everyone! Flint here, posting on my Coronavirus Vacation. For today's Agent Insights, I will talk about infiltration.

Infiltration, in this sense, means non-scammers pretending to be scammers in order to get access to scam teams/hangouts. Usually, the aim of this is to get the usernames of the scammers to report,  gather evidence to make posts, prevent scams by showing up to the ones planned by the group and warning people, or gaining insight into scamming methods to more easily catch scammers in general. 

In our Code of Conduct, there is a rule which states, "If in any case you find out about a scamming team or another agent asks you to scam with them, DO NOT, under any circumstances, try to go undercover. Instead, get evidence and report to someone higher up." There are several reasons why this is a rule, many of which also apply to non-agents.

• You may get reported/posted on/banned/suspended while undercover.
• People who infiltrate and people who actually want to scam but say they infiltrated when caught are often indistinguishable.
• There's a good chance that the actual scammers will quickly realize you're infiltrating and kick you out before you can do anything. 

• Scammers often use alts/hide their usernames, even in what they think are friendly places. Getting their usernames will be harder than you think, and may result in a higher chance of being kicked out.
• In a large group, if scams keep getting interrupted whenever this one person (i.e. the infiltrator) knows about it , they will quickly realize that infiltration is happening and kick "this one person" out.
• There is little scamming information that you couldn't learn by just watching actual scammers as you come across them, or by reading our Types of Scams page and our Agent Insights posts. Scammers aren't very innovative, and most scams you come across are the same old trust-trading type scams. Maybe with little twists on them, that are still easily recognizable as scams. 
• If you get caught by the scammers, they may target you for harassment/scamming/hacking. 

And, for one-on-one things like if another agent asks you to scam with them, the first point still stands. There's also very little you could do with infiltrating that you couldn't do by reporting to higher-ups, with much less risk. 

As you can see, infiltrating is a tricky business, and should be avoided for all the aforementioned reasons. It's too much risk for too little reward. This goes doubly for SASS Agents. 

That's all for today's post. Bye!

Random Saturday Ep 41: News About the Feral Beta

What's up everyone! I'm here with your next dose of Random Saturdays! Alright, today I'll be talking about the Feral Beta Testing update that I'm sure many of you got.

Recently, I received an email from WildWorks that the closed Beta will be opening up to "more players than usual". When I saw that, I thought that it could mean round one of beta testing is over. That means, it could be time to move on to future rounds!

In addition, they also said that it's not too late to sign up to be a beta tester. I guess, those who haven't signed up yet can still do so at the official feral website. They probably will be able to join in the closed beta when WildWorks decides to roll it out to more people.

Speaking of which, the email said that they will be rolling it out "in the next few weeks". So, it is happening very soon!

Lastly, it seems as if everyone who signed up to be a beta tester got the same email as I did. If you know you signed up for the beta and weren't picked for round one, you might wanna go check your email now. Also, don't forget to check your spam box in case you cannot find the email in your inbox.

That's all from me now for this episode of Random Saturdays. Stay safe and Jam on!

-Dew

Update Post - February

What's up guys! Bit late, but I'll be reporting to you your Update post for February.

Firstly, we have made radical changes to the society ranking system. The alpha rank is no longer the highest rank -- it has been removed. Rather, society decisions will be made amongst staff. More information can be found here.

Next, we also have closed games and events in the society discord for the time being. If we get more members and the server becomes more active again, then we could open it up again.

Next, we will be resuming regular posting schedule with scammer posts every week and random saturdays and agent insights on alternate weeks.

Finallt, we are hiring! If you feel like you want to join the society, fill up a form under the joining tab!

That's all from me now, till next post!

-Dew

Random Saturday Ep 40: History of Skullys

Hey ya'll, happy leap day! It's Shade here with your latest edition of Random Saturday. Today, we're talking the history of skullys from the beta. 

In the early stages of the beta days, skullys were one of the cheapest items in Jam Mart Clothing. They were Animal Jam's first tail item before they were removed shortly after for unknown reasons. There was a rumor going around that skullys were removed because they looked inappropriate on pandas but that hasn't been confirmed. 

As the game went on, skullys became something simply of the past. Most jammers forgot about them and new jammers didn't even know what they were. But in 2014, that changed a little. For a short time, some jammers were able to get their hands on a skully and apparently trade them away with a glitch. 

However, AJHQ removed skullys again and took them from all the accounts that had access to them. It wasn't until 2016, when the item resurfaced, and officially reentered the game through the diamond shop. 

It was then skullys had a redesign, the new version appearing flatter than the original. 

Since then, there have been a few other editions of the skullys, including the Crystal Skullys that look a little closer to the original. 

 

Today, skullys are still going strong in the game, being enjoyed by a new generation of jammers. 

And that's a wrap for this Random Saturday. Have a good weekend everybody! 

-Shade

Agent Insights Ep 32: Trusting Strangers

Hello, everyone. Flint here, to talk about trust, and how much you should place in people on Animal Jam.

I'm not talking about the scam of trust trading here, I'm talking about how "trust" is normally used, to refer to how much confidence you have in someone to show up on time, contribute, not lie/steal, etc. In Animal Jam, trusting someone usually means you trust them to return your items/carry out their end of a trade/have your password and not use it maliciously. 

Sometimes, scammers will say that if you don't trust them, they won't give you the items they're offering. They might try to make you feel bad about not trusting them, or accuse you of being paranoid/defensive/hostile/stingy. They might also convey this message with a shrug, saying "well if you don't trust me I can't help you" and then just ignore you.

There is absolutely no reason to feel bad about not trusting scammers/random jammers. If someone is scamming or acting suspiciously, there is no reason why you should trust them to not scam you. Nobody is always 100% trustworthy, and thus nobody deserves your trust all the time in every situation.

You can think of this like you would walking about in a public space with random people. You can trust that these people probably won't try to kill you or kidnap you, and there's no reason to walk in a public park while staring at everyone suspiciously and assuming that they're trying to harm you. However, you shouldn't trust a stranger to hold on to your valuables, because you know that it would be very easy for that person to run away with your stuff. Similarly, while random strangers probably don't want to kidnap you, strangers asking you to get in their car with them have shown that they don't deserve that assumption.

Most jammers aren't trying to scam you. However, you still shouldn't gift-trade or trust trade or participate in other scamming methods, because it's exposing yourself to unnecessary and rather pointless risk that could easily be avoided. And, people acting like scammers are probably scammers, and don't deserve the benefit of the doubt either way. 

There is absolutely no reason to trust random jammers with your items or password, or to trust random jammers when they say they'll give you stuff in return if you just give them your items or password. Jammers that aren't scamming won't use scamming methods. Just trust yourself when you think something's a scam.

That's all for today. Bye!

Random Saturday Ep 39: The New PW Trade System

What's up everyone! Today, I bring to you your next episode of Random Saturdays, and I'm quite excited to share with y'all this news! Let's go!

I recall a few weeks back when I wrote and Agent Insights episode about how scams can arise through the limited trade system of AJPW. If you haven't read it, you may find it here. Well, a few weeks later, Boom! We have a new trade system in AJPW! I will explain how it works in today's Random Saturday.

Agent Insights Ep 31: Membership Giveaways

Hello, everyone! Flint here to talk about membership giveaways in Animal Jam.

Membership giveaways are where someone offers a membership for something. It doesn't necessarily have to be free like a legitimate giveaway, it just involves the exchange of a membership. It can be in exchange for your password, some items, whatever.

Membership giveaways are scams. Exchanges of memberships are scams. There are virtually no exceptions to this rule. 

Sites that promise free membership if you just give them your password or account information are scams that will use the info to log onto your account and steal all your items. Similarly, sites that promise free membership if you just download something or go to some website are scams, and the things they have you download are probably malware or spyware. Any sites they direct you to will either ask you for private info, or give your computer viruses.

Membership generators like these are always scams and should never be trusted. Remember to always report these sites to the platform they're on, or to Animal Jam itself. Tell them that it's a site designed to steal passwords or spread malware, and they will probably remove it.

Individual jammers who say they will give you memberships are also lying. Since memberships cannot be traded like normal items, you will probably give them your end of the trade and then they will run off with all your stuff.

If they ask for your password so they can give you the membership, they could use it to hack you and steal all your items. They can also buy a membership for you and then charge-back or cancel it, which will automatically and permanently ban your account. You should never trust anyone who isn't you or a parent with your password.

The only legitimate way to earn a membership is by buying it. Anyone or anything else that promises to give you a membership is lying and trying to scam you. Stay safe, jammers. Bye!

Update Post - January

What's up guys! I'm here with your update from the month of January. Without further ado, let's go!

Alright, the first news is that major changes are being made to the society. The members and I are currently in a meeting, discussing about big changes to be made to the society. We have changed our Code of Conduct, and many more revamps and revisions are coming your way.

Next, we also have updated the apllication form to help us better decide if an applicant is suited for the society.

Third, Sigma Blue and Gamma Cat have retired from the society. I wish you all the best in your future endeavours!

Next, we will not be posting much this month due to the shortage in manpower. For the month of February, we have cut our posting in half.

Lastly, we are hiring! In order for us get our posting to what it was before, we need more manpower. If you fell like you are well suited for the society, go ahead and fill in an application form! We will then review it, and contact you separately.

That's all the news today. Stay safe, and Jam On!

-Dew