Scam

A scam is when someone tries to trick another person into giving away their pieces of eight, doubloons, items or account information, generally by tricking them into thinking they'll get something back for it. Scamming is a violation of the Terms of Service and may result in a ban.

Types of Puzzle Pirates Scams

 * Claiming to be staff and asking for passwords to accounts. (Never give out your user name or password to anyone in the game. Neither Three Rings employees (Developers and Ocean Masters), greeters nor anyone else affiliated with the game will ever ask you for your account name and password.)
 * Advertising websites other than puzzlepirates.com that claim to give you free doubloons or PoE if you log in with your account name and password.
 * Selling codes to the game that will allow a player to cheat in some way (if such codes existed, it would be considered an exploit).
 * Selling used badges other than the Pirate badge (Other badges, once unwrapped cant be traded. Badges that are wrapped may be traded at any time).
 * Offering to buy or sell some item, but promising to pay or give the item later instead of placing the PoE or item in the trade interface. (All trades should be executed solely through the trading interface. Using any other method is extremely risky.)
 * Asking for money to order some item, and then not giving the item to the player being scammed.
 * Offering high wages in Shoppes/Stalls for labor types that will not be used (An example: Basic: 15, Skilled 20, Expert 1000, when Expert labor is not being used. This is in an attempt to get players to take a job with them for lower wages than normal.)
 * "Trapping" players in shacks using furniture that blocks the door, then demanding PoE or Doubloons to let them out. (You can exit a building at any time by using the mini-map, the "Go home" button, or just closing the window.)

Not a scam
In May 2006, Three Rings did a promotional campaign to encourage former players to come back to the game by sending out emails promising a 1000 PoE bonus. Many players found this very suspicious since the mails were sent from the address PuzzlePirates@mail136.subscribermail.com, but it has been confirmed as legitimate by OMs on the forums. The emails were sent out by another company on behalf of Three Rings.
 * http://forums.puzzlepirates.com/community/mvnforum/viewthread?p=641036#641036
 * http://forums.puzzlepirates.com/community/mvnforum/viewthread?p=641092#641092

What to do if you've been scammed
Each scam requires a different course of action. If a mate asks you for your account name/password, or if they are trying to sell any type of 'cheat' for the game, you should immediately /complain the person and send in a petition. If the person is trying to sell you an item that cannot be sold (most types of badges, except pirate badge), or offering you a familiar for a very low price (Generally most people won't sell theirs for less than 800,000 poe), or some other rare item for low prices, you should tell them to stop, and send in a complaint. Most scams can be resolved by a /complain or petition. If you are a new player (greenie), you can also ask a greeter for advice (Click the "Ye" tab in the menu to the right, then click "Help," then "Talk to a Greeter"). Greeters can help you with the course of action to take.

What to do if witnessing a scam
If you witness a pirate that's obviously trying to scam (i.e., one who keeps trying to sell something despite being told it's not possible), file a complaint immediately. If they don't seem to be getting a clue that their actions are not allowed by the game, it can be followed up with a blackspot (if possible).

Labor scams
Some shoppes or stalls may offer deceiving wages in attempt to get workers. Some establishments may offer high wages in a category (usually Expert) but make it so it is impossible to order any items that use the labor. Really obvious scams will use absurdly high wages, say, over 1000 PoE, but if an offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is. The type of labor at a certain stall or shoppe being used can be approximated by checking what items are available for sale, but that does not guarantee that a different kind of labor will or will not be used in the future.

Other Links

 * Official documentation on account security