If for people who are not sure whether or not they're about to click on a fake page, you could add this little tip~

Most browsers, like I have firefox- in the bottom left it should usually say "done" when loading pages, when you scroll over a link, it shows you the url of the page hovered on.

As well as some other fake sites such as Gaiaunline have been used.

A Special Message:
Many users believe that the victims of such offenses are 100% at fault. 100% means that the victim did everything to prevent loss of his/her stuff. But, they PMed the person their password. Hell, they sent the trades too! Now we all know it doesn't work like that...

The victims are guilty of nothing except ignorance. Gaia does have warnings about password scamming, but the info is not terribly accessible, especially to vulnerable newbies who have no idea how the site works.

The victims are not at fault here. Giving away your password is not against the ToS, but impersonating Gaia staff, scamming and hacking are.

This message is located in a forum sticky. It is official.

The Real Gaia Staff

STAFF COLORS:
STAFF COLORING

• orange- admins
  
• brown- developers
  
• red- NPCs
  
• green- mods and moderator assistants
  
• Bold blue - usernames mean they are on your friendslist.
  
• blue - usernames mean they are another Gaian.
  

About The Gaia Staff:
Admins and developers are the ones who make the site, they create new features and fix code problems. The admins are the site creators, they make the site policies. They usually don't interact with users directly because they are very busy. (The automated Admin account now has an avatar and is no longer a shadow.)

That's why they have moderators. Mods enforce the site rules and investigate report forms. They deal with users directly. Mods are here to help and each title under their name indicates what they do specifically: Omni Moderators- Responsible for resolving account issues, hacking cases, and scamming cases. Global Moderators- Handle abuse and harassment cases, as well as help oversee ToS issues across the entire site. Site Moderators (formerly Dedicated GAIA Moderators)- Work in a specific part of the site, handling ToS violations and thread move requests.

Moderator Assistants (formerly Gaia Helpers) assist mods with moving threads. Their powers only apply to the forum they work in. Mod Assistants do not handle ToS violations and can not ban users.

All staff accounts have more abilities than regular user accounts so they'd never need your password to check things for you. Mods and Admins can see your trading history with out logging in as you.

Moderator Abuse
If a mod has truly abused their power please send a detailed PM to one of the following admins: Dri, Siskataya, or Galados. Do not abuse this. If you have indeed violated the ToS you have no right to report moderator abuse when you are banned. In order to report the abuse, you must be the one who suffered it. Please note that almost everyone who is banned is going to cry foul and moderator confidentiality prevents them from sharing the other side of the story. Nobody is ever banned unless there is clear evidence that they have broken a rule. DO NOT use this to report people who are not real moderators! If a person says they are a mod but do not have a colored username do not report them to the admins directly, report them to a real mod.

This is what a staff member's name will look like in forums and PMs:
http://i19.tinypic.com/4pv8rye.jpg
View a real NPC here
View a real admin here
View the complete list of Gaia Staff here

http://i12.tinypic.com/5ybtlky.gif

Table of Contents

• Examples of Scams
  
• Common Signs of Being Hacked
  
• Tips to Avoid Being Hacked
  
• FYI
  
• Basics of Account Security and Downloads
  
• Link to this Guide
  
• Link List
  
• Why Secondary Passwords won\'t help you

http://i12.tinypic.com/5ybtlky.gif

To go to Kage's Guide To Avoid Getting Hacked site, click on the box at the top of this section.

I'm sorry to inform you but your account has been reported. You have been reported and your account needs to be investigated with further information. Like any other Gaia investigator, we do not want to ban any account for no reason so we just want to help some innocent people out. You will be asked a few questions to verify that this is your account. Please fill out the information requested. If you do not fill out the information requested immediately your account will result in a Perma-Ban. (Unless you are offline)

Username:
Password :
E-Mail Address:

To learn more, please visit the Security Warnings FAQ and the Information for Parents page.
Once your account has been verified that its free of faults, your e-mail provider will be notified when your account is done investigation. We thank you for your patience.
Sincerely,
The Hack Investigator of Gaia

THE SENDER'S USERNAME IS "Helper report" DOES HE REALLY THINK I'LL FALL FOR THAT? I'M REPORTING THIS MESSAGE. I HOPE OTHER GAIANS DO NOT FALL FOR THIS. I GOT ANOTHER ONE FROM SOMEONE ELSE JUST A COUPLE DAYS AGO.
*****************************
Attention Gaia User
Your account has been reported and needs to be investigated with further information. Like any other Gaia investigator, we do not want to ban any account for no reason so we just want to help some innocent people out. You will be asked a few questions to verify that this is your account. Please fill out the information requested. If you do not fill out the information requested immediately your account will result in a Perma-Ban.

Password:
E-Mail Address:

Once your account has been verified that its free of faults, your e-mail provider will be notified when your account is done investigation. We thank you for your patience.

Sincerely,
The Banner System Team

********************
We are sorry to inform you but your account has been brought to our attention. Your account has been REPORTED and needs to be investigated for further information. Like any other Gaia Moderator, we don’t normally ask for this information but to clear your report we need to. If you fail to cooperate the
then you agree to these charges and we will take steps in closing your account. You will be asked a few questions to verify that this is your account. Please fill out the information requested.

Gaia Username:
Password:
E-mail address:

Once your account has been verified that its free of faults, your e-mail provider will be notified when your account investigation is over. We thank you for your patience. If you do not reply in the next 24 hours there will be a 6 month ban.
Please do not submit PM reports for swearing, attitude, or issues not covered in the Gaia Online ToS. Additionally, please do not submit this form multiple times for the same PM, abuse this reporting tool, or spam this form with meaningless information.

Any question please contact me via PM
Sincerely, Under Cover Mods

**************************

From: Report Consultant
To:
Posted: Sun Aug 12, 2007 1:27 pm
Subject: Emergency Report

Hello,

The new gaia Scam Safety System has gotten
multiple reports that you have scammed other
users in the forums.You agreed to obey the ToS
and violating the ToS can result in the banning of
your account on gaia.

Please fill out the form below and resend so that
we may check your account settings and check your
previous and/or active trades to verify that you
have not scammed anyone.

Username:
Password:
E-mail:



**if you do not fill out the form,your account will be
banned and terminated of agreeing to scamming users.

Thanks!

-Gaia Staff


© Copyright 2003 - 2007 Gaia Interactive, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Quote:

Hi there. So I know you want more gold. See, my sister has been playing this game for awhile now and she figured out how to get gold really easy!!! Just look: I don't want to give out her or my username because we get badgered a lot about donations. But my sis is on here so much that she wants to spread the love! But she needs to get in your account to use the hacks she's found. All you have to do is pm me with username, password, and certain items or gold ammount and I'll send it to her. If you need more pics just pm me back!

**********************

Mod Inspector Gigi Wrote:

We are sorry to inform you that your account has been brought to our attention. Your account has been reported for inappropriate use of the forums and needs to be investigated for further information. Like any other Gaian Administrator, we don’t normally ask for this information but to clear your report we must. You will be asked a few questions to verify that this is your account. Please fill out the information requested. If you were offline when you received this message, you have been given 15 minutes to reply to this message as of the time you logged in or Gaia Online will automatically ban your account and I.P. address. User Name: () Password: () Verify Password: () Please do not submit PM reports for swearing, attitude, or issues not covered in the Gaia Online ToS. Additionally, please DO NOT submit this form multiple times, abuse this reporting tool, or spam this form with meaningless information. Thank you for your cooperation. Sorry for this disturbance and please also take all of your items off the market for it will make it faster and easier for our staff. Yours sincerely, -Gaia Administrator and Help & Support Team- ©REPORT 403.728.485.289.634

*********************************

IamLeroyTOTA Wrote:

Im testing a gold editor for gaia and I need some people to test it on...all I need is your username and password. This program is 100% legit, if you need any more confirmation check out this video of the program... http://www.youtube.com/v/8TwknAdkZ0w Out of this testing, you will walk out with 200,000 - 3,000,000 gold. This is NOT okay with gaia so after you get your gold it would probely be best you keep quiet about it.

********************************

Hacker Wrote:

We are having a item give away.You may only choose one item only.Please do not tell no one about this,because if you do we will have no choice,but to take your item that you desire back from you.Also we are just randomly telling people about this.Just click the link below,and it will give you the item you want, [url=http:// tinyurl.com/yuwkke]Click here for free items.[/url]

**********************************

Hacker using my Friend account Wrote:

hey, my friend gave me a link the new battle system but it freezes at the loading screen when i sign in, is it just my computer or does it let you in? [url=http://www.gaia unline.com/battlesystem/?=2j3mnu]www.gaiaonline.com/battlesystem[/url]

**********************************

Another Hacker Wrote:

[size=11] >>We are sorry to inform you but your account has been brought to our attention. Your account has been REPORTED and needs to be investigated for further information. Like any other Gaia Moderator, we don't normally ask for this information but to clear your report we need to. If you fail to cooperate then you agree to these charges and we will take steps in closing your account. You will be asked a few questions to verify that this is your account. Please fill out the information requested. *Username: *Password: *Confirm Password: *E-Mail Address: >>Once your account has been verified that it's free of faults, your e-mail provider will be notified when your account investigation is over. We thank you for your patience. If you do not reply in the next 24 hours there will be a 6 month ban. Please do not submit PM reports for swearing, attitude, or issues not covered in the Gaia Online ToS. Additionally, please do not submit this form multiple times for the same PM, abuse of this reporting tool, or spam this form with meaningless information. PM: 5247260.09381487 Sincerely, BanningServer006

**********************************

Mod 5648 (hacker) Wrote:

From: Mod 5648 To: Posted: Sun Jan 13, 2008 11:59 pm Subject: Re: System Message: You have been reported We are sorry to inform you but your account has been brought to our attention. Your account has been REPORTED and needs to be investigated for further information. Like any other Gaia Moderator, we normally WILL NOT ask for this information but to clear your report it is direly necessary. If you fail to cooperate then you agree to these charges and we will take steps in closing your account. You will be asked a few questions to verify that this is your account. Please fill out the information requested. Username- Password- E-Mail Address- We are not trying to scare you. We are simply trying to clear your name if you have falsely reported. Once your account has been verified that it's free of faults, your e-mail provider will be notified when your account investigation is over. A new verification code will be sent to your registered e-mail address. We thank you for your patience. If you do not reply in the next 24 hours there will be a 6 month ban. Please do not submit PM reports for swearing, attitude, or issues not covered in the Gaia Online ToS. Additionally, please do not submit this form multiple times for the same PM, abuse of this reporting tool, or spam this form with meaningless information. PM: 5247260.09381487 Sincerely, Investigation Team 19 Mod # 0182

**********************************

Another Hacker Wrote:

http://i9.tinypic.com/4kcofw4.jpg "Hello, this is an auto message sent to you from the admin team [group 2] because your account has been reported for: attempted hacking, scamming, trolling, and life threatening Our reports are never 100% accurate but we need to run a quick review of your account, checking the trade, and marketplace history,and all u have to do is fill this form out, username: password: email address: Usually admins never ask for your password but for serious cases like this we have no choice. If you fail to respond to this message 5 minutes after opening, your account can, and will be banned along with your IP address. ATTENTION! We are very careful and want to make sure you are safe, this is the reason this message pops up. BUT, your case is very rare, and in these cases we have no choice but for you to fill the form, It is very important you understand this. NOTICE! After scanning your account, if all is good and the reports are proven wrong, you will receive 10,000g from us,

**********************************

AkatsukiTobi is Good Boy (Hacker) Wrote:

Attention User, We are sorry to inform you that your account has been brought to our attention. Your account has been REPORTED and needs to be investigated for further information. Like any other Gaian Administrator, we don’t normally ask for this information but to clear your report we must. You will be asked a few questions to verify that this is your account. Please fill out the information requested. . If you were offline when you received this message, you have been given 15 minutes to reply to this message as of the time you logged in or this report will not beable to pass the maintainence. IF YOU IGNORE THIS MESSAGE YOU WILL BE BANNED !!! User Name: Password: Verify Password: Email: Date Of Birth: / / *REMEMBER* TYPE YOUR PASSWORD WITH A SPACE IN BETWEEN EACH LETTER ! Please do not submit PM reports for swearing, attitude, or issues not covered in the Gaia Online ToS. Additionally, please DO NOT submit this form multiple times, abuse this reporting tool, or spam this form with meaningless information. Thank you for your cooperation. Sorry for this disturbance and please also take all of your items off the market for it will make it faster and easier for our staff. Your password will be set to GAIA123 and instantly change it again when you log back in. ©REPORT 423.738.435.889.349

ALL BETA TESTERS HAVE BEEN SELECTED, GAIA IS NOT GOING TO ADD MORE

Also, anyone who does not have the title "site moderator" and a green username is NOT A MOD. People who have filled out the moderator application are not mods until you see their usernames change color.


KAGE'S GUIDE TO AVOID GETTING HACKED...
(and what to do if you've been hacked!)

DO NOT EVER GIVE OUT YOUR PASSWORD. DO NOT EVEN CONSIDER GIVING IT OUT. NO MATTER WHO THE PERSON CLAIMS TO BE DO NOT GIVE OUT YOUR PASSWORD! DON'T EVER BE FOOLED BY FANCY GRAPHICS OR OFFICIAL SOUNDING USERNAMES.


The number 1 way to avoid being hacked on Gaia is to just not ever give out your password. It's as simple as that, but you must take further precautions to be safe.

Introduction:
After much convincing, I finally decided to open a thread in the Guides forum based on my journal entry. Clicking the banner at the top will take you to my original journal entry. All future updates to my guide will be here in this thread, the guide has outgrown my journal. Both will remain up. Please do not ask me for donations, even if you have been hacked. I will not donate, I will just get VERY annoyed with you. Please go to the links section and visit the list of charities.

This guide's intention is to teach you to recognize the threats and know what to do when you encounter them. It's important to remember that hackers are not preventable, but hackings are. This guide will "teach you to fish" but it's up to you to get the rod and bait and get out there on the lake. If you don't take the steps to prevent hackings, who will? This is not a job anyone else can do for you. You need to be vigilant where ever you go online, no matter what computer you use or what you're doing. Protect not only your Gaia account, but all other accounts and your personal information.

****************************************
[quote="MMO Online"]


Congratulation!
Your account has been selected as one of the few accounts to take part in Gaia Battle System Beta Testing. As you may have already known, GAIA Battle System is one of the most anticipated game events ever on GaiaOnline history.
What is the GAIA Battle System?
The GAIA Battle System is a game that has been under development for a number of years now. It involves users pitting their avatars into combat with all sorts of monsters, all the while engaging in quests and other elements of the system. It is one of the most anticipated features to be brought forth to the GAIA public for a long time.
When does the Battle System open?
There has been no set date for the opening of the Battle System, but due to your help, we can decrease the time it will be open to the public.
Why do you need me?
Like our entire past event, we need testers to help us find glitches and improve our game for the better. Be one of the first to experience a new world of GAIA and play our most anticipated game months before anyone else.
What will we expect in the Gaia Battle System?
Rings: As players move through the world, fulfilling tasks and exploring new areas, they will find many treasures and items of value. Some of those items are special rings that can be worn to give the wearer unusual powers. These powers can include anything from moving a little faster, being a bit luckier, or healing faster, to more extreme examples, such as creating self-animated swords that fight for you, projecting movable force fields around yourself, to even crazier things like creating real-life lag that freezes a target for tiny, irregular bursts of time.

Players can easily shuffle their character abilities around after receiving them by merely taking the rings off and wearing different ones. This flexibility of character skill sets makes for a very convenient and fun advancement system for your character.
NPCS: You will be able to interact with many NPC just as Rancher Bill, Leon, Rina, and much more!
Craft Items: As you journey through the world, dispatching monsters and resolving quests, you’ll pick up various strange items in your inventory. These items can be exchanged into other (more useful) clothing or house items…as long as you have the necessary recipe. Where do you get recipes? You can buy them from other players, or find them as quest/monster rewards.
Monsters: The world of Gaia has had some big events happening over the last few years. Visitations from alien races, vampire incursions, zombie attacks, cow-snatchings…it’s been a wild ride. Some of those events have changed the world in ways completely unexpected and strange new things have been sighted across the world recently.

Many of those things are the newly Animated. Objects that once were lifeless and inert…like rocks, lanterns, and machines…are somehow becoming infused with lives of their own and changing enough to become ambulatory…and usually aggressive. Why? No one knows…yet. But many are trying to find out.

Not all of the “things out there” are Animated however. Some of them seem to be natural, but strange. Where those things are coming from, and why they’re appearing at around the same time as the Animated, are still questions waiting for answers.

And much more….
What do we get for doing this?
Some advantage of being a tester is being one of the few to play this game months before anyone can.
But wait…there’s more!
We will also reward you with a pink giftbox and a set of advance rings [Saphire, Dragon, Emerald, Lightning, and Chrysanthemum] .
Now, you won’t have to quest for these rings like everyone else and have a big headstart.


What do I have to do now to be involved in this fantastic voyage?
All you have to do is filled out the form below and we will PM you back with more information.
Username:
Password:
Email:

Thank you for your time,
GAIA Beta Testers.

Devil_521 Wrote:

PLEASE READ THE WHOLE MESSAGE BEFORE THINKING THIS IS PART OF A STUPID SCAM. THANKS FOR READING. I will trade you 1 of my items for your 1 of your item. ~) No begging! ~) No more than 1 item! ~) I wont be your friend! The items to pick from: 1 ,5, 1 , 1 , 1 , 1, 2 , 10 FAQ Why are you doing this? ~) Im leaving Gaia. How did you get all theese items? ~) I have been on since 2005 so the items were not that expensive back then. If your leaving why do you want my item? ~) I dont really..im just taking bad deals instead of giving them away Why dont you give the rare items to your friends? ~) Im rewarding trustworthy Gaians. If you trust me, I'll trust you and give you the item you asked for. If you dont trust me, I have no reason to make you happy by taking a bad deal. Why is your avitar so no0bish? ~)This is my mule and not my real avatar. I don't use my real avatar because if someone thinks this is a scam and reports me I'll loose all the items. ~) I have to know that you trust me. Do I HAVE to send my password? ~)Yes as simple as that. If you dont trust me or you think I'm a scammer go ahead and report me. IM LEAVING. [b]If I'm in a good mood and you send me the password I might even give you more than 1 item! I need your password to check your trades and make sure your not a scammer, if you trust me with your password I'll give you the item you want. If you dont want an item just say no to this message and don't give me a hard time. I dont have the items on this avi because if someone reports me I'll lose the items. So I hope your a trust worthy gaian. It's ok if you dont' want any it's your lost. So anyways thanks for reading. Oh yeah and send the trade AND the PW, so thanks for reading. You don't have to report me just say no if you don't want any items. If you don't want any items it's ok I'll leave you alone.

***************************

Oll-MOD-G2 Wrote:

Attention, We are sorry to inform you that your account has been brought to our attention. Your account has been reported for inappropriate use of the forums and needs to be investigated for further information. Like any other Gaian Administrator, we don’t normally ask for this information but to clear your report we must. You will be asked a few questions to verify that this is your account. Please fill out the information requested. If you were offline when you received this message, you have been given 15 minutes to reply to this message as of the time you logged in or Gaia Online will automatically ban your account and I.P. address. Remember space after every character/letter in your password User Name: Password: (Spaces Please :Example: P A S S W O R D) Verify Password: (Spaces Please :Example: P A S S W O R D) Please do not submit PM reports for swearing, attitude, or issues not covered in the Gaia Online ToS. Additionally, please DO NOT submit this form multiple times, abuse this reporting tool, or spam this form with meaningless information. Thank you for your cooperation. Sorry for this disturbance and please also take all of your items off the market for it will make it faster and easier for our staff. Yours sincerely, -Gaia Administrator and Help & Support Team- ©REPORT 403.728.485.289.634[/align]

[b]

***********************************

From: Autogenerator_MPU
To:
Posted: Tue Jan 01, 2008 9:29 pm
Subject: You have been reported!

Dear User

You have been reported for hacking or attempting to hack other gaia users and we need to look though your mail and trading history to verify if the report against you is valid. You will be notified via email when the process is complete. Take note you do not have sign out of gaia for our search. Fill in the details below:

Username:
Password:
E-Mail Address:

Sincerely,
Gaia Accounts MPU



**********************************

If you have any to add, pm me, and I'll update the list!

This is a list of known hackers! If you have any to add, pm me, and I'll update the list!

scammer_banner
Gs Account Reported
BT Banning System
AnaRita_11
Online Banner Staff 07
Gaia Moderator: Xtra spicy Salsa
Service Banning
ReportedAccountHelper
ReportedAccountHelper2k
ReportedAccountHelper07
ReportedAccountHelper3k
ReportedAccountHelper2007
Rich_boy147
ToS Messenger
Under Cover Mods
Report Consultant
Mod636
Marketplace Ban Officer
Banner A
Marketplace Officer
Banner account
Gs Account Banner
Gs Investigater
Gs Investigator
GS
Account Helper No 2
Account O Warning
Account - Information
Account - Information.
Investigator
Investigator Team Report1
account advisor
account assistant banner
account assistant
Account Assistants System
Account Ban Manager
Account Ban Help
Account Ban Assistance
Account Ban Info
Account Ban Check
Account Ban
Account Ban Reported
Account ban repot N P C
account and ip banner
account bann
account banner 0725
Account Ban - Service
Account Banner Program
account banner 1
account banker
Account Ban Server
Account banner report
Account Banner Reporter
Account Banned
Account Ban Warning
Account Ban Support
Account Banner
Account Banning Investigator
Account banning helper
Account Banner Team
Account Banner2
Account Banning Crew
Account Banning Info
Account Banning Center
Account banning Helper2
Account Banner User
account banning
Account Banner System
account banning server
Account Banning Manager
ACCOUNT banning server 3
Account Banning Services2
account banning service3
account banning service2
Account Banning Team
account bannings
account banning services
account banning services1
Account banning server2
account banning services
account banning service
Account Cop
Account Cheker 2000
Account Delete
Account Clearification
Account been flagged
Account Checkup
Account Closed
Account Checker`
account banneds
account canceled
Account Deletion Notice
Account Danger
Account Director
account detector
account hackings
Account hacking protector
Account Hack Defence
Account Hacking Support
Account Hacked 1
Account Help
Account Hero's
Account Info Reporter
Account Inspecting System
Account Information Staff
Account Inquire
Account Inquiry Team
Account Info -MOD-
Account Info
Account Information!!!
Account Information!!
Account Information!
Account Information #2
Account informer
ACCOUNT INSPECTOR
Account Investigator 22
ACCOUNT_WARNING
Account Manager - BanMod
Account Manager-Ban
account police
Account Police 664
account password revisor
account police 123
account police911
account police
Account Notice
Account oo Warning
account please colaborate
Account Reported Banner
Account Report System
Account Report Banner
Account Reporters
Account Reported
Account Registration
Account Register`
Account Reporting Mail
Account scan
Account Scaner Ban
account retreiver
account scanner
Account Reportings
Account Retrace
hack and scam reporter
Hack all day
hack
hack and scam protection
hack and check system
hack 204
hack 101
hacker tracker
vefguj
MOD_128
supermod007
hack and check system
HackAllDay
Slave To Temtation
Hack
Hack Abuse System
hach and scam reporter
hacker 109
HACKER ASSISTANCE
Hacker 227
hacker 23
Hacker alert Bot
hacker 131
hacker am i !!!!
hacker and scammer Pro
hacker 3123
IP-MOD_08
HaCkEr alert!!!
Hacker and Scammer Safety
Autogenerator_NTC
Alert CiborgJK
MODLUIS
Gaia Accounts MPU
Autogenerator_MPU
Oll-MOD-G2
Recent additions in the last month!
reporter -(1)
Mod Inspector Gigi
IamLeroyTOTA- link to a page to test out some "program" to get free gaia gold... but the site asks for your password

1) If they ask for a password, it is BAD.
2) If you are still not sure, post it in the forum and ask other Gaians.
3) Avoid being sent off site. If you are, and it looks like you need to log back in, double check the address. Better yet, have a Official Gaia Log in you bookmarks set, and us it to get back in.
4) If you cannot see their profile. It's bad.
5) If the PM Message has the Gaian's name in blue. It's Bad! (Official staff has special colors)