Player Safety: Habbo Scams

Player Safety: Habbo Scams

Written By: Grogu & Goodtop / Graphics by -Eils

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The word “scam” is defined as a dishonest plan for getting an advantage, especially one that involves tricking people. Unfortunately, in any type of online environment, people always appear to want to gain an advantage over others, and we must always be careful of this.

In this article, we will explain in more detail what a scam is, how it is usually carried out on Habbo, and how to avoid falling for fraud.

As we explained previously, a “scam” is when a person tries to take advantage of another person, deceiving them to obtain something they want. These people generally have more knowledge and see uninformed people as an easy opportunity to gain an advantage, using tricks to try to obtain money, information, etc.

For example, people who promise you easy coins, exchanges, and sales in an obscure way or promise that they will multiply your items, payments without guarantee of receipt, suspicious links, and advertisements where you must log in with your passwords, this could all be an attempt to scam.
When playing Habbo, users may appear who will promise you things like those mentioned above; you may also receive emails and advertisements asking for logins, information, and password changes, among others. But don’t worry; in this article, we will help you avoid falling for scams.

When falling for a scam, several consequences can occur. In short, you could be frustrated by falling for a scam offering something easy that wasn’t real, you could lose coins, furnis and you could have your information collected illegally when you click on suspicious links.

It would be horrible to be scammed and lose your things, wouldn’t it? So, it is very important to take precautions and always stay alert.

• Credit and Furni scams

A scammer can offer to trade credit codes for your items, generally cheaper than usual; however, the code won’t work, and you’ll have given away your stuff for free! Make sure to only trade items for other items or coins in the same trade. 

There are many ways scammers will try to cheat you of your items, some are very easy to spot, and some more complex. Here are some of the everyday things scammers try.

For example, they may offer to “double your furni”, but there is absolutely no way to have your items doubled; never hand over your items for them. They can also offer pets for items, but pets cannot be traded or transferred, so never give items to someone who says they’ll buy you a pet as a gift or trade one of their existing pets with you.

Some scammers can also offer you to put wallpapers or flooring in your room in return for items or currency. Never agree to this, as it’s impossible to place wallpaper, paint or flooring in another Habbo’s room.

They may also offer you sticky notes or furni in colors you’ve never seen before and tell you that it’s a very rare release. Unfortunately, these items are almost always scripted (temporarily altered using a scripting program) and not worth trading anything for. 

Sites that offer free furni or credits if you sign in to them with your Habbo name and password are always scams. Some may even pretend to be the personal homepages of Habbo Staff, but don’t be fooled, they aren’t!

• NFT Scams

A more recent form of scam on Habbo is related to Habbo NFTs. You may find yourself with a surprise gift in your inventory one day, opening it to find that you have received a “NFT Rare!”. The username of the gifter tends to be a variant of Habbo or NFT Habbo. You will also see that the gift asks you to redeem it at XYZ.co.uk. Do NOT go to this link or engage with the gift. If it sounds too good to be true – nine times out of ten it is too good to be true. These scams are designed to compromise your account and scam you further. Habbo does not gift NFTs via this method and if they were to it would likely be a giveaway on their Facebook or X (Twitter) page.

If you are somebody who uses Discord and you are in Habbo related servers, you may also be approached by scammers in your Direct Messages. Again, a similar type of narrative from the scammer being that you have free gifts and you need to visit a link to do XYZ. This is a scam. Ignore these messages and take a screenshot of the message. If you wish to report a scam like this, the Habbo NFT moderation team will take action. Go to habbox.game -> Click the Discord icon -> Join server. You will find a channel named #report-scams. Reporting a scam like this not only prevents yourself from being scammed but also other members of the community. Stay vigilant and be aware.

• Paying for “free” things.

When playing on Habbo, other users may make you offers for things such as room rights in their room in return for giving the owner your items. Unfortunately, once you have handed over the items, you have no guarantee that your rights will be added or, if they are, how long they will last, which means hypothetically, the other user may take your items and never give you what they offered in return. Never pay for room rights.

In addition to that, some players’ game rooms will advertise ‘pay to stay’; this is a deal where a user may tell you to pay them to stay in a game. Unfortunately, you have no guarantee that once you’ve paid, you’ll be allowed to stay and play or that you’ll win anything in return. Remember that there is always a chance that once you give them your coins, they might not honour the deal and show you what they promised – so if you are going to pay coins, treat it as if it is a donation and never give anything you can’t afford to lose, then you won’t be as disappointed.

• Casinos

Casino Rooms as a theme or aesthetic are not forbidden; however, engaging in gambling is (placing bets on the outcome of a random element). If you see people gambling, you should report them as Habbo gambling has the potential to scam users out of their coins. However, some games use dice to create a game of skill, but betting on a game with a random outcome can get your account trade-locked or banned. More information of what games are allowed: here.

• Scam sites

Scam sites are one of the most frequently used ways that players get cheated into revealing their passwords and personal details. Scam sites come in many forms; we recommend you do not access any suspicious websites or links you don’t know and double-check the website address before entering any private information.

• Email Scams

Email scams can include other websites besides Habbo, such as email, Twitter/X, and Facebook, or other scams. Normally what happens is a scammer tries to contact you outside of Habbo to gain access to your Habbo account details. When you receive an e-mail requesting you to click links, to log in again into your account, or to download archives, always be careful and if you need any help, contact the Habbo support team.
To learn more about each item and to see more examples, you can visit the article created by Sulake in more detail by clicking here.

• Habbo Staff will never tell you your account will be deleted if you don’t re-verify/re-activate your Habbo account or emails. Emails of this nature will be from scammers trying to gain access to your account

• Never click on links from emails to services, no matter how legitimate they may look. Instead, type the address into your browser. Be careful as scammers make sites look very similar to Habbo to trick you into entering your account details
  
• Never reveal your password to others, including those claiming to be Habbo staff. When entering your details into a website, double-check the browser address in the search bar to be safe. 
  
• Habbo never threatens to close your account on short notice. If you do receive an email like this, report it to the Habbo Help Desk.
  
• All Habbos should be very careful to whom they give their personal information,  on Habbo and other websites.

So overall, we hope that this article has shown you the variety of ways that scammers may try to gain your personal information or scam you out of your belongings. Knowing the different ways scammers try to put you at risk helps you be more prepared in these situations to avoid them. Remember to always be very cautious about what websites and links you are using, double-check emails and websites are real and be careful who you trust on Habbo. If you exercise extreme caution while spending time online, remember this information and follow these tips you will avoid falling victim to a scam. If you’re ever unsure, contact Habbo directly at the Habbo Help Desk.