Unfortunately, in any online community there will be a minority of people who will try to scam others. Habbo is no exception so it's important that you are aware of how common scams operate so you can avoid becoming a victim of a scammer.
Some of my furni or credits are missing. What do I do?
If you have logged in to your Habbo account, and found some of your furni items missing, or credits spent then it sounds like you have been the unfortunate victim of an account compromise, where someone has managed to break into your account and taken the items/spent your credits.
We do everything we can to make sure that Habbo is a safe place to hang out, but we always warn and educate Habbos to look out for people trying to trick them.
If your account has been accessed by another person, it is as a result of some form of user error. This error could be giving out your details on a fake Habbo site or by telling someone your Habbo password. It could mean that the password on your account was an easily guessed password, or that the password was not secured properly (by doing things like writing the password down somewhere where other people can gain access to it).
Personal computer security flaws can also be a cause: in many cases users have inadvertently installed a keylogger or trojan horse virus on their computer.
Habbo cannot take responsibility for user-error and so we are unable to return the furniture or credits to the user in this case.
To ensure the safety of your Habbo account we suggest you run up-to-date anti-virus and anti-spyware software on your machine before going on the Internet again, then changing your Habbo password as soon as possible.
What do I do if I find a Keylogger?
A keylogger is an item of spyware that is normally disguised as something else. Often people will send you files claiming the file is a cool video clip, or a free game etc.
However, when you download it, it turns out to be something much nastier. Keyloggers record everything you type and sends the information to another person (most likely the one who sent you the file!) So then they get your Habbo password, your conversations and even worse could capture really important stuff like your parents credit card numbers or bank details!
If you think you've downloaded a keylogger, tell your parents immediately! It is very important that it is removed properly.
You will need up-to-date anti-spyware and anti-virus software to get rid of keyloggers. We cannot assist you with queries on how to remove keyloggers, trojans, spyware or viruses from your machine. You may need to consult your security software's help pages, or obtain professional support.
Different Scams
One common method of scamming is the Credit Code scam. The scammer will offer a Credit Code in return for furniture and they'll ask that you trade first. If you trade you'll be given a false Credit Code and will have lost your furniture. The only safe way to trade for Credits is by trading furniture for Habbo Exchange items (coins, money bags and gold bars) which can be clicked on to redeem Credits.
Some scammers will claim that they know a special cheat; a way that Staff get Credits. They will tell you to telephone the Credits line and enter in a special code to receive your free Credits. The code is their Habbo ID and by entering it when you phone the Credits line, you will be paying to give the scammer Credits. Habbo staff don't get Credits by any of the advertised payment methods so anyone claiming to have a staff Credit cheat is scamming.
There are many ways scammers will try to cheat you of your furniture, some are very easy to spot and some more difficult. Here are some of the common things scammers try.
There is absolutely no way to have furniture doubled. Never hand over your items to someone who says they can.
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.
It's not possible to know whether a pair of teleports in a trade window actually link and a common scam is to trade teleports which don't link. We advise never trading for teleports.
A scammer may offer to put wallpaper or flooring in your room in return for furniture. Never agree to this as it's not possible to place wallpaper, paint or flooring in another Habbo's room.
The trophy scam works by showing you a trophy with a Staff inscription on it in a room and asking you to trade furniture for it. However the scammer will pick up the trophy and replace it with an identical looking one in the trade window which does not have the Staff inscription.
A scammer may offer you sticki notes or furniture 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. Always check out lists of known furniture on reputable fansites before considering trading for anything unusual.
You may be offered rights in a guest room in return for giving the owner furniture. Unfortunately once you have handed over the furniture you have no guarantee that your rights will be added or, if they are, how long they will last. Never pay for room rights.
Some players' game rooms will advertise 'pay to stay', a scheme where you have to pay an item of furniture to stay in the room and play the game. Unfortunately you have no guarantee once you've given an item that you'll be allowed to stay and play or that you'll win anything in return. Treat 'pay to stay' in a game the same as giving your item away as a donation and then you won't be disappointed!
Some rooms are set up as casinos where you bet items on the outcome of a spin of the dice. Never play such games if the room owner asks for your bet up front because you have no guarantee that you won't be kicked from the room as soon as you've handed over your item.
You may get friendly with a Habbo who suggests you pool your furniture to make one big room as a maze, casino or other function that will be popular to other players. Remember that if you give your furniture to another player to decorate a room they have created, they may decide not to give it back to you.
Room owner offers to hold your item in an auction room and receive bids from other Habbos to win it. Once you give your item away, it’s no longer yours, and the Habbo who owns the room keeps it and kicks you.
Scam sites are probably one of the most common ways that players get cheated out of their Habbo password. Scam sites come in many forms, but here are some main ones to look out for:
Sites which offer free furniture 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!
Some sites may look like Habbo, even down to the layout and graphics on the front page, but unless the website address at the top of the page is
www.habbo.xx it's a scam. A common way for scammers to get you to put your password into such sites is by pretending they are a new Hotel that's just opened or that it's a beta version of Habbo. Remember that your Habbo name and password will only ever work on one site, the Hotel you registered it on.
A player may ask you to take a look at their website whilst you are playing on Habbo and when you do, your Habbo Hotel session mysteriously disconnects and a window pops up to log in again. This is a 'reloader' and what it has done is replace your real Habbo session with a fake sign-in screen which will steal your password if you enter it. If your Habbo session ever disconnects when you are on another site always close down your browser windows, start your browser up again and go straight to the official Habbo Hotel site to sign back in securely.
Some websites may offer you downloads of cool looking cheats or scripts to alter Habbo. Never download these sorts of files as they often contain keyloggers which record your key presses (eg entering your password) and email them to the scammer. They could also contain Trojan viruses which allow the scammer to access your computer and steal information stored there or do other damage.
A Habbo might come into the room and tell you that with the most recent update your password will no longer show up when you type it in the chat box. Now it will show up as something like ****, bobba, or anything else the scammer has dreamt up. When you type in your password, everyone in the room will see it, including the scammer. It’s never a good idea to type your password other than in the login screen.
These kind of scams can also include email, Twitter, MSN/AOL, Facebook, or Myspace scams. Usually a scammer will attempt to contact you outside of Habbo to gain access to your Habbo account. Here are some tips to keeping your accounts safe from these kind of scams.
* Hotel Staff will never threaten you to re-verify your emails or to re-activate your Habbo account or else your account will be deleted. Please be aware that these emails were not sent by Habbo and are being used to gain access to your accounts by sending you to scamming / phishing sites.
* Never follow links from emails to services, even when the messages look trustworthy. Type in the address to your browser instead- and be careful because many scamming sites will look exactly like ours in an attempt to fool you into entering your username and password- always check the web address in your browser.
* Never reveal your password to any other person or web site. Check your browser's address bar before typing in your password.
* Please be aware that we would never email you threatening to de-activate your Habbo account on such short notice. If you do receive strange emails like this and you are not sure if they are really from us, please contact our help desk.
* Please remember to be careful to whom you give out personal information, on Habbo and on other websites.
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Beware of Scammers!
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| Scam ALERT! |
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| Report them! |
