How Fallout 76 console players are battling gray market scammers

Fallout 76Bethesda’s current Fallout flagship game is this one. The company has continued to fill in the gaps from the rough launch of the franchise and adds content frequently. But as the developers continue onward with expansions like a postapocalyptic Pittsburgh, the game’s communities create their own content and structure. Some players have built private Worlds and run a role-play endeavor, while others have established complex networks for “couriers” to sell high-end items in the game without getting scammed.

There’s nothing new about in-game scams. We grew up playing games such as Runescape can share the terrible tale of being lured into a deal that’s too good to be true, only to find all of our gear and gold gone. A new scam has emerged. Fallout 76They take advantage of people who are playing the game on their consoles. In response, players have organized to try to stop the scammers, creating a vital volunteer service — but one that is proving to also be a drain on time and emotional investment.

Image: Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda Softworks

A primary objective ofFallout: 76It is possible to acquire high-end, legendary gear that comes with special modifiers. For example, a vampiric knife will heal you after every hit. A gun, on the other hand, might cause more damage to full health enemies and/or be more effective at healing party members when it crits. These weapons drop randomly from legendary enemies, like the fearsome Scorchbeast Queen, and while there are other ways to purchase them, there’s no way to predict what will be available. You’re always at the mercy of random generation. This sets up a loop — play the game, sell the legendaries you can’t use for caps, and use those caps for creature comforts in the game while farming for more legendaries.

“No one wants caps; [they]You want to return other items. Players want an armor set, or they want five or six weapons in return,” said Nick Rizzo, one of the most dedicated Fallout 76 Couriers who keep Scam List76, which is a list that’s maintained by the community of scammers and intended to drive bad actors from the market.

While players can sell unwanted goods for caps by putting vending machines down at their CAMP, there’s no in-game way for players to barter with each other for items. But players aren’t interested in caps; they’d rather trade for other legendary equipment with excellent modifiers. As such, they’ve taken to social media groups on Facebook or Discord to find trading partners, or have even gone to eBay, Gameflip, or similar digital marketplaces to participate in a sort of gray market.

Image: Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda Softworks

Flat trades are where players and other players exchange items. This requires an incredible show of trust — one player has to be willing to provide their item(s) first, and the other will drop theirs in response. A player may also list a piece of more expensive equipment on an online marketplace such as eBay. An item can be listed by a scammer, who may then pocket the cash but not provide the promised equipment.

“Currently, there’s no way for us to easily trade items back and forth. In game, the only way to do it is either you use a courier, a third party or you take the risk, put your stuff up for 0 first, they take it and just hope to God they’re into the deal,” said Rizzo.

As a consequence, Fallout 76 Verified couriers are people who facilitate trades among players via Facebook, Discord message or mules items. This is to circumvent the system implemented by Bethesda. They work together in Facebook groups to establish a trusted network of sellers.

Image: Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda Softworks

They also keep scam lists to prevent bad actors from joining the community. This is because they are a threat to the ability to build a viable fan base. “[A friend] got scammed out of $80; he put his side of the trade up for 0 first, and it got stolen, and that was it,” said Rizzo. “He left the game. “He refused to play the game. Because what’s the point? And it’s getting significantly worse here over the past few months.”

Scam List 76 is a community effort, started back in 2018 after the game’s launch. Rizzo, Nick Jochim and other leaders in the community maintain it. They have a particular focus on sellers of bad faith who are trying to locate marks in places like Fallout 76 console communities.

Scammers are able to work around such lists by setting up alt accounts and even pretending to be couriers. “One scammer created a profile with the same name as a courier, replacing a lowercase L in her name with a capital I,” said Jochim in a call with Polygon. “It’s unbelievable what people will try.”

Rizzo and Jochim claim that scammers continue to create alts. Both sides are engaged in an arms race. One side wants to keep a complete list of unreliable players, and facilitate people purchasing their items through a community. The other side is trying to break these protocols and make real-money with their scams.

Image: Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda Softworks

A recent spate of frauds has resulted from the ever-changing demands for live-service gaming, which introduces new gear and goals to players. There was a time of relative peace through the summer of 2020 and 2021, as players on consoles discovered a dupe glitch that allowed them to mass-produce the game’s most treasured items. (PC players, who can easily duplicate items, haven’t been hit by scammers in the same way.) Supply and demand laws are applicable to all.Fallout: 76, and when there’s a mass supply, there’s no demand.

However, legendary crafting and powerful new weapons, as well as updates like Wastelanders or Steel Reign has led to the value of the gear dropping. The new weaponry, which is hot, can be sold for hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

“It’s now incentivizing a lot of these guys to come back into the game, and start scamming and doing what they’re doing again,” said Rizzo. “And the only way to really fix that is you need to have an actual trade and transfer system put into the game. Bethesda, at least in my view, it looks like they’re not going to put much more time or effort into the game because it’s not growing the way they hoped.”

They are the couriers Fallout 76Feel dejected at the moment. Polygon reviewed multiple instances of communication via messages with Bethesda support staff, including emails with the game’s support line. Despite regular attempts by the couriers to get a solid response from Bethesda’s support lines and staff, they haven’t seen much change. Polygon reached out to Bethesda asking for comments, but it didn’t respond at the time of publication.

“At the time we started [the group], we thought we would be doing this for maybe six months just to fill the gap until Bethesda came out with a proper trade system,” said Jochim. “We never would have dreamed almost four years later, we’re still dealing with it.”