Beware of Discord Impersonators

Credits to @Nate for this thread.

For anyone that's been living under a rock recently, Discord is essentially an alternative to Skype & Teamspeak where you can join different community servers and use voice/text chat with other users. Unlike older platforms, on Discord you remain in every server (unless you decide to leave) and instead of disconnecting everytime you log out of your PC, you can show as offline/idle/do not disturb/online. The download links for Discord can be found here: Download Discord for PC, Mac, iOS, and Android

Link to the Sythe Discord: https://discord.gg/rnyaTDY

However, just like Skype, there are several people who try to abuse certain features of Discord in order to scam less educated users and gain wealth at their expense (a recent example can be seen HERE). Whether it's outright imposter scams or abuse of actual flaws in the Discord system, below are a few things to be aware of.

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1) Unlike Skype etc - people can have the same ID with different capitalisations:

Here is an example of a genuine Discord ID:



The following is an example of what would be an imposter (the discriminant is edited into the picture as I don't know how to brute force desired tags):



Notice that these IDs are completely identical, with the exception of the capital W at the beginning of the name.

Another example is shown below where users with Discord Nitro can set the same number (discriminant) and change the capitalisation. In this case, the scammer has changed the second I in what should be 'Miiotic' to a capital, making it look like an L. You can see how easy it'd be to get scammed by this:

REAL Milotic:



Fake Milotic (actually Miiotic with the second i capitalised to look like l):



As stated above, users are making use of Discord Nitro features to do this, so it's worth checking if somebody PMs you and they have this upgrade.

2) Imposters will often make IDs which look incredibly similar to the real thing. However, no two IDs can be completely identical:

Again we have the genuine ID:



Now, here is what may look very close to the real deal, but actually has a double space/underscore:



3) This point isn't really a fault with Discord, but a technique that imposters will use to make it seem like you're talking to the real person (most likely what you think is a middleman due to the nature of this scam). User A (the scammer on one account) will add you into a group chat with User B (their second account, disguised as a trusted member) and User C (the real trusted person), before quickly removing User C. User B will have a Discord ID as outlined above, incredibly similar to that of the legitimate trader, and they will continue the trade from there (assuming you don't pick up on this). However, when you come to hand the items over, you'll obviously be trading the scammer and therefore fall victim to the scam.

How can you quickly and effectively check that you're trading with the right person?

1) As always, request a Sythe PM! Check it over thoroughly to make sure it satisfies the standards outlined HERE and don't be afraid to ask for another if it doesn't!

2) Copy and paste the ID somewhere and check the amount of spaces (if you're already familiar with the user's Discord), for example:



As you can see above, this shows that there are actually two underscores (spaces) within the name.

3) Message people directly from the sidebar, or send a test message if you're already in conversation. The sidebar is often where ranks are separated and often in certain Discords people will have user groups like 'Trusted GP buyer/seller'. What follows is an example of messaging directly from there:



You can see above that as soon as you send the message, it will take you to a separate, private conversation screen. If you are already talking to the person, you will be able to see the conversation you are in the middle of. Alternatively, if you are starting a new conversation you can be sure that the person you are talking to is the intended recipient (for example, if they were to be under a 'trusted' user group on the side bar).

4) If their Discord is listed somewhere on a thread/in a confirmation PM - copy and paste their Discord ID and search for it to identify that it is the one they confirmed:





Above are examples of a match (i.e. talking to the correct person) and an empty result (showing the IDs don't match and you're talking to the wrong person):

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For more information on the double spaced/name glitch scams, read HERE.

Although this thread may look daunting, you're perfectly able to trade safely as long as you take simple steps such as those outlined above. Common sense, correct confirmation PMs and taking a little extra time to make sure everything is in order could save you a lot of money. Just like my other 'help' thread, I realise that this information is pretty redundant to most users, especially those who trade often. However, there are always newcomers and perhaps members who will be joining Discord for the first time; even if it helps to keep one person from being scammed then the thread will have been a success.

Happy trading!