Treyarch Warns Gamers About Xbox Live Scammers

[Logan Westbrook]

Treyarch Warns Gamers About Xbox Live Scammers

Is that a Call of Duty developer asking to be your friend on Xbox Live? Sadly, no, it probably isn't.

Black Ops developer David "Vahn" Vonderhaar has posted on the official Treyarch forums [http://callofduty.com/board/viewtopic.php?f=70&t=257201&sid=6737a054520c0c686da8c1cdef66b47d], warning gamers that someone is pretending to be him on Xbox Live. Vonderhaar doesn't go into detail about what the imposter is doing, but it seems likely that he or she is up to no good.

Vonderhaar referenced the recent multiplayer teaser trailer [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_fsM6LBi54] for Call of Duty: Black Ops, where "DJVahn" can be seen playing. But Vonderhaar says that Treyarch didn't use Xbox Live when it made that video, so anyone using that tag - or any of the other names in the video - is a fraud.

"When you are in development of the game, you are not using Xbox Live," he said. "You are using the development version of it. Think of it like a copy of Xbox Live that only developers use. It's called 'Partnernet' ... On Partnernet, we can make up as many gamertags as we want, as long as they are not taken ... That's why you see WayneNoobton, DJVahn, and others in the video." Vonderhaar says that Treyarch has contacted its account rep at Microsoft and the matter is being looked into.

It's not hard to cook up a few different scams that people might be trying using the assumed identity of a Call of Duty developer, although it's entirely possible that it's much less sophisticated than that, and it's just someone who wants to try and add a little more weight to his or her Xbox Live trash talking. Unless someone comes forth with the details however, we'll probably never know for sure.

Source: Eurogamer [http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2010-08-12-treyarch-warns-of-xbox-live-cod-scam]






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[Generic_Dave]

Wait...so just using a handle that is used somewhere else is "impersonating". I think without further infractions than that, that they should be left alone...

Saying that, I'd probably be upset if I came across another Generic_Dave, but I wouldn't jump to the assumption that they were pretending to be me.

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

Shit, I've been caught!

Also:

Heh, WayneNoobton. I get it.

 

[RowdyRodimus]

Yeah and as we know only people who work at Treyarch are allowed to have the initials D.J. and the last name of Vahn. Since we don't know what the person might or might not be doing, we have to give them the benefit of the doubt and say that this developer is grasping at straws as a way to get more publicity for the game or is just pissed he can't use his nicname for a gamertag.

 

[luvd1]

Boy that's an ego and a half. So this guy can't be called DJ Vahn? Somewhere in the world? There's a guy that lives close to me that has both my first and surname, he is also the same age as I and we have the same doctor. That's spooky. But it happens. Now prove that this account holder is stealing your Id and not just happen to be sharing the same name.

 

[SaintWaldo]

Yeah and as we know only people who work at Treyarch are allowed to have the initials D.J. and the last name of Vahn. Since we don't know what the person might or might not be doing, we have to give them the benefit of the doubt and say that this developer is grasping at straws as a way to get more publicity for the game or is just pissed he can't use his nicname for a gamertag.

Boy that's an ego and a half. So this guy can't be called DJ Vahn? Somewhere in the world? There's a guy that lives close to me that has both my first and surname, he is also the same age as I and we have the same doctor. That's spooky. But it happens. Now prove that this account holder is stealing your Id and not just happen to be sharing the same name.

That's not what he's saying. He is saying that, in a widely viewed video, a Treyarch dev is clearly visible using a particular Tag. This Tag isn't "real", it's a dev-net Tag. So, in the REAL non-dev world, a person with that Tag is taking advantage of the video and claiming to BE the Treyarch dev appearing IN the video. We don't know much more than that, but I doubt that they'd be mad at just the tag without some attempt at shenanigans on the tag-holder's part. The dev isn't saying that person isn't allowed to have that tag, he's saying that that tag isn't the dev. Period. Full Stop.

Side Note: I have gotten weird, spam-like messages from PSN friends playing MW2. I always figured they were some kind of scam or lark and ignored them. Seems like they will just keep trying.

 

[Frequen-Z]

Spoiler: This may also be of note here. While I like what hes trying to do, I think it's sad that how hes doing it is probably the only way that could ever work.

 

[luvd1]

Yeah and as we know only people who work at Treyarch are allowed to have the initials D.J. and the last name of Vahn. Since we don't know what the person might or might not be doing, we have to give them the benefit of the doubt and say that this developer is grasping at straws as a way to get more publicity for the game or is just pissed he can't use his nicname for a gamertag.

Boy that's an ego and a half. So this guy can't be called DJ Vahn? Somewhere in the world? There's a guy that lives close to me that has both my first and surname, he is also the same age as I and we have the same doctor. That's spooky. But it happens. Now prove that this account holder is stealing your Id and not just happen to be sharing the same name.

That's not what he's saying. He is saying that, in a widely viewed video, a Treyarch dev is clearly visible using a particular Tag. This Tag isn't "real", it's a dev-net Tag. So, in the REAL non-dev world, a person with that Tag is taking advantage of the video and claiming to BE the Treyarch dev appearing IN the video. We don't know much more than that, but I doubt that they'd be mad at just the tag without some attempt at shenanigans on the tag-holder's part. The dev isn't saying that person isn't allowed to have that tag, he's saying that that tag isn't the dev. Period. Full Stop.

Side Note: I have gotten weird, spam-like messages from PSN friends playing MW2. I always figured they were some kind of scam or lark and ignored them. Seems like they will just keep trying.

Oo, then I apologise. It sounds like a sad case of a numb nut trying to be important.

 

[Jared]

Why would anyone want to try and impersonate them? Just so they can get an ego boost? Well, none the less they are an idiot...

 

[SaintWaldo]

Oo, then I apologise. It sounds like a sad case of a numb nut trying to be important.

No sweat, easy mistake to make. Extra bonus points for politeness, tho!