Which kinds of scamming are against the rules in Torn, and which are allowed but frowned upon?

Deceiving players in trades is not against Torn's rules, and staff will not recover lost cash or items^[1]. What is banned is cheating around the economy: real-money trading, multiple accounts, account sharing, hacking, middleman/same-IP workarounds and bug abuse. Disapproval of scams comes from players, not from a staff list.

Allowed: player-to-player scams

The wiki says many players will try to scam you, that this is not against the rules, and that staff cannot get your cash or items back^[1].

• Faction bank scam: cash stored in someone's faction bank is lost if they refuse to return it. The wiki suggests banking on your own account or in a house vault^[2].
• Buy mugging: a buyer purchases an item, then attacks the seller who now holds the cash. Players describe it, and non-anonymous Item Market sellers can be identified through the API^[3][4]. S22 and S23 describe the mechanics only, not its legality.
• Bazaar look-alike listings: the wiki research found that cheap look-alike items priced as expensive ones used to be common, and declined after a red overpay warning was added. That page was not in the source pack, so this is uncited.
• Anonymous-message scams: players reported in 2014 and 2015 messages asking targets to spend in named bazaars for a promised multiple back. One victim reported spending 150mill and hearing nothing. These are player reports and are uncited in this pack.

The Enemies List can deny listed players from buying from your Item Market listings and bazaar^[5].

Against the rules: cheating, not scamming as such

• Multiple accounts: the Codes of Conduct ban creating multiple accounts to gain more items or money^[6]. Chedburn (Developer) announced in 2015 that multiple accounts are against the rules. Forbidden uses include moving money from extra accounts to the main one, or using extras to attack, bust or revive the main account^[7].
• Same IP: trading between separate people on the same IP is allowed. The wiki FAQ says that if you don't play two accounts you will not be banned, and staff can tell^[7][8]. Using a middleman to move cash around the old same-IP block is a reportable offence per the research; that source was not in the pack.
• Real-money trading (RMT): per the research, the rules text prohibits exchanging Torn currency or assets for real-world money or services. There is no warning for a first offence. Buyers lose goods and get a lengthy ban, and sellers are banned permanently. Chedburn said in 2017 that staff tools see every money trail, and staff in 2020 and 2021 enforced it on non-Torn items and on "services". These sources were not in the pack, so they are uncited.
• Other report categories: Account Sharing, Hacking and Bug abuse, handled by officers and admins (research finding, uncited).

Whether art commissions paid in Torn items or cash count as RMT has no staff answer in the research.

Frowned upon, per players

• A 2019 player said buy mugging and the vico/xan scam are legal but looked down on by some, and asked how far trick-you-into-paying scams extend.
• Players in 2020 described scamming as legal. They debated whether trade cancelling is a scam, and one said retaliation by bounty or attack is within the rules.
• A 2020 glossary listed the bank/vault scam and buy mugging as common and warned staff are unlikely to help.
• Posts in 2015 and 2017 complained that scamming goes unpunished. These are player opinions, not staff policy, and are uncited in this pack.

Reporting

Per the research, a player must be at least 24 hours old to file a player report, and a ban is appealed by filing a report on yourself. This is uncited here.

The current rules text on phishing and credential theft was not found. Sources range from 2015 to 2026.