[Script] Bazaar Scam Warning

Inspired by yet another thread about the vicodin/xanax scam, I decided to help prevent people getting scammed once and for all.

[image: arsonwarehouse.com]


Installation

1) Install the user script;
2) When prompted once you visit a bazaar for the first time, allow requests to arsonwarehouse.com (item data is fetched from here, it's just a proxy for torn's own API);
3) Done! Start saving money!


Design choices

- The warning is bold red text to make it stand out as much as possible. It's not pretty, but then again, it isn't supposed to be! I added exclamation marks for improved accessibility.

Outdated since version 2.0:
- There's a list of "items to warn for" in the settings. The purpose of this is mainly to prevent premium equipments (which are by definition very expensive) from being marked as a scam. The four items that I added in version 1.0 are the ones that are often used in scams (chocolate bars, vicodin, box of grenades, box of medical supplies). You can add items to the list manually, or (better yet), drop me a message so I can release a new version for everyone to benefit from it.
- The API key is required to keep the script dynamic. I considered using flat, hardcoded prices for known items (removing the need for an API key), but I decided against it for flexibility and ease of use. Version 2.0 no longer requires your API key.


Closing remarks

I sincerely hope that my script prevents you getting bazaar-scammed. Please bump the thread if it does, I'd appreciate it!

Here's to hoping the script doesn't generate too much heat from our beloved scammers community. Cheers!

bump R+

You could improve this script by storing the response from (torn > items) in localStorage so the script only has to do one API call per day. Then you could also check every item on the bazaar page and mark them red if the listed price is 5% greater than market price.

I actually like this script the best as it allows some flexibility and still shows the product. R+

Great script! I'm going to install it myself to see if has potential for general shopping purposes. Can it be adjusted to indicate when something is significantly under market value?

As for its use as a scam detector, I suspect it will have a net effect opposite to your expectations. Vicodin/xan is just one simple, over-publicized scam, and an easy one to avoid, at that. A script that encourages people to play Torn with their eyes half shut could be instrumental in creating schools of fresh fish for our innovative scamming community. Ultimately, players need to read and be alert. Those who rely on scripts for safety may find themselves hunted in new and innovative ways, and they will be among the 'less fit' in the struggle for survival - because they haven't developed the appropriate routines and reflexes that keep successful players out of trouble.

Thanks for all the feedback!

You could improve this script by storing the response from (torn > items) in localStorage so the script only has to do one API call per day. Then you could also check every item on the bazaar page and mark them red if the listed price is 5% greater than market price.

I like the idea of making less API calls to prevent running into the rate limit. I don't think I'll be using local storage though. It adds complexity to the script that can be avoided and lingering data on every device that uses the script. I'd much rather expose a public API on an external server, keeping the script simple with fewer points of failure.

Also, good news; my reason for not marking all items a scam if their value is way above market value is invalid. In the OP I said I didn't want to incorrectly mark premium weapons as such, but there's an easy check I can do to prevent that - the API simply returns the type of each item. With that I can enable the check for every item but weapons. So good call on that one!

I actually like this script the best as it allows some flexibility and still shows the product. R+

Yep, the goal is to just visually warn for scams, not to tinker with the page behavior. Thanks!

Great script! I'm going to install it myself to see if has potential for general shopping purposes. Can it be adjusted to indicate when something is significantly under market value?

I could release a different script for this purpose. But yeah, it's definitely possible!

Your comment about making people lazy and rely too much on scripts makes sense - this script can never replace a keen eye. The main focus is to prevent people from making this mistake in the spur of the moment, when they have a lot of cash on hand and quickly want to bulk buy Xanax.

Found this today. Needs to be updated to work with cans. :D

[image: i.gyazo.com]

Other things I can think of off of the top of my head but haven't checked if it works for them or not: Suitcases - Mistletoe

Version 2.0 is out

What's new?

- API key is no longer needed;
- All items are now marked as a potential scam if their price is at least 20% above market value;

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After installing version 2.0, once you visit a bazaar you will be prompted to allow requests to https://arsonwarehouse.com/api/v1/items
This is the website used by the script as a proxy to the API of torn, allowing access without having to input your API key manually. Item data is updated once per hour, which is more than enough for this script to do its job.

Find and install the script here.

Very nice, i feel much safer now visiting bazaars, awesome..

Can you also add the same but in green for items like 10% or more under market price?

Some users have raised their concern about the slim 20% margin that the script allows on top of market value.

The goal of the script is to help protect against scams, not to mark every item that's only slightly above market value red. There's also the default torn warning (This is X% above market value) since the latest patch as an extra guideline, reducing the need for the upfront warning that my script provides to some degree.

So I've increased the "allowable" price (under which items are not marked a scam) to 50% above market value. It's a bit of an arbitrary value, so I've made it a setting (at the top of the file) that can easily be adjusted if you feel it's not quite right.

Also note that equipment pieces are always allowed to go over this threshold. They are often way more expensive than than market value if their stats are any good. This is not new; it was introduced in version 2.0 four days ago.