Hello all! Just wanted to write this post to showcase some tips and tricks, websites, and tools to verify accounts, owned assets, and authenticity! We all know there are a lot of scammers out there looking to steal your hard earned dec and cards and as Splinterlands gets more popular we will see even more scammers. I want to keep everyone safe and the easiest way to do that is to teach everyone how to spot scammers before any trades happen!
Just a couple preliminary points first -
- Team members will NEVER dm you first, do not give anyone your private keys ever.
- The Ropstein test network is not real ETH. It is a test network and cannot be used for real funds.
- Always use a trusted escrow for any p2p transactions.
- If someone refuses to use an escrow they are likely a scammer. Be careful
With those out of the way lets get into some awesome websites and tools we can use to verify authenticity of accounts, funds, and cards!
The first tool I would use when getting ready for a p2p transaction is the #feedback-for-p2p-sales channel in the official Splinterlands discord (link to the discord at the bottom of the article). Use the built in search function to search for "mentions discord username" and "in feedback-for -p2p-sales" to check if they have any previous transactions.
This isn't a guarantee that they are trustworthy but it is a good starting point!
The next thing I would do is verify if they own what they say they do.
To verify ownership of dec, sps, vouchers, packs, land, or totems you can use the following website.
https://www.splintercards.com/tool-account-info.html
Just insert the name into the search function and scroll down to see their balances!
NOTE: This does not show any balances in hive.engine or on wax.atomichub so they could still have those funds even if they dont show up here.
Another way to check is by pinging the api directly which is as follows:
https://api.splinterlands.io/players/balances?username=chefgurry
Just replace the username and away you go!
The next thing to verify is card ownership. To do that you could check their cards either in game or on the website https://peakmonsters.com/.
In game, go to your card list then replace your username with their username in the search bar.
To verify on peakmonsters use this link https://peakmonsters.com/@bragurr/cards and replace the username with your trade partners.
To verify ownership of the Splinterlands account you may be able to see what discord account it is registered under. Go to the channel #sm-voters-hut in the official discord and type in $verify hive/discord user to see what account is tied to what.
I strongly suggest everyone verify their account! It will make trades easier and safer for everyone. If you run into any issues verifying, don't hesitate to reach out and get help from anyone on the team.
All in all, there are many tools to help you trade safely p2p but the safest way to trade for cards is always using the official in game market or hive.engine! Stay safe out there and remember to use escrows!
Let me know if there are any topics you'd like me to make walkthroughs or howtos in the comments! Thanks for reading and see you on the battlefield!
Thank you to 
Links:
Official Discord - https://discord.gg/splinterlands
My affiliate link, if you sign up using it message me for some free dec - https://splinterlands.com?ref=bragurr