Escrow for In-Game Currency Trades: Avoiding RMT Scams

Real-money trading (RMT) — buying or selling in-game currency, items, or accounts for real money — exists in virtually every major online game. World of Warcraft gold, OSRS GP, Diablo IV items, FIFA Ultimate Team coins, and Genshin Impact primogems all have active secondary markets. The problem: every major publisher bans RMT in their terms of service, which means no mainstream payment processor will protect you.

Common RMT scams

• Seller delivers currency, then reports the buyer for RMT to get the account banned (and keep the money).
• Buyer pays, seller claims 'delivery failed' and asks for more money.
• Seller uses stolen payment methods to acquire currency, then resells it — buyer's account gets banned when the fraud is traced.
• 'Doubling' scams: seller offers to 'double your gold' if you send first.

How escrow mitigates RMT risk

• Buyer funds escrow before any in-game interaction.
• Seller delivers the currency via agreed in-game method (face-to-face trade, mail, auction house).
• Buyer confirms receipt and that the currency is still present after 24 hours (some games have delayed detection).
• If the buyer's account is banned for RMT within the inspection window, the deal can be disputed based on whether the seller sourced the currency legitimately.

What escrow can't fix

Escrow cannot prevent a game publisher from banning an account for RMT. What escrow can do is ensure that if a ban happens due to seller misconduct (stolen currency, chargeback-sourced items), the buyer is refunded. We do not escrow RMT deals where the seller cannot demonstrate legitimate sourcing of the currency or items.

Escrows Click holds funds in a neutral wallet, verifies delivery, and only releases payment when both parties are satisfied. Start a deal in two minutes at escrows.click.