We know that one the morning of 11 February, a user was contacted that a pet in one of their trades would be reversed over two different chains. We also know that some pets have already been reversed, while we are waiting for many more. Importantly, this is an ongoing situation, we aren’t certain who is affected because we do not have the dates for all the chains, but if you are involved on here please just be aware you MIGHT be affected. Again, I reiterate, this is ONGOING please don’t panic we’re working out timelines to try to piece this together.
Potentially Affected UC Chains
Do not panic if you see a pet you had or currently own on this list, but just be aware it may potentially be affected. This is an ongoing list, we’re trying to sort out timelines to see who is realistically affected.
First Chain Affected
affected Chain #1
PiPiTelly the UC Faerie Pteri (12/1)
Pxxxxxx__Jx the UC Grey Peophin (~12/3; this one is part of the illegit chain)
— We know this pet was reversed and returned today)
xxxKxxxxxxxx the UC Grey Gelert (12/6)
PiPiTelly the UC Faerie Pteri (same pteri lol)
BxxxxxxxxxNxxxx the UC Grey Yurble
mxxxxdxxxx_##### the UC Plushie Grundo (12/16)(2 different chains)
sxxxxxsxxxxx### the UC MSPP (12/13)
BxXxbXxXBxXx_Px the UC Faerie Xweetok (12/27)
Exxxxxx the UC Faerie Ixi (1/3)
TxxRxxxxHxxxNxxx the UC Grey Tonu
Sxxxxxxx_x# the UC Grey Acara. (2/1)
affected – Chain #2
fxxxxxfxxxxx the UC Grey Gelert (will be getting this pet back)
mxxxxdxxxx_##### the UC Plushie Grundo (2 different chains)
Pxxxxxxxxx the UC Faerie Lenny (12/17)
Mxxx#### the UC Darigan Ixi (12/19)
sxxxx_exxx_bxxx_ixx the UC Faerie Wocky (12/20)
ZxPxxx the UC Grey Eyrie (1/1)
Pxxxxxx__Jx the UC Grey Peophin
This pet is involved in an illegitimate chain concerning lxxxxxxxxxxx the UC Grey Kacheek
The chain including the Kacheek:
Pxxxxxx__Jx the UC Grey Peophin (I just got this pet returned today)
lxxxxxxxxxxxx the UC Grey Kacheek (involved in a compromised chain somehow–possibly concerning Kxxxx the UC Darigan Lupe; trades involving the grey kacheek occurring after 27 january are believed to be safe unless somehow involved elsewhere)
rxxxxxxx the UC faerie ruki
pxxxxx the UC grey gelert
xxxlxxxxxxx the UC faerie xweetok
sxxxx___axxxx the UC darigan ixi
Exxxx_Mx_Txxxx the UC faerie wocky
lxxx_kxxxxxxxxx the UC faerie wocky
Vxx_ Axxxx the UC darigan Aisha (**PERMIE** Please contact hoklepocus if you end up with him!)
sxxxxxx the UC dari Aisha
Chain involving Pxxxxsxxxx – UC faerie lenny
Pxxxxsxxxx UC Faerie Lenny
traded for mxxxxdxxxx_##### the UC Plushie Grundo (date unknown, Dec?),
then to ixxs_### the UC Grey Kougra (Jan 5),
then to QMxx the UC Maraquan Kau (Jan 11),
then to Sxxxxx the UC Faerie Ixi (Feb 1),
then to Wxxxxxx the UC Grey Gelert (Feb 8)
Chain(s) involving mxxxxdxxxx_###### – UC Plushie Grundo
chain from a user: mxxxxdxxxx_##### the Plush Grundo was also traded for the UC Plush Chomby with “Eyrie” in the name on Jan 17th, a few hours before I traded for the Grundo.
Potentially affected UC plush chomby Eyrie__####
Exxi – RN converted
Eyrie__#### – uc plush chomby
Mxxxi — converted (traded for Feb 11)
chain
KK###### – UC Grey Tonu (Traded for Grundo Jan 17)
mxxxxdxxxx_###### – UC Plushie Grundo (mid-Jan)
txxxjxx – UC Faerie Aisha (Feb 1st)
mxxxxx – UC Faerie Peophin (Feb 1st)
chain
Feb 1 – torxxxx the UC Faerie Aisha for affected pet mxxxxdxxxx_##### the UC Plushie Grundo
Feb 9 – mxxxxdxxxx_##### the UC Plushie Grundo for DxxxxxxxxxX the UC Faerie Ixi (**PERMIED**)
chain
mxxxxdxxxx_##### the UC Plushie Grundo (date unknown, Dec?)
ixxs_### the UC Grey Kougra (Jan 5)
QMxx the UC Maraquan Kau (Jan 11)
Sxxxxx the UC Faerie Ixi (Feb 1)
Wxxxxxx the UC Grey Gelert (Feb 8)
chain
Sxxxxx the UC Faerie Ixi (Mid-Dec, see above chain)
QMxx the UC Maraquan Kau (Feb 1)
gxxxxx the UC Grey Wocky (Feb 1-5?)
Mxxxx_lxxxxxx the UC Grey Wocky (Feb 5)
chain
kxxxxxxx the uc grey peophin
mxxxxdxxxx_##### the uc plushie grundo on 1/8
Exxxx__#### the uc plushie chomby on 1/16
Pxxxxx the uc plushie buzz on 1/18
Kxxxxxxx the uc grey kyrii on 2/1
Qvur the uc fae peophin on 2/6
Chain(s) involving PiPiTelly the uc faerie pteri
latest chain (feb 6)
Nxxxxxx uc dari eyrie
PiPiTelly uc fae pteri (**PERMIED**)
Sxxxxxxx uc fae ixi (**PERMIED**)
chain
hxxx### the UC Faerie Kougra (11/10/20) →
qxxxx_axxxxxxxx the UC Desert Aisha (11/20/20) →
Hxxxxxx the UC Baby Kougra (12/1/20) →
MxxxxBxx## the UC Faerie Shoyru (12/3/20) →
sxxxx##### the UC Grey Wocky (12/6/20) →
axxxx##### the UC Maraquan Kau (12/17/20) →
Gxxxxxx_gxxxxxxxxxx the UC Darigan Bruce (12/22/20) →
AxxxxxMxx the UC Grey Poogle (1/25/21) →
PiPiTelly the UC Faerie Pteri (2/1/21) affected pet→
Txxxxx_## the UC Grey Wocky (2/1/21) *wocky wanted back, contact 1st_book_fanatic to work something out
chain
11bxxx_cxxxx11_ the UC Maraquan Hissi (first week feb)
PiPiTelly the UC Faerie Pteri (first week feb)
AxxxxxMxx the UC Grey Poogle (first week feb)
Pxx_xxx the UC Faerie Pteri (first week feb)
jxxxxxx the UC Grey JubJub (first week feb) (**PERMIED** Please contact michaelayvonne if you end up with them!)
Chain involving 11bxxx_cxxxx11_ the uc mara hissi
Txxx the Cvcv
dax_#### the uc halloween moehog
xXx_Rxxxx_xXx the uc grey jub
KxxxxxxKxx96 the uc dari kau
hoxxxxxxxxxxxx the keysmash uc darigan eyrie
fexxxx_prxxxxxx### the uc faerie shoy
Litxxx_hxxxx## the uc faerie peophin
^^ NOTE: Pets above this point may not be affected. ^^
Cutxx__### the uc faerie shoyru
11baby_cakes11_ the uc mara hissi
Chain involving dax_#### the uc halloween moehog
chain
JxxxxxJxxJxx### the UC Grey Jubjub
dax_#### the UC Halloween Moehog (october/november 2020)
BxxxKxxxxxxx the UC Darigan Zafara
fxxxxxx the UC Darigan Skeith
xXx_SuGxx_xXx## the UC Grey Yurble
Bxx#### the UC Plushie Flotsam
ExxxxLxxx13 the UC Grey Wocky
jxjx#### the UC Usukigirl _wxx_oxx_ the UC Maraquan Gelert
_Axxxx_Ox_ the UC Darigan Bruce
txxxxx_bxxx the UC Faerie Pteri
Bxxxxxxx the UC Grey Lupe
PxxxxWxxxxGxxx the UC Faerie Ixi
Jxxxxxx the UC Grey Uni
mxxxxxxxxxx the UC Grey Gelert
MxAxxxxxLxxx the UC Maraquan Skeith
Bxxx_Mxxx the UC Maraquan Kau
Sxxxxxxx the UC Grey Koi
pxxtxxxgxxx the UC Grey Wocky
chxxxxxx77ca the UC Grey Kacheek
Quxxxx the UC Grey Grundo
FxxxxWxxx the UC Faerie Lenny
bxxxx_bxxxx_pxxxx – UC Grey Gelert
BxxxCxxxx the UC Darigan Kougra
Ixxxxxxxxxx the UC Grey Lupe
^^ NOTE: Pets above this point may not be affected. ^^
Bxxxxxx the UC Grey Jetsam
sxxxxxx_xxx the UC Grey Peophin
Axxxxxx the UC Desert Aisha
Axxxxxx## the UC Faerie Aisha
wx_kxx the UC Grey Flotsam
PxxxxxxxxDxxxxx the UC Mutant Hissi (**PERMIED** please contact sliver_tooth if you end up getting him!)
LxxxTxx the UC Mutant Hissi
gxxxxxjxxxxx the UC Faerie Meerca
kxxxxkxxxmxxxxx the UC Dari Lupe
chain
zxxxxxxx##### the UC Dargian Pteri
kxxxxkxxxmxxxxx the UC Dari Lupe (Early-Feb)
gxxxxxjxxxxx the UC Faerie Meerca (Feb 6th or 7th?) (**PERMIED** Please contact alex_joecool if you get him!)
chain
brave_pteri_140 the UC Darigan Eyrie (Early Feb) (Adopted)
Cloud1376 the UC Faerie Kyrii (2/3/21) (Currently reversed to this)
zamaprat34897 the UC Darigan Pteri (2/6/21)
Catastrophe_17 UC Darigan Lupe (2/7/21)
chain
Bxx#### the UC Plushie Flotsam (Adopted)
Sxxxxxxa the UC Darigan Bori (**PERMIED** Please contact _laurapop_75 if you end up getting them!)
Chain involving bxxxx_bxxxx_pxxxx – UC Grey Gelert
chain
FxxxxWxxx the UC Faerie Lenny
bxxxx_bxxxx_pxxxx – UC Grey Gelert
BxxxCxxxx the UC Darigan Kougra
Ixxxxxxxxxx the UC Grey Lupe
^^ NOTE: Pets above this point may not be affected. ^^
Bxxxxxx the UC Grey Jetsam
sxxxxxx_xxx the UC Grey Peophin
Axxxxxx the UC Desert Aisha
Axxxxxx## the UC Faerie Aisha
wx_kxx the UC Grey Flotsam
PxxxxxxxxDxxxxx the UC Mutant Hissi (**PERMIE** Please contact sliver_tooth if you end up getting him !)
LxxxTxx the UC Mutant Hissi
gxxxxxjxxxxx the UC Faerie Meerca
kxxxxkxxxmxxxxx the UC Dari Lupe
Chain involving gxxxxxjxxxxx the UC Faerie Meerca
exx -3L (11/19/20)
gxxxxxjxxxxx – uc faerie meerca (2/3/21)
txxxxx2###4 uc dari buzz (2/5/21)
pxxtxxxfxxx – uc robot bulmaroo (2/06/21)
Oxx -desert grundo (2/07/21)
exxxdxxxxwxxxxxx – uc fae kau (2/11/21)
Chain(s) involving AxxxxxMxx the UC grey poogle
chain
Lxxxxxx F RoyalBoy Draik
daria#### Faerie Kyrii
^^ NOTE: Pets above this point may not be affected. ^^
Arxxx_Venuxxxxx UC Darigan Eyrie (**PERMIED**)
AxxxxxMxx the UC grey poogle
spxxxxx_axxxx# UC Plushie Flotsam
MxxxxxxXxxxxxxx the UC Grey Gelert
chain
snixxxx## UC faerie ixi
munxxxx### the UC grey wocky
bxxxx_bxxxx_pxxxx – UC Grey Gelert
nonoxxxxxxxx#the uc grey cybunny (feb)
^^ NOTE: Pets above this point may not be affected. ^^
sxxxxxx_axxxx# – UC Plushie Flotsam (feb)
AxxxxxMxx – UC Grey Poogle (feb) (**PERMIED** Please contact KT_sketro!)
rxxxxxx_pxxxxx – UC Darigan Aisha (feb)
chain
bxxxx_bxxxx_pxxxx the UC Grey Gelert
_Uxxx_Bxx_Sxxxx_ the UC Grey Cybunny
txxvxxxlxxxnxxxxpxx the UC Darigan Bruce
Bruce was then gifted on Christmas
Chain(s) involving Mxxx#### the UC Darigan Ixi
chain
Mxxe_Mx_Oxxxxx_Pxx – uc grey aisha
Txx – rw draik
lxxxxpxxxxxpxxxxx – uc robo ixi
x_Cxxxxx_x – uc dari ixi
Mxxxxxx_Vxxxxxxxxx – uc dari aisha
^^ NOTE: Pets above this point may not be affected. ^^
sxxxx_exxx_bxxx_ixx – uc fae wocky
Mxxx#### – the jerk uc dari ixi
toiletheadneo – uc mspp
Dx_DxxxxxxX – uc grey aisha
PxxDx – uc grey zafara (1/1/21)
_Aloha_Oe_ – uc dari bruce **PERMIED** Please contact loituma if you end up getting him!
chain
Dari JubJub (Jan)
PxxxxDxxx#### UC grey aisha (Jan)
lxxx_nxxxxx grey kougra (Jan)
Cxxxxx_## UC MSPP (Jan)
xxxxxxx# UC dari Aisha (Jan)
Mxxx#### dari ixi (First of Feb ) (**PERMIED** Please contact doublehelix05 if you end up with them!)
chain
Mxxx#### is somewhere in the chain of:
roxxxxv# uc dari aisha – to –
dx_draxxxx uc grey aisha
chain
Pxxxxxxxo – UC Faerie Shoyru
JxxxSxxxxxxB2 – UC Grey Acara (jan 8th)
Mxxx###4 – UC Darigan Ixi (jan 9th)
rxxxxxx8 – UC Darigan Aisha (feb 1st)
Toxxxxx_####2 – UC Robot Ixi (feb 2nd) (**PERMIED** Please contact avirulent if you end up with them!)
Chain(s) involving txxxxxxxxxxxx the UC MSPP
chain
Mxxxxxxx_vxxxxxxxxx the UC Darigan Aisha (1/1)
bxxxxx_txx_dxx the UC dari ixi (1/4)
txxxxxxxxxxxx the UC MSPP (1/22)
Sxxxxxxx_x# the UC grey acara (1/27)
TxxRxxxxHxxxNxx the UC grey tonu (2/1)
Voice your Concern about Neopets Trade Reversals
If this issue affects you at all, please post on social media or send in your thoughts to the editorial! We want to bring awareness to this issue and encourage TNT to re-think how reversals are handled! Here are some templates for what you can post if you’re not sure:
– TNT, PLEASE communicate with your players! We deserve transparency when it comes to trade reversals. http://www.neopets.com/~Tragia
– The PC has been left out in the cold trying to figure out which pets are likely to be affected in this massive reversal. This page (/~Menassa) contains only a FEW chains that are likely to or have been affected. Why are users doing the work that TNT should have been doing in keeping their customers informed? An active part of the site is now threatened to die off because people are too afraid to trade as they don’t want to complicate things further. http://www.neopets.com/~Tragia
– What about how you treat your users TNT? PLEASE communicate with the pound chat and come up with better solutions that harm less innocent users. Neopets is supposed to be our safe, happy escape. http://www.neopets.com/~Tragia
In the current reversal situation, likely 70+ users are affected and probably hundreds of trades. Over 40 pets have already been reversed. Not only is this extremely stressful for all users involved (potentially losing permanent pets or months to years of trading) but this creates a LOT of work for support staff for an unsatisfactory outcome. In addition, due to how complex some chains are, multiple users are often left without pets. Another problem is that users are only notified sporadically of the issue, often months after TNT has themselves been made aware, so the issue is exacerbated because no one knows what pets are affected and to what extent, further complicating the situation.
At this point, we believe that there has to be a better way to handle compromised pets that involves more transparency so users can be more informed and help with the process, and involves less stress and labor. Many users here spend a lot of time trying to trade for their pet goals and while we all want stolen pets to return to their rightful owners, we also wish to feel secure that months of work won’t be destroyed in the process, and we would like to explore other options.
Ultimately, given how tangled this reversal is, we would like some other solution other than mass reversals.
Alternative Options
Option A: Return the compromised pet to the original owner and give the current owner of the compromised pet a newly created UC
Option A, while not perfect, avoids impacting many players who have unknowingly traded a compromised pet and does not punish the player who has the compromised pet last. There are concerns that this may “reward” those who steal pets, but as it is, the thieves are already immediately rewarded without any consequence. This would ultimately introduce more UCs into the trading pool, but if this only used the situations where many players and pets are affected, only a few UCs every year would be added, which would not make a significant difference as UCs are often taken out of circulation by becoming permanent pets or being frozen.
Option B: Return the compromised pet to the original owner and give current owner of the compromised pet an equivalent BD pet that would trade for a replacement
Option B is an alternate to the above if TNT for whatever reason does not want to introduce new UCs. This is a little more difficult as a replacement as BD pets can be harder to trade than UCs and ideally the user would receive a BD pet with stats that could trade for the pet they lost, which would require TNT being on top of BD values.
Option C: Return the compromised pet to the original owner and give the current owner of the compromised pet a UC from Pound Release or a frozen account
Option C is good because no “new” UCs are being added. However, TNT would need a list of UCs to work from, and although the suggestion is for UCs to only be taken from frozen accounts that are supposed to never be returned, it is potentially a more messy solution if one of those accounts does happen to ever be returned.
REQUEST FOR COMMUNICATION & SITE SECURITY
In order to head off potential complicated reversal situations, it would be helpful if the PC was informed about potential compromised pets as they are discovered. A stickied post on the PC would be very helpful with this, even with a censored name, as affected individuals can recognize the pet and stop their chains to help quarantine and prevent the chain from spiraling further. As it is, we have no idea what is going on or what timeline to expect. More communication and transparency for a reversal of this scale is vital.
Ultimately, one of the best things to prevent these situations to start with would be improving site security to prevent UCs being stolen from both active and inactive accounts, and the site is sorely behind when it comes to security.
FAQ
Won’t this just reward the thieves who initially stole the pet?
The thieves have already gotten their profit when they initially stole the pet. Whether the compromised pet is ultimately reversed, replaced, or thrown into a pit, the result is the same for the thief. This solution is about minimizing the stress and problems that will be caused for both staff and users by large-scale reversals.
Couldn’t this problem be solved by better site security?
Long-term, yes, absolutely, and we all wish for up to date security so going forward our accounts will be safe. However, even if security measures such as two factor authentication were implemented tomorrow, older inactive accounts would still be susceptible to pet theft, so this issue needs to be addressed regardless.
