Scamming

Hello :)
I recommend using a Staff as middleman so you don’t get scammed. A few ways to get a middleman is to /msg online staff, or, what I find works best, is to tag a @Staff Member in #support on the MCC discord. You can join it from https://mccentral.org/discord

Have a great Day/Night! <3

 

I know that scams can be extremely frustrating and a lot of scammers/griefers have witty tactics that they use to trick players (ie: you mentioned that the player asked you to mine the spawners for them). Here are some tips I would have you overall.

Use /trade. This isn't specifically related to your situation of being griefed, but a blanket suggestion would be to always use official features such as /trade when buying or trading items. This ensures there is no confusion regarding what you are sending or receiving, as you can preview the items before accepting and need to click the confirmation.

Ask for a staff middleman. Especially with deals that include spending IRL money, using a staff middleman is a much safer way to proceed. Staff will make sure that the deal is handled clearly and follows rules, and many scammers are scared off when a staff member is brought into the picture. I would recommend either /msg'ing a staff member if they are online on the server or tagging @Staff Member in our Discord #support channel to ask for one.

Record everything! When doing a deal, always collect as much evidence as possible. While it may seem a bit accusatory, it may also help your situation to casually mention to the other player "just in case, I'm recording this deal by the way." Letting the other player know this will also deter scammers, and in case anything was to go awry with your deal, you have all the evidence necessary to report them. It's pretty hard to get adequate evidence of a scam after it has already occurred, so recording in the moment is helpful.

Trust your gut. Above all, if you don't feel good about a situation or think it's suspicious, you should trust your instincts as you're probably correct that something shady is happening. One strategy to prevent griefing/scamming is to apply pressure to the player and show them that you are in control. Stand your ground and ask questions like "Why do you need me to mine the spawners? Why can't you do it yourself? What are you going to do with them after you mine them?" etc. This can start to make the player nervous and stop them from these actions if they realize that you suspect something is going on. Simply being aware of the situation and holding the other player accountable/showing them they can't take advantage of you can go a long way in instances like this.