In the computer game “Path of Exile 2” (POE2), players’ demand for upgrading equipment and character strength through buying poe2 currency also rises, while the risk of fraud rises with it. According to the 2023 Global Game Trading Market Report, the transactions involving fraud in virtual currencies account for around 12%, complaints against POE2 for 15%, and the average loss per transaction is $82. For instance, in 2022, a third-party marketplace, G2G, was sued for counterfeit POE2 currency trades worth over 1.2 million US dollars, and user complaint grew by 37% year on year. To avoid risks, preference should be given to choosing officially certified marketplaces, such as the officially working together Kalao Marketplace. Its transaction volume in 2023 was 540 million US dollars, and its user satisfaction rate was 93%. Its average transaction fee is only 5%-8%, and it provides dispute arbitration services within 72 hours.
Based on the transaction data, PlayerAuctions performed better among third-party websites. Its POE2 currency trading platform made over 1.8 million orders in 2023, with a user approval rate of 89%. The cost of one order was on average 50, which was 2030 cheaper than elsewhere. Buy 1,000 Chaos Orb (average market price $45). The seller vanished after payment, and only 300 items were received. Same cases accounted for 43% of all POE2 fraud incidents in 2023. It was revealed that utilizing in-platform guaranteed payments (e.g., Escrow system) can decrease the risk by 68% and enhance the success rate of refunds to 85%.
Seasonal updates were shown by market research to have a significant effect on POE2 currency cost. For instance, on the start of Season 4 2023, the price of Exalted Orb increased from 0.8 to 1.2, a rise of 50%, which attracted a large volume of players to buy poe2 currency. Concurrently, the cases of fraud also increased by 27%, mostly focused on private chat transactions on social media (representing 62%). For instance, one specific Discord community enticed gamers to prepaid 200 with a “limited-time discount”, but only 60 worth of currency ended up being dispersed. In this scenario, it is recommended to verify the Seller’s credentials by reviewing industry standards: their transaction history (e.g., over 1,000 successful orders), response time (less than 30 minutes), and platform certification badges (e.g., the “Top Seller” icon).
Technical measures can also prevent fraud. For instance, some platforms have used blockchain technology to track the flow of virtual currencies. In 2023, they were able to catch out counterfeit transactions worth $8.7 million through on-chain data. Also, the chances of accounts of users who utilize two-factor authentication (2FA) being hijacked are reduced by 73%, and the efficiency of processing disputed orders linked to mobile phone verification is increased by 40%. According to player view, choosing the channel which allows PayPal dispute appeal while buying poe2 currency can refund as much as 75% of money losses, and the mean cycle of handling is 14 days.
Finally, market tendency forecasts that the POE2 currency exchange market value will exceed 800 million US dollars in 2024. However, the process of compliance is accelerating. For instance, the EU Digital Services Act mandates that platforms preserve logs of transactions for three years. Players can decrease the possibility of being fooled under 5% by considering price fluctuations (standard deviation ±7%), the quantity of shares (with each day’s data on average amounting to 12,000), and grading (over 4.5 stars) of some channels (covering the official market, third parties, and neighborhood referral).
