Gold spam

Gold Spamming is normally associated with unsolicited contact of players in World of Warcraft for the express purpose of selling them gold in exchange for real money. It can also include advertisements on fan sites related to the game. Some of the spam includes power leveling services in addition to gold. It is not uncommon for players to be spammed multiple times during a gaming session.

Do not confuse this with a Gold Farmer which is a legal activity in World of Warcraft.

In Game

 * Direct tells to the player through the chat system.
 * /say and /me messages.
 * Open advertisements in the Trade Channel of a major city
 * A Note through the game's mail system.
 * Party or raid groups messages.
 * Producing multiple characters, subsequently killing them to spell out the url of the sellers website on the ground.

Out of Game Spam

 * Frequently seen as ads on the side bars and banners of World of Warcraft fan sites
 * Mass Marketing through e-mail from name lists sold by World of Warcraft fan sites

Dangers

 * Loss of account. It is a violation of the Terms of Use Agreement, rules that players must abide by to play the game.
 * Exposure of your personal information, to possibly include real name, address, and credit card information.
 * Exposure of your character names, akin to putting yourself on a spam-me-please list.
 * Exposure to Trojans and Keystroke Loggers embedded in the Gold Spammer's site.
 * Loss of Account, Items, and Characters, should you give access to your account for paid power leveling.

Remedies

 * Ignore it.
 * Report any and all gold spam to a GM through the in game help system.
 * Report the website to:
 * http://www.blizzard.com/support/?id=eHacks000
 * Install a plug-in to block unsolicited whispers. For example:
 * SpamSentry
 * SpamMeNot
 * In Patch 2.1, Blizzard implemented a tool to help players ignore gold spam. Just right-click on the spammers name and select "Report Spam".