Team sMi gets scammed - Page 20

On August 03 2013 11:38 Whitewing wrote:
I'm confused, what was this scammer supposedly trying to accomplish by falsely claiming to be able to provide free stuff?

On August 01 2013 10:59 sMiAthena wrote:
there was no negative to the players or smi. the fact is there was a lot that happened behind the scenes w/ text or phone calls, and random fights within the team. they act as if i didnt take a hit as well. they act as if they are the only victims in this.

the sponsor: personally sponsored me and my LoL team himself. then i was in a bad car accident, i was forced to move back to texas, due to the fact i needed some help during my recovery state.

i do wish sMi the best of luck, but i think the actions that have taken place was out of line, especially targeting ME and ONLY me, when im not the one who did all of this. so what if i have 2 things on my "pending" record, people make mistakes. but i guess they are all perfect.

i personally did not make these promises to these players. this is what the sponsor and myself worked out and agreed on, so this is what i was able to offer to them.

of course maybe i didnt take pics or anything RIGHT away when they asked, im sorry but when i spend 8+ hours a day w/ the team and i choose to go out for a night or something, i think i have the right to do that.

anyways, GL sMi wish you the best.
i know things are not do good for you guys, nor me, but please keep in your heart that it wasnt ME who did this.

User was banned for this post.

On August 03 2013 12:15 GunPaladin wrote:

Yea i'm still trying to figure this out. This wasn't so much a scam as it was just some guy lying his ass off.

On August 03 2013 12:33 Grimmyman123 wrote:
Skype cannot be traced or tracked easily.

On August 01 2013 13:33 TOdesKaMpF wrote:
This athena kid seems boarderline retarded.

and who the hell is NanoCloud? I've never played him or heard of him o.0

/e: sMi management could of probably avoided this altogether though

On August 03 2013 12:33 Grimmyman123 wrote:
Basic things that people need to learn in the basic business world that pertain to this thread.

I'm not going to sugar coat it. If you disagree or my presentation is too harsh for you, hold your tongue, because to be frank I won't even read your reply let along acknowledge it.

1) Skype is annonymous. Anyone can make an account and pretend to be someone they are not. Reputable business people and businesses and sponsors have LAND LINES. Skype is only convenient because it is free. Razer, Steelseries, major sponsors, major bank rolls, are NOT going to call you solely on skype. "e-sports" relies far too much on skype, and here is another case where it causes headache. Skype cannot be traced or tracked easily.

2) Contracts. Nothing is going to happen unless there is a contract. There might some loose negotiation or hints etc, but you are not going to get anything without a proper contract. The contract will contain proper names, addresses, and it will come to you signed by the sponsor. Promises that stuff is in the mail or courier, but no contract? It probably is bullshit.

3) Check everything out! Reverse search addresses and phone numbers to make sure appearances are what they actually seem! Seriously. Google. It's fucking awesome. In Canada,, for 8 bucks, I can search a surname and a given name, and tell you which bank your mortgage on your house is through, and for how much. There are a ton of resources available, but no one uses them or even knows how. At the VERY LEAST: Google phone numbers. Where do they go, who owns them.

4) If you provide logs or data to a 3rd party - you made that information public. It is now fair game. You cannot redact it after the fact "that was private!". It's like telling fuckslasher some major peice of news and then calling him an hour later asking him to keep it off the record - its already in print and like he cares about it being off the record, he'll find a way to get it in print. If the log or chat was exceedingly damning, and you shared it, damn straight it should be public. The only time someone wants to distance themselves is if something in the evidence is either a lie or is bullshit, or will lead to revealing a lie or other bullshit.

5) If it is to good to be true, it likely is. Imaginary special prototype keyboards? To a C Team? That didnt raise any red flags?

6) Hold people accountable. If someone says they are providing X equipment- hold them too it. If you cannot hold them to it, you haven't confirmed who,where,what they are and how to contact and pursue them. Red flags again.

7) If you have no business savvy or know someone reliable to help on the business side of things, don't try and run a pro gaming team. You are in a position to control people's lives, carreers etc. And you'll probably fuck it up, fuck over your players, and just piss people off and ruin lives.

8) Clans are not Teams. Clans are a bunch of friends playing some video games. Teams are where a group of people have organised structure, coaches, management. Professionally operated and maintained, rules,, statistics tracking and sales etc. Don't confuse the two.

I hope these poiints help.

This sMI fiasco is proof of how amateur and desperate for support SC2 teams are, and how they need proper backing in the form of a busy and extensive competitive tournament scene, instead of 3 MLG's a year and a joke of a WCS championship. But that's a different problem altogether.

On August 03 2013 12:33 Grimmyman123 wrote:
Basic things that people need to learn in the basic business world that pertain to this thread.

I'm not going to sugar coat it. If you disagree or my presentation is too harsh for you, hold your tongue, because to be frank I won't even read your reply let along acknowledge it.

1) Skype is annonymous. Anyone can make an account and pretend to be someone they are not. Reputable business people and businesses and sponsors have LAND LINES. Skype is only convenient because it is free. Razer, Steelseries, major sponsors, major bank rolls, are NOT going to call you solely on skype. "e-sports" relies far too much on skype, and here is another case where it causes headache. Skype cannot be traced or tracked easily.

2) Contracts. Nothing is going to happen unless there is a contract. There might some loose negotiation or hints etc, but you are not going to get anything without a proper contract. The contract will contain proper names, addresses, and it will come to you signed by the sponsor. Promises that stuff is in the mail or courier, but no contract? It probably is bullshit.

3) Check everything out! Reverse search addresses and phone numbers to make sure appearances are what they actually seem! Seriously. Google. It's fucking awesome. In Canada,, for 8 bucks, I can search a surname and a given name, and tell you which bank your mortgage on your house is through, and for how much. There are a ton of resources available, but no one uses them or even knows how. At the VERY LEAST: Google phone numbers. Where do they go, who owns them.

4) If you provide logs or data to a 3rd party - you made that information public. It is now fair game. You cannot redact it after the fact "that was private!". It's like telling fuckslasher some major peice of news and then calling him an hour later asking him to keep it off the record - its already in print and like he cares about it being off the record, he'll find a way to get it in print. If the log or chat was exceedingly damning, and you shared it, damn straight it should be public. The only time someone wants to distance themselves is if something in the evidence is either a lie or is bullshit, or will lead to revealing a lie or other bullshit.

5) If it is to good to be true, it likely is. Imaginary special prototype keyboards? To a C Team? That didnt raise any red flags?

6) Hold people accountable. If someone says they are providing X equipment- hold them too it. If you cannot hold them to it, you haven't confirmed who,where,what they are and how to contact and pursue them. Red flags again.

7) If you have no business savvy or know someone reliable to help on the business side of things, don't try and run a pro gaming team. You are in a position to control people's lives, carreers etc. And you'll probably fuck it up, fuck over your players, and just piss people off and ruin lives.

8) Clans are not Teams. Clans are a bunch of friends playing some video games. Teams are where a group of people have organised structure, coaches, management. Professionally operated and maintained, rules,, statistics tracking and sales etc. Don't confuse the two.

I hope these poiints help.

This sMI fiasco is proof of how amateur and desperate for support SC2 teams are, and how they need proper backing in the form of a busy and extensive competitive tournament scene, instead of 3 MLG's a year and a joke of a WCS championship. But that's a different problem altogether.

On August 03 2013 21:36 TT1 wrote:


i would like to know more about this o.o

On August 03 2013 21:28 eLeVaTioN wrote:





I'm glad that some people at least understand these things. +1 to you

On August 04 2013 01:54 NukeD wrote:
And Im glad some people present obvious stuff like its some sort of secret knowledge so they make themselves look good.

On August 01 2013 10:17 sMiAthena wrote:
days u knew my passwords, aidan, nano. dont try to play that -.-