The OP expresses concern about a rise in apparent scams trying to be run in-game (and there has been an increase lately), therefore the OP must be a sucker? I wish more of my banks' customers showed as much initiative when they get calls from machines asking for sensitive data. :/
Don't think that there has been any rise in actual scams, just that the people who buy GCs are getting low as there are not as many people selling them as their used to be, since most now sell Krono instead. A Game Card equivalent to Krono was actually suggested back when they originally announced the Krono. I forget why they said that it was not going to work that way. I say instead of making a GC replacement instead just make a new alt currency that is tradeable that is linked to the accounts SC; then if you have a ton of SC you can sell some of it for Plat; I doubt this would ever actually be done though.
Like I said earlier, though, the reason why GCs make such tantalizing scam bait is because people like to buy them and then sit on them until a "bonus SC" event (double SC, etc) comes along. IF the deal works out, then the buyer gets X GCs for in-game currency, never paying a dime of real cash, while the seller gets a solid value for their cards without having to answer questions about why they cost 2-3 bucks more each than usual in the first place (the biggest complaint I see when people are selling Krono, since they cost $17-$18 and a lot of people don't use All Access passes). It's an unsurprising vulnerability in the market that could easily be solved by SOE. It's a shame they won't do something about it.
Let's be honest here, Krono are simply a way for EQ players to legitimately and safely buy plat with real money. Considering the price that most Krono sell at, SOE did a fairly good job of pricing them. I have no idea what Plat went for before Krono were around, but a quick google search has the Krono price being right around the cost for an equivalent amount of plat. Some are lower, but if you add in risk to the calculation then I think it balances out. As it is now the Seller has no reason to ask about the cost of Krono. They are not buying them to use, they are buying them to sell in-game as a safe and legal way to obtain plat plat (the amount of which the seller decides).
