We have a lot of reports of scams coming in to our tip line and many of us are receiving the same phishing emails you are. Even Scott Kurtz from PvPOnline was tweeting about getting one the other day. These scams can be initiated via email to any one of your email addresses. Or they may start in game. Regardless of where they attack you, most of the scams require some form of social engineering to get your info and therefore access to your in-game valuables.

What is social engineering? Social engineering is manipulating victims to volunteer personal information about themselves in order to perpetrate a con, scam, fraud, etc. If you have seen the movie Groundhog Day, then you have seen a very good example of it. Phil, a television weatherman, is living the same day over and over. One iteration of his morning, he asks an attractive woman her name, where she went to highschool and her English teacher. The next iteration of his morning, he "accidentally" runs into her and pretends to know her from highschool, resulting in her going to bed with him.

One of the coolest things about the World of Warcraft are the various NPCs that we see all over the place. Players who've played Warcraft 3 get an extra thrill when meeting characters from the popular RTS, for example. There's Thrall in Orgrimmar, whose life story has been all over books and re-told in past Blizzard games. In Dalaran, the overrated Rhonin and his wife, whose lives have been chronicled over several Richard A. Knaak books, make an appearance. Lor'themar Theron first appeared in the Warcraft manga and subsequently showed up in Silvermoon City when The Burning Crusade was launched.

Of course, not all NPCs get the benefit of books or comics to tell their story. Our favorite Griftah only has his story told through the game. Then there are those NPCs whose origins come from somewhere closer to home -- real people who have made some impact on the game one way or the other. These include quest giver Ahab Wheathoof, who is an homage to young fan Ezra Chatterton, and Dalaran pet supplies vendor Breanni, who is a nod to the creator of the popular WarcraftPets site devoted to vanity pets. There are many, many more NPCs in the game world we all love. Whose story would you like to know more about? Is there an NPC that has piqued your curiosity? What could be the story behind the unassuming Kaja? How about we learn more about Cro Threadstrong and his hatred for apples? There are so many stories in WoW... which one would you like to hear?

[1.Local] serves up a smattering of reader comments from the past week, from the sublime to the ridiculous.

This week at WoW Insider, readers pulled up a keyboard to chat about a fairly wide-ranging selection of topics. They dreamed up WoW comics they'd most be interested in reading. They groused about the upcoming expansion's anticipated new travel hub. They debated the reasoning behind Wrath's restrictions on chain-potting.

For some truly entertaining comments, check out some of the replies to our Winter's Veil In July contest -- so many different angles we couldn't share just one. And finally, we wrap up this look back at the week's comments say with a standing O for one reader's reply to a post speculating on recent spottings of Varian Wrynn -- an applause-worthy thread-stopper, indeed.

Join us after the break for this week's meatiest reader comments here at WoW Insider. Be sure to dive into the comments area of each thread (not this one!) and add your own thoughts – unlike your mama, we like us some hot, fresh backtalk.

It has begun. Anti-inflation measures intended to reduce player Gold before Wrath of the Lich King arrives have been put in place on the test server. Everyone's favorite (or most hated) socialite Haris Pilton has transformed into more than just a nod to bad pop culture, Patch 2.4.3 sees her as the single biggest gold sink in the game. Just like her enterprising real-life counterpart, Pilton has launched a new line of bags and jewelry that is sure to bait some players into parting with their hard-earned Gold.

Pilton's flagship product, the epic "Gigantique" Bag is the only 22-slot bag of any sort and the biggest non item-specific bag available to players. It is bigger than the Pit Lord's Satchel, which drops off Magtheridon; the Sun Touched Satchel which is a zone drop from Magister's Terrace; the Tattered Hexcloth Sack from a quest in Zul'Aman; and even the Phat Loot Friday-featured Primal Mooncloth Bag. At a whopping 1,200 Gold, it's also the most expensive bag from a vendor or otherwise. Clever little Haris has also dissociated herself from The Lower City, so no discounts will be honored and she'll earn full profit from your Gold. The kicker? "Gigantique" Bags aren't unique.

When the Burning Crusade first came out, veterans noticed a few things back on Azeroth: Some of our favorite NPCs had disappeared! The wandering Rexxar was replaced by a fellow name Rokaro, and Hemet Nesingwary left Stranglethorn, leaving his son, Hemet Nesingwary Jr., to take over the hunt. More recently, Lady Liadrin has come to Shattrath City, leaving behind Lord Solanar Bloodwrath to guide up and coming Blood Knights in her place. In order to move along a few story lines, Blizzard decided that it was worth moving NPCs to move along the story, and left other NPCs in place with minor alterations so that other people could still experience their old quests.

This, however, isn't the only way Blizzard has dealt with progressing story lines.

In the World of Warcraft, there are heroes -- that's us, supposedly -- and then there are the bit players. These are the vendors, the quest givers, or even the random mobs or raid bosses who are really only there for us, the heroes, to kill and loot. We don't pay them too much attention. In fact, there are very few NPCs whose names we remember. Do any of you Horde players know who Kaja is? I'm willing to bet very few can answer the question but at the same time I can assure you you've visited her more than a few times -- she's the Guns & Ammunition merchant in the hut beside the Auction House in Orgrimmar, and every Hordie has gone to her for repairs.

Who doesn't know Griftah and his dubious wares? How about Haris Pilton in the tavern in Shattrath? Some NPCs are more famous than others, of course... l mean, there's Thrall. Let this breakfast topic be an homage to our silent (and sometimes not so silent -- that Cro Threadstrong is always yelling!) friends who make our experience in the World of Warcraft more interesting. Who's your favorite NPC? For the sake of discussion, let's try leaving out the dungeon bosses. Those guys get too much press, anyway. Is there an NPC that's memorable to you in some way? I always like queueing from Yula the Fair because she's just so goshdarned purty. Then there's Lady Liadrin, whom we all know is destined for big things (I like my girls all Blood Knight-y). Any NPC out there stand out for you in some way? Their name, their scripted actions, or even the way they look. Who do you think deserves the best supporting character award?

Our guild alliance's resident science and technology geek (and I mean that in a good way) linked us a somewhat confusing article yesterday. Apparently, scientists have figured out a way to store and retrieve empty space. Of course, a question naturally comes to mind upon hearing about this: How soon until I can buy my own bag of holding?

But seriously, while I tend to be a bit of a pack rat in real life, I'm an even bigger pack rat in WoW. I still keep gear and quest rewards from 50 levels ago because they look cool. In addition, I play a Hunter (with a quiver), a Warlock (with a shard bag) and a Druid (with Cat Form, Bear Form, and healing gear on me at all times). As a result, I'm always on the lookout for ways to increase my bag space so I can fit in a little bit of loot once I'm stocked up on gear, consumables, reagents, and all the rest.

Luckily, I've found that upgrading your bag space doesn't have to break the bank or send you after waves of elite mobs that require 25-40 people to take down, and I'll share a few upgrading tips after the break.

...And associated technology

Or:

"IT'S WHISPER QUIET!"

Since the very dawn of sentience, since the first daring Gnome looked skyward and said "Hey what's up there," since the first drink addled Goblin fell back near-insensate and said that those birds weren't so great, anyone could fly if they had a mind to, before falling into a Dark Iron Ale-induced coma, it has been our dream.

Since the first parachute cloak failed to deploy (Engineer 2nd Class Amplebottom regrets packing her bloomers in that pack, and points out respectfully that the quantity of cloth involved did slow Engineer 1st Class Plummetorque's descent somewhat), we have held out hope.

Since the first Engineer took flight in Outland, we have dreamed, demanded, planned, protested, and raised our voices (amplified or otherwise) as one, crying out to the great Engineers, the Blue Gears of the World, for succor. Let us, we have cried out, slip off at last the line and mooring, the chain and the anchor. Let us, we called from Shattrath and Stormspire alike, cast off into the air, in machines we have made ourselves, and trusting only our craft and our skill, reach out to touch the skies themselves!

Ahem.

Many of us, however, died in the process. Turns out our craft and our skill are not always the most trustworthy of companions, much less copilots, much less sole source of support between our posteriors and the unforgiving, unresilient ground below. However, after much research on both flight and gravitational acceleration, Engineers have at their disposal two crafts for aerial flight. Herein we discuss the components required for each model of the Engineers' Flying Machines, and possible advantages therefrom derived.

While there's definitely been quite a few changes around Shattrath in 2.4, one thing that stayed the same was good old Griftah. It looked like he might be back to stay, the saga of his betrayal and exile over with his triumphant return to Shattrath, complete with a legitimate piece of merchandise to sell. Which was, in a way, a bit disappointing. After so many patches, seeing what Griftah got up to next was almost a tradition.

Luckily, it looks like we may not quite be done yet. Peacekeeper Jadaar has been standing in the World's End Tavern arguing with Investigator Asric for quite some time now, but if you talk to him, he still acts like he's standing outside Griftah's tent. World Event Designer Kisirani answered someone's question on this by saying it's been on her list and she's getting to it. Certainly, this could mean she just plans to update his speech to explain that the investigation failed and Griftah is back, but then again, it could mean we'll see more of this epic storyline. He may not have ended up being the real Zul'jin, but maybe he's still got a few more tricks up his sleeve. I'm thinking that at the least he'll start selling "genuine artifacts from the first Northrend expeditions" soon. Maybe "Defeat of Illidan Commemorative Coins."

It's definitely a storyline I'd love to see evolve some more. Even if he's not exactly M'uru, Griftah's earned enough of a place in Warcraft lore that he can't just sit comfortably in Lower City pushing trinkets.

Happy patch day! Yes, it's time for patch 2.3 today, and boy do we at WoW Insider have a lot of information for you about today's patch.

• If you want the whole thing in one big chunk, you can always check out our patch 2.3 tag page, featuring every post that's been tagged with patch 2.3 ever.
• Let's start at the beginning: the first 2.3 PTR patch notes, and then the first updates to those.
• One of the first things we noticed was that Griftah is back in town.
• How to make one of those spiffy Engineering flying machines. Amanda also cooked up a checklist for making that mount.
  
• Insider Trader checks out professions in 2.3.
• Updates to the UI that you may have missed hearing about.
• Matthew checked out the new Dustwallow Marsh.
• The minimap got a huge buff.
• No more Hunter deadzone (but you still need 5 yards to shoot someone).
• Guild banks are in but they ain't going to be cheap.
• Amanda M. gets you to exalted with Sporeggar for that new sporebat pet.
• John did a ton of great tips for farmers before and after the patch: Before parts one and two, and After parts one and two.
• Eliah checked out the pre-60 dungeons to see what's new in there.
• And we posted a preview yesterday of what's sure to become the most popular instance in the game, Zul'Aman.

And this is just scratching the surface -- use the search box at the top to find anything else you'd like to know about 2.3 -- we covered it all, from the season 1 arena item prices to how Elemental Shamans got buffed to what casuals can do for fun in 2.3 to the changes to Aimed Shot. There is just a ton of stuff changing in our favorite game today, and if you're wondering about it, odds are we wrote a post about it. 2.3 is here!

I've already said a few times that I'd love to see Blizzard's population figures, but a query (from an MVP, strangely enough) brings up another set of figures that I wouldn't mind a look at: NPC vendor sales numbers. Crepe wants to know how many items Griftah has sold (and how many hula dolls he sells post 2.3), but unfortunately, Nethaera deflects the question and leaves us with nothing. Additionally, I'd like to know how many heroic badges G'eras is going through on any given night-- maybe the fact that he's not selling many of his Heroic items is the reason why Blizzard is going to start dropping Badges in both Karazhan and Zul'Aman next week.

Blizzard has given us peeks at a few numbers behind the game, but they haven't updated that page since it went up (and with all the exceptions on those lists, it's not much help anyway). There is a whole new world of statistics to be had in Outland, and it'd be nice for Blizzard to let us at just a few of the most interesting ones.

EDIT: YouTube video! ~ Thanks RogueJedi86

Look at the screenshot. It's like Christmas came early courtesy of Patch 2.3. Seriously, that is one of the coolest flying mounts in the game. And if that's not good enough for you, click here to see an animated gif of it in action. This mechanical wonder can all be yours if you have the skill.

MMO-Champion was able to get a scrounge up the recipe for the two Engineering Flying Machine schematics:

Engineering: Flying Machine
Reagents:

• Adamantite Frame (2)
• Fel Iron Bar (30)
• Handful of Fel Iron Bolts (8)
• Star Wood (8)
• Fel Iron Toolbox
• Elemental Seaforium Charge (4)

BoP, Req Level 70, Engineering 350+ to make and at least Expert riding skill to use.

I'm not a Grandmaster Engineer myself, but these components don't look too difficult to gather. The only sticking point I see is the Elemental Seaforium Charge comes from a recipe that requires Revered faction with the Consortium to purchase. But the Charges aren't BoP so you can always buy them from another Engineer.

The Epic Flying machine after the jump!

Blizzard is apparently captivated by Griftah, the snake-oil sales Troll in Shattrath, because they've changed him yet again in 2.3. He's back inside the city, so apparently that investigation the Peacekeeper was doing dug up nothing. And he's gotten a bigger role in the game than ever-- not only does he now have a quest for you to do (that leads into Zul'Aman), but apparently one of the ingredients for the Engineering mount, a hula doll (don't ask), is sold by him for a whopping 100g.

I like Griftah, and I'm glad that he's back-- that jerk Scryer going through his things was none too kind to the shifty Troll while he was gone. And my guess is that Griftah isn't done being vindicated-- I think it would be really funny if, in an upcoming patch, Blizzard changed that old 30g necklace Griftah sold to have a really cool proc or effect put on it, sort of a reward for those who've stood by Griftah the whole time.

On the other hand, I hope this "guinea pig" of progressive content is really helping Blizzard learn how to do it-- seems a little strange to waste updates like this on just one Troll when we could be seeing real progressive content elsewhere in the game. Still, every little step counts-- it's just another update in the whole saga of Griftah the Troll.

Griftah has now been exiled to the outskirts of Shattrath in Patch 2.2.

Players complained loudly on the forums after realizing they paid over 30 gold for an amulet that allowed them to resurrect when they died and were not mollified when informed that they should have shown a bit more caution before buying items from a character named after another word for con artist. Everyone (including me) assumed that Griftah was being exiled from Shattrath because of these complaints.

His creator, World Designer Kisirani, says otherwise. Though we don't know how the story is going to unfold, Kisirani says that Griftah is kind of a progressive content guinea pig. He explains:

It's a shame you're unwilling to believe what is, in essence, the truth -- that Griftah has been a small foray in progressive content as we gauge certain things.

Anyone who has spent any time tradeskilling in Shattrath has probably run across the Troll merchant, Griftah. Since Burning Crusade came out, Griftah has called a spot near the mana loom in Lower City his home. He has hawked many fun and dubious items like [Soap on a Rope] and [Infallible Tikbalang Ward]. (I must say, my banking alt has been blessedly Tikbalang free!) Griftah loved to talk to anyone and everyone who came anywhere near him and suggest various of his charms that he thought you should purchase -- for a price.

However, some people took Griftah seriously, and thought that the white items he was selling were indeed able to do special things like give you free Rezzes much like the old Darkmoon Faire Twisting Nether card would as opposed to reading the lines carefully. (like, how it would Resurrect you if you were already next to your corpse in ghost form.) This led to angry forum threads, and people who were screaming about being grifted by Griftah because, surprise -- the white items didn't actually do anything mystical...