How to Protect Your Money ?

In Torn, only the cash in your wallet ("cash on hand") can be mugged. Money in a bank, vault, stocks, items or points is out of a mugger's reach. So the core habit is simple: never sit on cash. Move it somewhere safe the moment you earn it, and only pull it out right before you spend it.

The rest of this guide covers how mugging works, every place you can park money, and the habits that stop muggers, buy-muggers and scammers from taking it.

A mugger who beats you in an attack can take a slice of your cash on hand: 5% at base, rolled up to 10% (rare). Merits (Masterful Looting) and the Plunder weapon bonus push it to roughly 10–20% for a fully built mugger.

Three mechanics matter for you as a target:

• Mug protection. After a mug, the cash left in your wallet is protected, decaying to zero over 12 hours. Spending, gambling or banking any of it cancels the protection on that amount.
• Buy-mugging. A player buys your bazaar or Item Market listing, then mugs you seconds later while the sale money sits in your wallet.
• Negative cash. If your cash on hand is below zero, a mug yields $0.

You can't be attacked while you're in hospital, in jail, or in the air. After landing (in Torn or abroad) you get about 15 seconds of safety, then players in the same location can hit you.

The safest home for your money, and it pays interest. Terms run 1 week, 2 weeks, 1 month, 2 months and 3 months; new players unlock each longer term by completing the shorter one. Money stays locked until the term ends, then sits safely until you withdraw it. As a new player, invest everything except a small float, on the 1 or 2 week term.

Auction sales, failed auction bids and lottery wins arrive as cashier's checks at the bank. You have 24 hours to collect them before they drop into your wallet, so don't leave them unattended.

New players can buy a Piggy Bank from the Missions shop for 5 mission credits during their first 2 weeks. It holds any amount, but breaking it dumps everything into your wallet and it is gone for good. Buy it early and break it only when you need the full sum.

Open a trade with someone you trust, add cash, and don't accept it. Cash in a trade can't be mugged. Label it "ghost" so the other player knows not to touch it. Trades expire after 6 hours, so set a reminder at about 5 h 50 min to renew it. Only use faction leaders, a spouse or real friends: they can cancel the trade and mug you as the cash returns.

Unlocks with travel at level 15. A flight costs $10,000 and takes 33 minutes each way. It stores unlimited money and pays 0.5% a month on your lowest balance that month (up to 0.6875% with faction and Oil Rig bonuses). The bank is weak for interest versus the City Bank; its real value is unlimited storage. The danger is the trip: muggers track flight times and wait for you to land with cash.

Only Palaces, Castles and Private Islands take a vault, and only if you own the property. Rented homes block vault access.

You can share a vault with your spouse, but it doesn't track whose money is whose and either side can drain it. Leave sharing off unless you fully trust them.

Depositing in a faction vault is common, but you can't withdraw yourself: a leader or banker must send it back, and some leaders do run with the money. Only use well-established factions. Company vaults are for directors; a company special lets other players hack up to 3% of company funds unless the company holds the SYS stock block.

You need a Stock Ticker (50 points from the Points Building) to trade stocks. Buying and selling is instant with no storage cap, but prices move, so this suits money you'd invest anyway. Points and stable items (Xanax, Donator Packs, temporary weapons that NPC shops buy back) hold value well for short stretches. The catch is the resale moment: buying or selling to players opens you to buy-mugs and sell-mugs.

Most mugs happen at predictable moments: right after a sale, a withdrawal, a big win, or a landing. Cover those moments and you avoid nearly all losses.

Keep your wallet near zero

Veterans aim to carry only what the next purchase needs, often just a few thousand dollars. Withdraw right before you buy, not hours before. If you need cash for a trip abroad, take only the trip's budget plus a small margin.

Sell safely

• Self-hospitalize before selling. List your items, put yourself in Hospital, let them sell, then park the cash in a ghost trade or stocks after you heal.
• Fly while selling. You can't be attacked in the air. Just stash the money before your 15-second landing window ends.
• Sell to trusted traders. Traders on the Trading Post forum or Trade chat pay slightly less than the Item Market, but the sale isn't public, so muggers don't see it.
• Don't announce trades. Some muggers watch public trade stats and hit as soon as a trade completes.

Withdraw carefully

When a bank term ends, don't pull the whole balance into your wallet. Take out only what you need and reinvest the rest immediately. Some players watch for investment end dates.

Travel smart

Muggers use API tools to track flight times and wait for landings. You get about 15 seconds after landing (in Torn or abroad) before you can be attacked. Set your own alarm a minute before landing and move the cash in that window; don't rely on third-party pings. Before flying with cash, leave the rest in a ghost trade or the bank.

Use jail and hospital

If you need protection fast, a stay in jail or hospital blocks all attacks. Factions sometimes do this before stepping away. The cost is lost time, so use it for big sums only.

Gambling and big wins

Players mug gamblers mid-session and right after wins. Before you leave a table, know where the winnings go. For a slots jackpot, dump it straight into one stock, since a short price wobble costs less than a 5–15% mug. A lottery win arrives as a cashier's check at the bank; let it sit for a few hours while the vultures lose interest, then collect it and stash it immediately.

Use mug protection

After a mug, what's left in your wallet is protected for up to 12 hours, decaying over time. Moving that cash cancels its protection, so if you've just been mugged and plan to bank soon anyway, it's worth knowing that only new money is exposed.

Bonus: work at a 7-star Clothing Store

Employees of a 7-star Clothing Store get a 75% reduction on money mugged from them. It's a perk to keep in mind when choosing a job, not a substitute for storing cash.

Get stronger over time

Training battle stats won't stop a strong mugger, but weak, cash-heavy players are the easiest targets. Higher defense makes small-time muggers skip you.

Scamming is allowed in Torn, and staff won't recover lost cash or items. Staff themselves are barred from scamming. The common ones:

You get two confirmation screens on every trade. Use both, slowly. If a deal looks too good, it's bait.

• Buy the Piggy Bank from the Missions shop in your first 2 weeks, if offered
• Invest spare cash in the City Bank on a 1 or 2 week term
• Keep only a few thousand dollars on hand at any time
• Pick 1–2 trusted players (faction leader, friend) for ghost trades
• Self-hospitalize or fly before listing items on the Item Market or bazaar
• Stash sale money before you heal or within 15 seconds of landing
• Withdraw from the bank only what you're about to spend
• Buy a Stock Ticker (50 points) once you have savings to park in stocks
• Use only established factions for faction vault deposits
• Check every trade twice; never send items or cash outside a trade
• Never share your login or hand over your property or company