Did I meet a white hat?

[NetNomad]

Also, just because someone gives you items doesn't mean that they're a hacker. White Hat typically refers to those hackers who try to counter the efforts of Black Hat hackers and/or give back to the community somehow. Either way, they have to have some hacking ability... and a lot of people posess hacked items without actually being hackers. You met an illegit, but probably not a hacker.

The Sacred Cloth and Tripolic Shield are the only ones on there that might be traded away, possibly... but when given away alongside probably hacked S-Ranks and an obviously hacked Red Ring, you can safely assume they're hacks/dupes as well. Yes, it is impossible to guarantee legitimacy of a traded item unless you saw it drop and traded for it on the spot... but that's no reason to use obvious hacks.