Its real simple to see if you are hacked or not. Go to battle.net, log in and it'll tell you what games you have and their status. Both times I got jacked, it showed there. It also showed that the hacker activated the account with their own VISA... genius
Odd, many many people have had their accounts compromised (I had one stripped of all its valuables) and Blizzard has restored their accounts.
If you aren't getting any help from a petition I'd try to call them directly and speak with a supervisor.
Unless of course, somehow they have evidence that 'proves' to them that you did in fact scam the system, then I suppose they'd hold their ground.
Well if someone logged in with my battle.net account and started farming / buying / whatever, then yeah it looks like I did it. My word against theirs.
Yeah, if only there was some way to track where someone logged into from what computer and when. I just can't put my finger on anything that would give you information based on the service provider, and location at all. Man I hope someone invents something that allows for the tracking of online activity so these criminals can be caught...
O wait there is. it is called the IP address. They can easily reference it against previous IP addresses you have logged in under. If you were actually hacked they would easily be able to tell.
Today I received an email from blizzard support. They have deleted / suspended my account due to "buying / selling of ingame currency / economy manipulation".
I have never bought gold in my life. When I reported this to Blizzard, they essentially put all the blame on me and refused to re-open my account. Apparently getting their own system hacked into is not their problem!
Has anyone else ever had this happen?
I got a email saying i was suspended for in game currency..When i wrote back and told them i have not played WOW for well over 3 years and who was paying for my character to play???..They wrote back and said they were sorry for the mistake...
I too wonder if blizzard is behind all this mess.Maybe blizzard will stoop to a new low with there dirty tatics..Who knows time will tell...
Some people rob you at gun point..Others will rob you at "Ball Point Pen"
OP having a firewall, antivirus and all other fancy stuff does not garentee you security. As soon as people realise this stuff simply helps and does not give you 100% security the better we will all be.
OP not matter the method the hackers got into your account its still your responsiblity. And shock horror they got access without you noticing, I think that was the idea.
You did mention curse.com, addons are probably the #1 cause of hacks, take more care and inspect the files you download, show the extentions to make sure theres no hidden .exe or .bat files. Never download the .exe version of the addon always the .zip. And dont install any auto-update program for your mods.
I find it amazing that I'm getting blamed for my account being hacked, and even after responding that it WAS a legitimate email from Blizzard I'm still being slammed for "being stupid and falling for a scam".
Here is the email I recieved (My account name is XXXXed out)
English speaking customers: Please refer to the start of this mail
Para los clientes españoles: Por favor vayan hasta el fin de este correo electrónico
***Notice of Account Closure***
Account Name: XXXXXXX
Reason for Closure: Terms of Use Violation -- Exploitative Activity: Abuse of the Economy
This account was closed because one or more characters were identified exchanging, or contributing to the exchange of, in-game property (items or gold) for "real-world" currency. This exchange process negatively impacts the World of Warcraft game environment by detracting from the value of the in-game economy.
Even if this behavior is the result of a third party accessing the account instead of the registered user (for example, a friend, family member, or leveling service) then the account can still be held responsible for the penalty because of the impact it had on the game environment.
We've found the above behavior is many times directly related to groups responsible for compromising World of Warcraft accounts; we take these issues very seriously. To better understand our position against exploitative activity and the risks involved, please review this article: http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/basics/antigold.html
The exploitative activity that took place on this account violates the World of Warcraft Terms of Use. We ask you take a moment to review these terms at http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/legal/termsofuse.html. Any recurring subscriptions on this account have been suspended to prevent further monetary charges.
Outside of sharing one's account info with "someone they trust" I'd have to say keyloggers from add-ons are the number source of malware and while the folks at Curse try to keep their site clean, sometimes something slips through.
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
I find it amazing that I'm getting blamed for my account being hacked, and even after responding that it WAS a legitimate email from Blizzard I'm still being slammed for "being stupid and falling for a scam".
You have to understand how many threads like this start from people who think they are bulletproof and the fault must be someone else. Please don't take it personal, but you are echoing some of those very same comments.
Listing your profession. Detailing that you "sweep" for viruses, have a firewall and "encrypt" your communications as if any of that makes you invulnerable. None of that makes you safe from yourself. They are good precautions, but that is as far as they go.
Let me ask you one quick simple question. Have you ever used the email account associated with your wow account for anything at all other than registering your wow account?
Its real simple to see if you are hacked or not. Go to battle.net, log in and it'll tell you what games you have and their status. Both times I got jacked, it showed there. It also showed that the hacker activated the account with their own VISA... genius
I highly doubt that is was their own Visa as it was probably either a stolen number or unregistered disposable which is a potentially big issue for someone who's account get hijacked.
However it happens it is obviously not an uncommon occurrence for WoW accounts to be hijacked. Losing access to a game is an annoyance, but Blizzard is doing little to protect their real customers from a stolen credit card being used in their name which has some serious potential to cause problems.
Blizzard hasn't been all that proactive against hijacking. The access code fobs were reactionary and are inconsistently available. If they really considered it a customer service priority then retail keys would come with those access code fobs or they would sell them in retail stores.
I know many dissagree, but when people are so incredibly stupid and reply to fake emails and blindly give up their account info...I do not think blizzard should help...how else will these people learn? When punishment comes to stupid people, then maybe they will be less stupid in the future. I have heard rumors that some MMO's are going to stop bailing out these morons, but I do not know if any actually have thus far.
I find it amazing that I'm getting blamed for my account being hacked, and even after responding that it WAS a legitimate email from Blizzard I'm still being slammed for "being stupid and falling for a scam".
Here is the email I recieved (My account name is XXXXed out)
English speaking customers: Please refer to the start of this mail
Para los clientes españoles: Por favor vayan hasta el fin de este correo electrónico
***Notice of Account Closure***
Account Name: XXXXXXX
Reason for Closure: Terms of Use Violation -- Exploitative Activity: Abuse of the Economy
This account was closed because one or more characters were identified exchanging, or contributing to the exchange of, in-game property (items or gold) for "real-world" currency. This exchange process negatively impacts the World of Warcraft game environment by detracting from the value of the in-game economy.
Even if this behavior is the result of a third party accessing the account instead of the registered user (for example, a friend, family member, or leveling service) then the account can still be held responsible for the penalty because of the impact it had on the game environment.
We've found the above behavior is many times directly related to groups responsible for compromising World of Warcraft accounts; we take these issues very seriously. To better understand our position against exploitative activity and the risks involved, please review this article: http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/basics/antigold.html
The exploitative activity that took place on this account violates the World of Warcraft Terms of Use. We ask you take a moment to review these terms at http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/legal/termsofuse.html. Any recurring subscriptions on this account have been suspended to prevent further monetary charges.
Today I received an email from blizzard support. They have deleted / suspended my account due to "buying / selling of ingame currency / economy manipulation".
I have never bought gold in my life. When I reported this to Blizzard, they essentially put all the blame on me and refused to re-open my account. Apparently getting their own system hacked into is not their problem!
Has anyone else ever had this happen?
As K said, Ive seen tons of accounts restored that were hacked. But this is something different, you are being banned. I had a friend banned for the same exact thing, economy manipulation or w/e they call it. I know he had never bought or sold gold, his gear and items alone would prove that much. He got the same response, they would not lift it nor would they even investigate it anymore. After 2 years of playing, he hasn't touched the game.
Well some of the emails even though they link directly towards the B-Net site are completely fake. I got an email today from "blizzard" saying that my account has been closed and there was a link in the email that said http://us.battle.net/ and I thought "Oh this is obviously just a hyperlink that says that it is linked to b-net" so I moused (never clicking on it of course) over it and low and behold the link was still to b-net. The only problem is, this isn't my wow accounts email, so there would have been no possible way to have this happen. I don't really understand if its possible to have a hyperlink and the url both link to the legit site and still put a keylogger on, but no matter what don't click links in the email, even if they look completely legit, links and all.
I had the same thing happen once, the person then put my character up on craigslist and even left the name of the character on there to intentionally get me banned, I got a temporary freeze on my account until luckily somehow they could prove it was not me. they didn't have access to my account but still caused this trouble
It is up to you to secure your computer and your account from intrusion and possible hacking.
Their system wasn't hacked, someone has either gotten hold of your password or infected your computer with a keylogger/password sniffer through something you downloaded, email virus, or visiting bad sites for you warcraft addons etc.
They can't be responsible for your poor security procedures can they?
Next time look after your system a bit better, and treat your warcraft account like your bank details, don't give it to anyone, lend it to anyone, install unknown addons from dodgy sites, don't open emails from unknown senders, and do regular scans for trojans and viruses etc and clean your system from adware and spyware constantly.
I'm a 3D animator / modeler for the gaming industry. I treat my computer like a high-end sportscar and scan / sweep / clean it regularly. Also I have a very strong firewall and connection encryption.
Only service I ever used was Curse.com for addons. How this happened is beyond me.
You just answered your own question. The Add-ons from Curse, which is the same place I got my key-logger that led to my own account getting hacked.
Though as others have said, Blizzard restored my account just fine afterwards. They can tell rather easily if the account was truly hacked or not (assuming it wasn't hacked by someone in your own home or neighbourhood), by comparing where the log-in IPs originated. In my case the people who hacked my account were in Russia, the Blizzard rep informed me, and as I live in and only logged in previously from California, it was clear I was not responsible.
I find it amazing that I'm getting blamed for my account being hacked, and even after responding that it WAS a legitimate email from Blizzard I'm still being slammed for "being stupid and falling for a scam".
Yeah, it's a standard form letter, with about as much actual blame in it as me saying bad driving causes accidents. My advice...call Blizzard, stop bothering us, we're not able to help, and as you can see, most people are not very sympathetic towards your indignation.
If you were hacked, contact Blizzard, there's a good chance your character will be restored at least somewhat, they'll tell you to check your system, and if you weren't, if you really did do the things that you shouldn't have done...you got what you deserved.
I find it amazing that I'm getting blamed for my account being hacked, and even after responding that it WAS a legitimate email from Blizzard I'm still being slammed for "being stupid and falling for a scam".
Here is the email I recieved (My account name is XXXXed out)
English speaking customers: Please refer to the start of this mail
Para los clientes españoles: Por favor vayan hasta el fin de este correo electrónico
***Notice of Account Closure***
Account Name: XXXXXXX
Reason for Closure: Terms of Use Violation -- Exploitative Activity: Abuse of the Economy
This account was closed because one or more characters were identified exchanging, or contributing to the exchange of, in-game property (items or gold) for "real-world" currency. This exchange process negatively impacts the World of Warcraft game environment by detracting from the value of the in-game economy.
Even if this behavior is the result of a third party accessing the account instead of the registered user (for example, a friend, family member, or leveling service) then the account can still be held responsible for the penalty because of the impact it had on the game environment.
We've found the above behavior is many times directly related to groups responsible for compromising World of Warcraft accounts; we take these issues very seriously. To better understand our position against exploitative activity and the risks involved, please review this article: http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/basics/antigold.html
The exploitative activity that took place on this account violates the World of Warcraft Terms of Use. We ask you take a moment to review these terms at http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/legal/termsofuse.html. Any recurring subscriptions on this account have been suspended to prevent further monetary charges.
I was recently the victim of having ym account hacked. It was not an email from Blizzard that informed me of this but from a guildie congratulating me on finally participating in BGs as I had gotten a Wintergrasp acheivement. Which is hilarious as at this time I was not playing wow and I was working a 12hr shift. So I tried to call Blizz, but it was after hours and sent them an email instead informing them that I had been compromised. By the next morning the account was closed and they had already begun to restore items. They sent me emails on how to regain control of my account that were very helpful. I then get a request to email/fax/or snail mail them a signed statement and photo ID to verify my ownership as I guess the hacker then sold my account to some poor schmoo who was probably emailing Blizz saying "OMG my account isn't working any more." . Leary to send them photo ID I called and verified some information over the phone and in 1 hr my account was back up and working. I was impressed with the service and the speed. I have since picked up an authenticator. I had to order the keychain as my LG Xenon sadly does not support this application.
Remember to be polite and provide them with the information they need to help clear you of any wrong doing. People will be way more willing to help out someone who asks please and says thank you.
It is up to you to secure your computer and your account from intrusion and possible hacking.
Their system wasn't hacked, someone has either gotten hold of your password or infected your computer with a keylogger/password sniffer through something you downloaded, email virus, or visiting bad sites for you warcraft addons etc.
They can't be responsible for your poor security procedures can they?
Next time look after your system a bit better, and treat your warcraft account like your bank details, don't give it to anyone, lend it to anyone, install unknown addons from dodgy sites, don't open emails from unknown senders, and do regular scans for trojans and viruses etc and clean your system from adware and spyware constantly.
Their system was probably not hacked, you can never be 100% sure of a thing like that, Microsoft got their hotmail hacked. There would probably be 100 threads like that if that was the case but you can never be really sure anyways even if it is 99.9999% chance that it is the OP who got hacked.
OP: I think it is time to increase the security on your computer. Get a better firewall and have the settings yanked up. Comodo is free and pretty good, or zonealarm. Also get your computer scanned for troyans online, http://housecall.trendmicro.com/ is pretty good. Your current antivirus might be compromised so you really should scan it.
When you done all this you need to change all your passwords.
I just got an email notification just like that a couple months ago. The funny thing is I hadn't used that account in about 2 years. I don't know if it was a phishing spam or real, I just deleted it because I don't play the game anyway.
Our spirit was here long before you
Long before us
And long will it be after your pride brings you to your end
Comments
oh... then.. try calling support.
This....
Its real simple to see if you are hacked or not. Go to battle.net, log in and it'll tell you what games you have and their status. Both times I got jacked, it showed there. It also showed that the hacker activated the account with their own VISA... genius
Yeah, if only there was some way to track where someone logged into from what computer and when. I just can't put my finger on anything that would give you information based on the service provider, and location at all. Man I hope someone invents something that allows for the tracking of online activity so these criminals can be caught...
O wait there is. it is called the IP address. They can easily reference it against previous IP addresses you have logged in under. If you were actually hacked they would easily be able to tell.
I got a email saying i was suspended for in game currency..When i wrote back and told them i have not played WOW for well over 3 years and who was paying for my character to play???..They wrote back and said they were sorry for the mistake...
I too wonder if blizzard is behind all this mess.Maybe blizzard will stoop to a new low with there dirty tatics..Who knows time will tell...
Some people rob you at gun point..Others will rob you at "Ball Point Pen"
OP having a firewall, antivirus and all other fancy stuff does not garentee you security. As soon as people realise this stuff simply helps and does not give you 100% security the better we will all be.
OP not matter the method the hackers got into your account its still your responsiblity. And shock horror they got access without you noticing, I think that was the idea.
You did mention curse.com, addons are probably the #1 cause of hacks, take more care and inspect the files you download, show the extentions to make sure theres no hidden .exe or .bat files. Never download the .exe version of the addon always the .zip. And dont install any auto-update program for your mods.
I find it amazing that I'm getting blamed for my account being hacked, and even after responding that it WAS a legitimate email from Blizzard I'm still being slammed for "being stupid and falling for a scam".
Here is the email I recieved (My account name is XXXXed out)
English speaking customers: Please refer to the start of this mail
Para los clientes españoles: Por favor vayan hasta el fin de este correo electrónico
***Notice of Account Closure***
Account Name: XXXXXXX
Reason for Closure: Terms of Use Violation -- Exploitative Activity: Abuse of the Economy
This account was closed because one or more characters were identified exchanging, or contributing to the exchange of, in-game property (items or gold) for "real-world" currency. This exchange process negatively impacts the World of Warcraft game environment by detracting from the value of the in-game economy.
Even if this behavior is the result of a third party accessing the account instead of the registered user (for example, a friend, family member, or leveling service) then the account can still be held responsible for the penalty because of the impact it had on the game environment.
We've found the above behavior is many times directly related to groups responsible for compromising World of Warcraft accounts; we take these issues very seriously. To better understand our position against exploitative activity and the risks involved, please review this article: http://www.worldofwarcraft.
For any disputes of this action, please visit the Exploitative Activity FAQ and Contact page here: http://us.blizzard.com/
Regards,
Blizzard Entertainment
www.worldofwarcraft.com
Outside of sharing one's account info with "someone they trust" I'd have to say keyloggers from add-ons are the number source of malware and while the folks at Curse try to keep their site clean, sometimes something slips through.
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
You have to understand how many threads like this start from people who think they are bulletproof and the fault must be someone else. Please don't take it personal, but you are echoing some of those very same comments.
Listing your profession. Detailing that you "sweep" for viruses, have a firewall and "encrypt" your communications as if any of that makes you invulnerable. None of that makes you safe from yourself. They are good precautions, but that is as far as they go.
Let me ask you one quick simple question. Have you ever used the email account associated with your wow account for anything at all other than registering your wow account?
I highly doubt that is was their own Visa as it was probably either a stolen number or unregistered disposable which is a potentially big issue for someone who's account get hijacked.
However it happens it is obviously not an uncommon occurrence for WoW accounts to be hijacked. Losing access to a game is an annoyance, but Blizzard is doing little to protect their real customers from a stolen credit card being used in their name which has some serious potential to cause problems.
Blizzard hasn't been all that proactive against hijacking. The access code fobs were reactionary and are inconsistently available. If they really considered it a customer service priority then retail keys would come with those access code fobs or they would sell them in retail stores.
I know many dissagree, but when people are so incredibly stupid and reply to fake emails and blindly give up their account info...I do not think blizzard should help...how else will these people learn? When punishment comes to stupid people, then maybe they will be less stupid in the future. I have heard rumors that some MMO's are going to stop bailing out these morons, but I do not know if any actually have thus far.
http://www.mmorpg.com/photo/543fc73d-85d8-4bb8-a5a5-1aa7afef2436
this one looks legit huh? Maybe i should send them all these details.
Oh yeah send them the info its from blizzard :P
Cause they wouldn't have all that info on file and they need to you give them the info.
I wonder how many people fall for this stuff
CHECK THE DOMAIN THAT IT WAS SENT FROM!! Mine was sent from hotmail and it was hidden.
As K said, Ive seen tons of accounts restored that were hacked. But this is something different, you are being banned. I had a friend banned for the same exact thing, economy manipulation or w/e they call it. I know he had never bought or sold gold, his gear and items alone would prove that much. He got the same response, they would not lift it nor would they even investigate it anymore. After 2 years of playing, he hasn't touched the game.
Well some of the emails even though they link directly towards the B-Net site are completely fake. I got an email today from "blizzard" saying that my account has been closed and there was a link in the email that said http://us.battle.net/ and I thought "Oh this is obviously just a hyperlink that says that it is linked to b-net" so I moused (never clicking on it of course) over it and low and behold the link was still to b-net. The only problem is, this isn't my wow accounts email, so there would have been no possible way to have this happen. I don't really understand if its possible to have a hyperlink and the url both link to the legit site and still put a keylogger on, but no matter what don't click links in the email, even if they look completely legit, links and all.
I had the same thing happen once, the person then put my character up on craigslist and even left the name of the character on there to intentionally get me banned, I got a temporary freeze on my account until luckily somehow they could prove it was not me. they didn't have access to my account but still caused this trouble
You just answered your own question. The Add-ons from Curse, which is the same place I got my key-logger that led to my own account getting hacked.
Though as others have said, Blizzard restored my account just fine afterwards. They can tell rather easily if the account was truly hacked or not (assuming it wasn't hacked by someone in your own home or neighbourhood), by comparing where the log-in IPs originated. In my case the people who hacked my account were in Russia, the Blizzard rep informed me, and as I live in and only logged in previously from California, it was clear I was not responsible.
Yeah, it's a standard form letter, with about as much actual blame in it as me saying bad driving causes accidents. My advice...call Blizzard, stop bothering us, we're not able to help, and as you can see, most people are not very sympathetic towards your indignation.
If you were hacked, contact Blizzard, there's a good chance your character will be restored at least somewhat, they'll tell you to check your system, and if you weren't, if you really did do the things that you shouldn't have done...you got what you deserved.
What more do you want?
And when you pass your mouse over those supposed links, does it still link to the same place?
Respect, walk
Are you talkin' to me? Are you talkin' to me?
- PANTERA at HELLFEST 2023
@OP:
I didn't want to quote that whole wall of text where you post the e-mail you received, but...
I received that exact e-mail. More than once. With plenty of others. And they're all in the junk section.
Yes, phishing mails usually follow one of...5-6 templates?
So yeah, don't want to be the one giving you the bad news but...you fell for the phishing mail.
Now, if mail to Blizz didn't work, then try calling them. Don't really see another way out.
I was recently the victim of having ym account hacked. It was not an email from Blizzard that informed me of this but from a guildie congratulating me on finally participating in BGs as I had gotten a Wintergrasp acheivement. Which is hilarious as at this time I was not playing wow and I was working a 12hr shift. So I tried to call Blizz, but it was after hours and sent them an email instead informing them that I had been compromised. By the next morning the account was closed and they had already begun to restore items. They sent me emails on how to regain control of my account that were very helpful. I then get a request to email/fax/or snail mail them a signed statement and photo ID to verify my ownership as I guess the hacker then sold my account to some poor schmoo who was probably emailing Blizz saying "OMG my account isn't working any more." . Leary to send them photo ID I called and verified some information over the phone and in 1 hr my account was back up and working. I was impressed with the service and the speed. I have since picked up an authenticator. I had to order the keychain as my LG Xenon sadly does not support this application.
Remember to be polite and provide them with the information they need to help clear you of any wrong doing. People will be way more willing to help out someone who asks please and says thank you.
Currently Playing: D3-ROS
Previously played: WoW, Tera, SWTOR, TSW, Rift, Defiance, GW2, Aion, LotRO, Rapplez, RoM, Dofus, LC, Requiem, WoKF, PW, etc
Waiting on: Wildstar
Their system was probably not hacked, you can never be 100% sure of a thing like that, Microsoft got their hotmail hacked. There would probably be 100 threads like that if that was the case but you can never be really sure anyways even if it is 99.9999% chance that it is the OP who got hacked.
OP: I think it is time to increase the security on your computer. Get a better firewall and have the settings yanked up. Comodo is free and pretty good, or zonealarm. Also get your computer scanned for troyans online, http://housecall.trendmicro.com/ is pretty good. Your current antivirus might be compromised so you really should scan it.
When you done all this you need to change all your passwords.
I just got an email notification just like that a couple months ago. The funny thing is I hadn't used that account in about 2 years. I don't know if it was a phishing spam or real, I just deleted it because I don't play the game anyway.
Our spirit was here long before you
Long before us
And long will it be after your pride brings you to your end