Account Banishment?

[Badious]

So I was playing WoW Last night, and went to bed, all fine and dandy...always play on my same PCs either at home(3 PCs at Home actually) or at work. I come into work this morning and all of sudden have a blizzard notice saying they investigated my account and it appears that it was being played by someone else? Now that seems a bit odd...went to bed at around 11pm CST got the email from Blizzard less than an hour later(11:59 to be exact)....I have been on my account a lot lately as I haven't had to work due to the flooding (free vacation, yeah!)..do you think this is why? Because I actually managed to play more than usual and actually level my 66(might have been 67 before this last week) Mage to 69 in the last week? I mean it's only three levels max hardly power leveling for a weeks worth of play and I have switched to my Warlock and played him also, so it's not like I've been grinding out gold or anything (I only have a little over 1kG on each toon)

Just seems quite odd that within an hour of logging off they banned my account, so of course now I'm stuck in limbo waiting to hear from them, cant post to customer support on their forum cause my account is locked...can't talk to anyone there because they don't have a phone number for Account Administration...so yeah..in any case, any clues or suggestions as to why they for no reason that I can tell banned my account? I have never let anyone play my account, I know I have no viruses or keyloggers...I don't even type my password in for the game I have a text file I just cut and past from that is a randomly generated password..so yeah..pretty hard to keylog Ctrl+C & Ctrl+V...I run up to date Symantec AV on all my machines so no viruses there....Ugh...kind of upsetting really when I am into work early when I am not supposed to be and was looking forward to getting a few quests done before 8 this morning...grrr....

Well I guess if somehow for some reason it was compromised after I went to bed last night, thanks blizzard for saving my mains Epics, maybe..I would be sad if I came in to work and found a naked Warlock stripped of all of his epic lootz

Thanks for listening to my rant...I know I know...wall of text crits you for 99999...thanks again.

Badious

[0Blackmage0]

Something like this happened to me once.. it was a really big mess to get everything back and normal (about a week and a half, Granted that what happened to me was that my account had been hacked and taken over)

Anyways Send an email to this person
[email protected]

and the Blizzard contact number is
1-800-59-BLIZZARD (800-592-5499)

[Zyonin]

Offtopic: @Blackmage, please stack your sig images vertically as to the horizontal layout you have now. For those of us with smaller screen resolutions, we have to scroll left to right to read the posts which is really annoying.

[Badious]

Originally Posted by 0Blackmage0 Something like this happened to me once.. it was a really big mess to get everything back and normal (about a week and a half, Granted that what happened to me was that my account had been hacked and taken over) Anyways Send an email to this person [email protected] and the Blizzard contact number is 1-800-59-BLIZZARD (800-592-5499)

Ugh right when I was on a streak to finally level my first Alt to 70 they kill my progess..how sad...will be calling blizzard for sure today.

Hmm so the phone number you gave says they can't help with Account Admin issues? So legit users are stuck waiting it out to hear back from the email I sent and fax I sent to them with my info? I don't get it. I hardly played my account for a few months, meaning only played for 1-2 hours like 3 nights a week at most, then starting Friday of last week ( June 13th) I start playing again due to time off..I manage to actually lvl my Mage ,and then BAM I get banned on the 22nd...WTF? Its not like I leveld from 60-70 in a week. I went from 66possibly 67 to 69 in a week..is that too much? I didn't gain a ton of gold at all..as I said just over 1k gold on both accounts I play constantly...nothing more..I am poor in the World of Warcraft standards..I use Ryas UI with only a few extra addons all from Here or WoWAce.com...I have no programmable keyboard no external programs...nothing that is bannable (only exe I ever run related to wow is WoWEcon, and that just collects info from SV file, and yet I am stuck unable to get anything done Sad sad..I have not been playing much due to RL stuff anyways so when I get a chance to actually play it'd be nice not get banned for actually playing my account...

Anyone have any other suggestions?

[Eas]

Originally Posted by Xinh Offtopic: @Blackmage, please stack your sig images vertically as to the horizontal layout you have now. For those of us with smaller screen resolutions, we have to scroll left to right to read the posts which is really annoying.

his sigs have always been vertical for me... i dunno, might be a setting i have somewhere.

anyway, back on topic. Good luck with this Badious! I had my account hacked a few weeks back, but all they wanted was to play my toons, I got to shoot em down good and hard when I got back on and they made a toon on some other account. Tried to tell me it was their account... I dunno, stupid people are stupid. *cue Seerah's sig*

[Badious]

Originally Posted by Eas his sigs have always been vertical for me... i dunno, might be a setting i have somewhere. anyway, back on topic. Good luck with this Badious! I had my account hacked a few weeks back, but all they wanted was to play my toons, I got to shoot em down good and hard when I got back on and they made a toon on some other account. Tried to tell me it was their account... I dunno, stupid people are stupid. *cue Seerah's sig*

Thanks, Im on eternal hold right now with Blizzard...wait times are over half hour they say..I am wondering if they did a blanket ban like they did two years ago of 59000 accounts..Like I said, I have no idea why I would have suddenly been banned when I was on and playing until 11pm last night and at 11:59 suddenly my account gets banned, one hour after I just logged off playing it...my poor little 69 mage is just sitting in one of the Mana Forges in Netherstorm waiting to kill Glacius's Handler!

[Petrah]

I'm not saying your account was compromised, but check out these threads anyways just to be on the safe side (it's a copy/paste, i'm sure you wont need the first thread).

*Important* Key-Loggers and Computer Security:
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/th...78038509&sid=1

*Account Compromise Info Center*
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/th...73308319&sid=1

Account Retrieval Tips and Suggestions
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/th...62836524&sid=1

[Badious]

Originally Posted by Silenia I'm not saying your account was compromised, but check out these threads anyways just to be on the safe side (it's a copy/paste, i'm sure you wont need the first thread). *Important* Key-Loggers and Computer Security: http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/th...78038509&sid=1 *Account Compromise Info Center* http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/th...73308319&sid=1 Account Retrieval Tips and Suggestions http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/th...62836524&sid=1

Thanks, I am on the phone with someone who is telling me the Account Admin Department has no Phone in their offices at all, and he can't transfer me to a supervisor at all, or tell me why my account was locked. So I told him I want a corporate phone number of someone who can help me.

And that phone call landed me nowhere...just told me it was locked and thats it... have to wait to hear back via email...I think I kind of upset that guy due to my constant chuckling at his telling me there was no phones in the Account Admin dept.

[Dreadlorde]

That sucks Badious , I hope you get your account back soon.

[Seerah]

It may take weeks. It just depends on how many people are in front of you. Someone in my guild had his account hacked and all items deleted recently, and he's also waiting. They can't really tell you much. All you can do is wait.

What they witnessed could have been done as far back as a few months ago - they do not ban accounts immediately, but rather put you on a list to check it out, and then they do some bans all at once.

Have you ever noticed anything odd about your account? Toons on different realms that you did not create (then again, they could have been deleted when a hacker was through with them), your character being in a different spot than you last left him, etc? Being disconnected repeatedly? (when someone logs onto your account from a different location, it disconnects you) Your friends thinking you've been online when you really weren't... Have you ever logged into the game or the Blizzard forums from a different computer, for which you cannot vouch for its security?

[Kaomie]

Originally Posted by Badious ... have a blizzard notice saying they investigated my account and it appears that it was being played by someone else?

I do not understand this part.

If you ever get some clarifications, I would be glad to know what they meant by that.

[Badious]

Originally Posted by Seerah It may take weeks. It just depends on how many people are in front of you. Someone in my guild had his account hacked and all items deleted recently, and he's also waiting. They can't really tell you much. All you can do is wait. What they witnessed could have been done as far back as a few months ago - they do not ban accounts immediately, but rather put you on a list to check it out, and then they do some bans all at once. Have you ever noticed anything odd about your account? Toons on different realms that you did not create (then again, they could have been deleted when a hacker was through with them), your character being in a different spot than you last left him, etc? Being disconnected repeatedly? (when someone logs onto your account from a different location, it disconnects you) Your friends thinking you've been online when you really weren't... Have you ever logged into the game or the Blizzard forums from a different computer, for which you cannot vouch for its security?

Never been kicked off while playing...never noticed any other toons but then again I don't really look at the other realms much all my toons I play regularly are on Hellscream..I have one on Dethecus I believe and a couple on Executus and maybe one on Shadow Council so I could see what an RP server was like..All of my toons have always been where I've left them upon logging on off..I think I have only ever logged on to the forums once from my in laws computer when I took my thumbdrive with me there, but again I cut and past my password, it's too long and hard to memorize so I have to cut and paste it wherever I go I have no idea why I would have been banned at all. It's quite odd.

Just for anyone who might able to help, see any addons that might get me banned???

!BugGrabber
Ace3
Align
Antagonist
ArkInventory
AtlasLoot
AtlasLoot_BCInstances
AtlasLoot_Crafting
AtlasLoot_RepFactions
AtlasLoot_SetsandPvP
AtlasLoot_WorldLoot
AutoBar
AutoBarConfig
Automaton
Blizzard_AuctionUI
Blizzard_BattlefieldMinimap
Blizzard_BindingUI
Blizzard_CombatLog
Blizzard_CombatText
Blizzard_CraftUI
Blizzard_GMSurveyUI
Blizzard_GuildBankUI
Blizzard_InspectUI
Blizzard_ItemSocketingUI
Blizzard_MacroUI
Blizzard_RaidUI
Blizzard_TalentUI
Blizzard_TradeSkillUI
Blizzard_TrainerUI
Bongos
Bongos_AB
Bongos_Options
BugSack
Capping
Cartographer
Cartographer_Data
Cellular
ClearFont2
CopyThat
CowTip
cyCircled
cyCircled_Vol
DBM_API
DBM_Battlegrounds
DBM_BlackTemple
DBM_GUI
DBM_Hyjal
DBM_Karazhan
DBM_Other
DBM_Outlands
DBM_Serpentshrine
DBM_Sunwell
DBM_TheEye
DBM_ZulAman
Decursive
DeuceCommander
DevTools
DrDamage
eePanels2
EnhancedColourPicker
Examiner
Fane
Fizzle
ForteWarlock
FuBar
FuBar_AmmoFu
FuBar_BattlegroundFu
FuBar_DurabilityFu
FuBar_MCPFu
FuBar_MoneyFu
FuBar_TopScoreFu
gdFont
GoGoMount
Grid
Incubator
LightHeaded
LightHeaded_Data_A
LightHeaded_Data_B
LightHeaded_Data_C
LightHeaded_Data_D
LightHeaded_Data_E
MiniFriends
Minimalist
myBindings2
Niagara
nQuestLog
Omen
OmniCC
OmniCC_Options
PingDir
PitBull
PowerAuras
PowerDisplay
Prat
Quartz
RatingBuster
Recount
SatrinaBuffFrame
SBFOptions
sct
SCT_Cooldowns
sct_options
ShardAce
SharedMedia
SimpleCombatLog
SimpleDrumAnnounce
simpleMinimap
Skillet
SLDataText
SmartBuff
SpellBinder
Tattle
TomTom
TrinketMenu
WhoDrop
WoWEcon_Pricemod
XLoot

Thanks again everyone, I just got an email from Blizzard saying they couldn't read my ID info so I scanned it in and blew it up in Pshop and lightened it, I wish I could just email it to them in full color, it'd be easier that way....grr..


I wonder, will they tell me why my account was locked? Or will I never know?

[Seerah]

Addons cannot get you banned. Blizzard does not support addons, but that just means that you can't go running to Blizzard when one of your mods breaks. Addons can only do what Blizzard allows them to.

Account sharing is against the TOU/EULA. Pretty much, I think they check IPs/locations of where your account is logged on at. If it logs in somewhere in NY and then an hour later in California, chances are it's not you, so they might flag it. This is also to prevent hackers from using accounts.

All of these hoops that they make you jump through is for your own protection.

[Kaomie]

Originally Posted by Seerah I think they check IPs/locations of where your account is logged on at. If it logs in somewhere in NY and then an hour later in California, chances are it's not you, so they might flag it.

I hope this is not the case. How would they know anyway? Based on the whois database entry on the Provider?
That would lead to quite a lot of false positives indeed. I change my IP almost weekly and happen to fire the client at work once every so often with entry point to the Internet all over the US. So I would have been very lucky. This is why I said I do not really understand the "it appears that it was being played by someone else" part and how they discover that.

[Badious]

Originally Posted by Kaomie This is why I said I do not really understand the "it appears that it was being played by someone else" part and how they discover that.

Completely agree..all my PC's at home would have come from the same originating IP since they all sit behind a router, makes no sense to me. Still havent heard back since I re-faxed my information to them again. Hopefully they get back to me sometime soon, Id like to make some BG's and Instance Runs tonight, to gear up my crappily geared mage.

If by chance they did see my account suddenly go from local to foreign I am glad they locked it, but they really should offer some kind of phone support for issues and allow digital images to count for faxes, seriously if you wanted to forge a document it'd be just as easy to do with a fax as it would with a digital image.

Its all kind of silly system to try and keep us safe, when it really obviously doesn't do that since you see and hear of so many getting their accounts hacked, I know of a guy that just a week ago got his account hacked while he was working and his friend called him and asked him if he knew he was currently running a Shadow Labs run...he obviously had no idea and had to call Blizzard on that one, yet my account that has not had that issue is the account they lock and ban.

I have been working with addons for quite some, so I know they can't get you banned just wanted to post my addons so people knew what I was working from, I have never bought gold, never bought power leveling and never ran any bots( unless you are speaking of the abbreviated version of Botanica..I have done plenty of Bot runs )

[septor]

Originally Posted by Xinh Offtopic: @Blackmage, please stack your sig images vertically as to the horizontal layout you have now. For those of us with smaller screen resolutions, we have to scroll left to right to read the posts which is really annoying.

Adblock them.

Problem solved.

[dafire]

Originally Posted by septor Adblock them. Problem solved.

http://www.wowinterface.com/forums/showthread.php?t=158

max allowed width for signatures is 435 .9

[tiker]

Originally Posted by Kaomie I hope this is not the case. How would they know anyway? Based on the whois database entry on the Provider? That would lead to quite a lot of false positives indeed. I change my IP almost weekly and happen to fire the client at work once every so often with entry point to the Internet all over the US. So I would have been very lucky. This is why I said I do not really understand the "it appears that it was being played by someone else" part and how they discover that.

They don't ban accounts just on IPs. I've logged in and played from my home (Ontario, Canada), at work, my parents place and my wife's home (Maine, USA) and have never had my account locked. My wife has also played from different locations between Canada and USA with no problems.

Using copy / paste for passwords does not mean keyloggers won't get passwords. Some are capable of recording clipboard contents so they log "Copy - contained text 'blah blah balh'".

But in the end, it could be something where you purchased something off the auction house which came from a hacked account without you knowing. It does suck though that you can't log in and play.

[Badious]

What If I sold something to a hacked account? Would I get banned for that? I haven't bought a lot off the AH lately but I have been selling a few things here and there, just put a Ced's Carver up..not sure really.

I got my account back this morning, but of course can't logon to see if my stuff is still there or what not since it is a maintenance day..Hopefully all is good and dandy when I log back in, they did not provide me with any info as to why my account was banned in their reply email saying my account was back in working order.. It'd be really nice to know for what reason I was banned. If it was something I did I'd like to know so I don't do it again whatever it was, if my account was hacked I'd like to know that too. I spent all last night scanning my home computers and this morning scanning my work computer for anything, everything came up a blank. Not an ounce of spyware on my main home machine, no viruses no nothing..so yeah..who knows, I guess I never will, but I am glad I have my account back for now. Keeping my fingers crosses that my account wasn't hacked and all my gear is still in place.

[tiker]

If you sold something and gold from a hacked account or bought from a gold selling site then it's possible.

When an account gets hacked and dismantled they will lock every account that's had any interaction with that hacked account. If you sold or bought anything from that account they will lock your account until they trace and verify everything in question, then they will remove the gold from the sale or the item you purchased.

If you did something wrong, they will tell you. If it's because you've been exposed to someone else's hacking they won't tell you. They'll just do their thing and will let you be on your way.

What are you using to scan your systems? Don't focus on just one scanner. Give your systems a scan with the Kaspersky Online scanner - http://www.kaspersky.com/virusscanner It has a better detection rate than Norton and McAfee.