Blizzard customer service is horrid.

Q u o t e:
I appreciate the help I really do, but I've already done all of the necessary scans and the like. I can't get Blizzard to help recover my account at this point and its quite frustrating not even getting a response (besides automated) from them.

I'm sorry to hear that your account was compromised, Stp, and that you've experienced some issues getting in touch with our staff.

Let's take this from the top. I want to help you recover from this compromise and get everything on track. Part of that is making sure that your system is secure, though. To date, our systems have not been compromised. We are extremely well protected - please recall that we have our own confidential information to protect as well! Ultimately, it is much easier for these exploitative agencies to challenge the security of a home user, than it would be to intrude on our systems.

With that in mind, if you are to take the steps that are necessary to properly secure your system, it is vital to recognize that the compromise originated from somewhere within your domain. That doesn't necessarily mean that your system was infected (though it might be). It's possible that you: accidentally responded to a phishing email, visited a phishing copy of our account management page, logged in once from an infected system, someone who has access to your account information practiced poor security, etc. etc. etc. There are literally dozens of potential breaches.

It sounds like you already have a handle on how to secure your system, but just as an addition to that, you might find these links helpful:

http://us.battle.net/security/

** Computer Security Recommendations **
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=1778038509&sid=1

Blizzard Authenticator
http://us.blizzard.com/support/article.xml?articleId=24660
http://us.blizzard.com/store/search.xml?q=authenticator

Mobile Authenticator
http://us.blizzard.com/support/article.xml?articleId=26109

I assume that the account you are posting from is not the affected account. Can you tell me the name and realm of a character on the account you believe to be compromised?

Q u o t e:
I already had all of that software and ran all the scans prior to his post (one at a time), like I said before he posted it. I don't have an authenticator and I've sent numerous emails to Blizzard with no response. I've called the 800 number 10-20 times with no luck of getting through. I've received scam "Blizzard" emails but I knew they were fake. [email protected] etc. is fake.

You might find that it's possible to get into the hold queue for our Account Services telephone line if you keep a ready finger on the redial button. Calling in once a day (for example) is much less likely to meet with success.

Also, while wowaccountadmind@blizzard.com is fake, [email protected] is not.

My only intention at this point is to help an obviously frustrated player. Whether they came out "swinging" is irrelevant at this point - I'd like to ask everyone to strive for something resembling civility. Failure to achieve a tone approaching civility will raise my ire.

Q u o t e:
One characters name is "illusiv" on the realm "Lightbringer"

Thanks for the information. It hasn't quite been a week since you brought this issue to our attention, but I'm pleased to see that you were able to contact our Billing department regarding the Authenticator attached to your account via email today.

The email you were sent on the 27th from our Account Administration team was real, and accurate however. You might want to refer to this section of our Account Compromise Info Center:

http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=14318909866&sid=1

Q u o t e:

If your account was suspended due to actions taken while your account was compromised, it may be necessary to dispute the account action by contacting our Account Administration department via email at [email protected]. You can also report the compromise itself via this address. Be sure that any contact with Account Administration occurs exclusively from the email address registered to your account.

The fastest method to get the Authenticator removed and to regain access to your account would be to continue to contact our Billing staff directly via telephone.

Q u o t e:
That'd be nice if I didn't have a life and could sit and redial the customer service line 24/7

The simple reality of the situation is that there are many players in line ahead of you. We do our utmost to help everyone that comes to us for assistance, as soon as we can. As it stands, there is a huge number of incoming requests for all kinds of issues.

If you would prefer not to 'sit and redial the customer service line', then the other option would be to wait for responses to your emails - but that can take several days. I was merely presenting the best path toward success in this case.

Q u o t e:

If the customer service staff is that overwhelmed, it would stand to reason that a company of this size would increase the number of customer service staff available to assist with these issues.

Im posting this on my 3rd wow account that is supposed to be linked with my main account through the raf system but is somehow not linked as it should be. Im sure this issue is very common and Im also sure that it can be fixed simply and quickly BUT, theres noone available to offer any help. And before it is suggested, I have 2 emails, an ingame ticket pending and sat on hold for 1hour and 47 minutes waiting for an answer that never came. Come on guys, I love this game, why does it have to be like this?

While your concern is important, please do not derail another player's thread with your own issue.

Q u o t e:
It doesnt take many qualifications to hire 500 people, train them on some basic tiers of customer service and teach them to answer the phone in a timely manner. Theres a 100% chance that many of these problems people come to this forum looking for help with problems of the most basic nature but they end up making a big deal about it simply because there is noone there to answer the phone and assure them that help is on the way and that we arent being ignored.

Takes 10 minutes to teach someone to answer the phone and say "Hi, we are here to help you, you arent being ignored, please be patient and Ill make sure you are taken care of". And, yes it really is that simple.

Actually, it really isn't. Our Account Services staff handle potentially sensitive information and are the recipients of extensive training. They are also highly qualified in their particular roles. They aren't 'phone monkeys'.

The assumption that it is 'simple' or 'easy' to staff these positions with qualified personnel is simply incorrect. We realize that the current wait times are untenable and that we have a long way to go regarding how quickly we can reach our players - especially regarding billing and account service concerns. We are improving our staffing levels, however, as well as seeking other methods to reach our customers more swiftly. Change takes time though, and in the meantime, we are still seeing a very large number of incoming requests. While we are working to reach every one of our players as quickly as we possibly can, there is a queue - and thus, a wait.

Q u o t e:
The answers that have been provided are not adequate... sorry, but this is not how customer service is supposed to work. And yes, I finally got into the hold queue (luckily a friend redialed for me) and now waiting for an hour , oh happy day Blizz.

I'm glad that you're in queue now. There's likely a wait, but I hope our staff can lend you a hand soon.

Q u o t e:
Sorry but the rep is going to hear how terrible Blizz's CS is, its that simple.

Actually, if you want to provide feedback regarding the wait times, you can do so constructively via the Suggestions forum, or via email at [email protected]. There is literally no reason to express those frustrations to the representative you will get into contact with, as making any changes are well out of their purview.

That's about enough of that.