Banned for spamming, but never spammed!

#0 - May 4, 2010, 8:55 p.m.

My sister, who I recruited using the RAF system, was recently banned due to "spamming and advertising" or something like that... this is the information they included in the email sent to her:

"Account Action: Closure
Reason for Action: In-Game Chat Policy Violation - Advertisement and Spamming

This account was closed because a character on the account repeatedly abused World of Warcraft's in-game chat system. This abuse includes advertising third party services/websites and repeatedly spamming in-game chat channels. Abuse of this nature pollutes chat channels shared by all players and harms the game environment as a whole."

My sister has never spammed anything, unless her account was hacked... I know this because she only plays when I play, and she's only level 31 and doesn't really have a reason to speak in the trade or chat channels...

Has there been a recent banwave or something? Why didn't they cite exactly what she did when she was banned? She fears it was for /patting her pet pig too many times in a row, but I reassured her that such action would likely not have been taking for doing so. She only did it 4 times.

Because her account has been labelled as "closed", is her character recoverable? Will she be refunded for the game-time she is not able to use? Is anyone going to provide clarification? I can assure whomever needs to be assured that she is not guilty.

Malkorix

#1 - May 4, 2010, 8:57 p.m.

Q u o t e:
My sister, who I recruited using the RAF system, was recently banned due to "spamming and advertising" or something like that... this is the information they included in the email sent to her:

"Account Action: Closure
Reason for Action: In-Game Chat Policy Violation - Advertisement and Spamming

This account was closed because a character on the account repeatedly abused World of Warcraft's in-game chat system. This abuse includes advertising third party services/websites and repeatedly spamming in-game chat channels. Abuse of this nature pollutes chat channels shared by all players and harms the game environment as a whole."

My sister has never spammed anything, unless her account was hacked... I know this because she only plays when I play, and she's only level 31 and doesn't really have a reason to speak in the trade or chat channels...

Has there been a recent banwave or something? Why didn't they cite exactly what she did when she was banned? She fears it was for /patting her pet pig too many times in a row, but I reassured her that such action would likely not have been taking for doing so. She only did it 4 times.

Because her account has been labelled as "closed", is her character recoverable? Will she be refunded for the game-time she is not able to use? Is anyone going to provide clarification? I can assure whomever needs to be assured that she is not guilty.

I may not have much to add, but hopefully I can provide a little guidance. If you can provide me the name and realm of a character on your sister's account, that should allow me to shed a little light on the situation.

Malkorix

#3 - May 4, 2010, 9:31 p.m.

Q u o t e:
I'd be happy to. The realm name is Jaedenar, and her character is named Koggra, a level 32 druid. if that matters at all.

Unfortunately, it appears that your sister's account may indeed have been compromised =(. At this point, the most important thing to do is to ensure that the computers you play World of Warcraft from are fully secured. These threads can provide useful guidance in that regard:

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

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

After that's done, and the computers are fully secured, the next step is to see about recovering her account. This thread can act as a step by step handbook in that effort:

** Account Compromise Info Center **
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=14318909866&sid=1

Good luck! I hope our staff can help her get back on her feet and playing again soon!

Malkorix

#5 - May 4, 2010, 10:01 p.m.

Q u o t e:
Thank you very much; we got through to a billing and accounts agent who got her account back up and running. I appreciate your help and prompt response! :)

You are very welcome! I hope everything works out soon.