Random email from blizz?

#0 - May 18, 2010, 7:43 p.m.

I received this email today...I know i certainly havent done anything to violate terms of use so im curious if this is a legit email.

Notification World Of Warcraft Account‏
From: [email protected] on behalf of [email protected] ([email protected])
Sent: Mon 5/17/10 11:45 PM
To: [player email]
Greetings!
This is an automated notification regarding the recent change(s)
made to your World of Warcraft account.

We have the evidence to prove that your account involved in the controversial game currency transaction .If your account is found violating Terms of Use, it can, and will be suspended/closed/or terminated.
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

In order to keep this from occurring, you should immediately verify that you are the original owner of the account.We highly recommend that you take this opportunity to verify your account information.To do so, simply click here:

[URL Removed]

For more information, click here for answers to Frequently Asked Questions or to contact the Blizzard Billing & Account Services team.

Sincerely,
Account Administration
Blizzard Entertainment

Arrestide

#4 - May 18, 2010, 8:58 p.m.

Hi Kronas--

This was definitely a scam email, so I'm glad you thought twice about it. I've removed the URL as well as your personal email, just so neither one is out in public.

These fake websites have gotten extremely sophisticated in the years since WoW has launched, to the point where even relatively web-savvy folks are getting fooled and logging into these fake URLs. I occasionally get emails from friends and family members of Blizzard employees, asking "omg why did you ban me" and not realizing it was a scam.

The link in the email often looks like a legitimate Blizzard address, but when you mouse over it (or visit it), will turn out to be something similar like "wow-acct-login" or "wowverify," etc.

There are more technical ways to identify a fake Blizzard email, which are highlighted in this Support article:
http://us.blizzard.com/support/article/25133

Hope this helps-- and watch those sneaky URLs!