Seriously?

#0 - May 24, 2010, 3:01 p.m.
Blizzard Post
Quit WoW 2 1/2 years ago
just unfroze my account yesterday and played for a few hours

came back today and there's an authenticator on my account that I didn't buy.

I don't click on suspicious links, share my account or email or anything.

Ugh.

#18 - May 24, 2010, 5:29 p.m.
Blizzard Post
I'm very sorry to hear that you're having difficulty accessing your account, Foottball. =/ Unfortunately, this is a very common trend: in many cases of compromise, an unauthorized party will associate an Authenticator with the account in order to prevent the registered user from logging in.

While this must be an incredibly frustrating situation for you, please know that Blizzard's In-Game Support and Account Services department will do all that they can to help you recover from your compromise. This includes recouping items, characters, and currency that were lost as a result.

To begin your recovery process, I'd encourage you to read through the following guide:



It should answer any questions that you might have about what to do to get your stuff back (so to speak). If not, let me know, and I'll be happy to address any additional concerns. :)




Also, quick note! We can assist with the removal of the unauthorized Authenticator through multiple points of contact:



Please note that each of these contacts may not yield an immediate response. We understand that being locked out of your account is incredibly inconvenient, though, so our representatives will do all that they can to assist you as quickly as possible.
#19 - May 24, 2010, 5:33 p.m.
Blizzard Post
Oops! Forget one thing (well, a couple of things).

Q u o t e:
I don't click on suspicious links, share my account or email or anything.


Since you're not sure how your account was compromised, I have a few questions for you about your account's security. Nothing major, but these questions should give you some food for thought and/or point you in a direction you hadn't yet considered:

    1) Is your scanning software running on the latest version? Each of the programs you've listed should have a button, tab, or drop-down option that will check for and then install any available updates. If you haven't used this option recently, please go ahead and do so now. Sometimes, if a certain scanning program isn't updated, it may miss specific, newer threats.

    2) Is your operating system up-to-date? Similarly, are all of your browser plugins (like Adobe Flash Player) up-to-date, as well? The latter is very important to check, as running an un-updated version of some plugins can lead to vulnerabilities in your system's security.

    3) Do you ever access (or have you ever accessed) your account from a different computer? If so, could that computer perhaps be at risk? Remember that you will need to examine all computers from which you've logged into the game client, the World of Warcraft forums, and/or Battle.net Account Management. All three of these locations require an account name and password.

    4) Do your use your account name and/or password as your login credentials for any other website? Perhaps a networking site like Facebook or Twitter or MySpace? Or a guild website? If so, this could have lead to your compromise.

    5) On a similar note, is your registered email address publicly available? A quick way to check is to plug your address into any online search engine. If the search returns results, then it's probably a good idea for you to update that piece of your contact information. Instead of simply using a different email address, though, my advice would be to set up a completely new address. When creating this new address, make sure that the username and password are unique. Don't use a username (e.g. character name, IM screen name, profile tag) or password that you already use online.

    6) Have you considered purchasing or downloading a Battle.net Authenticator for yourself? You can purchase one from our online store for $6.50 USD or, if you have a compatible mobile device, simply install the application. While Authenticators are not a "silver bullet" against compromise, they do offer an additional (and convenient) level of security. More information about both of these products may be found here: http://us.blizzard.com/support/article/24986


Lastly, you might want to try using Combofix or Spybot - Search and Destroy. Players have noted success using these two scanning programs, so you may want to give them a whirl. :)


Q u o t e:
hey just wondering, will the situation get any worse if I have to leave until the afternoon today ? (school)

like if I don't call and what not until then?


I think everything should be fine, especially since you've got the email in queue. Just try to reach us as soon as possible once you're settled.
#22 - May 24, 2010, 5:46 p.m.
Blizzard Post
Q u o t e:
I'm pretty sure that wasn't the case with me, because I just got a new computer.
New computer, Reopened my WoW account with a new card, Played for 1 hour, Came back 20 minutes later and was hacked...


It's possible that your account information was gleaned prior to the account becoming inactive. In some situations, malicious parties will "sit" on an account name and password for months; as a result, inactive accounts—or, like in your case, newly reactivated accounts—are sometimes compromised. =/