** Account Compromise Info Center **

Due to an increase in concerns regarding compromised accounts, we’ve opted to consolidate as much information on the topic as possible into a single comprehensive thread.

You can make use of the table of contents in most web browsers by typing ctrl-f, and then inputting the number of the section you want to locate.

X.X IMPORTANT PLEASE READ


1.0 Recovering Access

1.1 Account Recovery
1.2 Contacting Billing


2.0 Initiating An Investigation

2.1 Submit An In-Game Petition
2.2 Contact Account Administration


3.0 Compromise Issues

3.1 Transferred Character Disputes
3.2 ID Confirmation & Fax Issues
3.3 My Account Was Banned!
3.4 I’m Not Getting Emails!


4.0 Account Retrieval

4.1 All Account Retrievals Must Have
4.2 Helpful Faxing Tips
4.3 Additional Points

X.X IMPORTANT PLEASE READ:

We realize that World of Warcraft is a community, and we applaud that many have taken it upon themselves to submit reports of potential account compromises on behalf of their friends.

Unfortunately, until we are contacted by the account owner (either via the email address registered to the affected account or via in-game petition from the affected account) we may be unable to initiate an investigation or take any action. It is best to refer your friend to this thread for all the information they need to get back into the game.

Please keep in mind that once you’ve submitted your case for investigation that the process can take some time. Our investigative staff will do everything they can to restore things to normal, but while we’re happy to do our best to help, no restoration is ever guaranteed.

It is very helpful to our staff if you refrain from submitting additional petitions or emails requesting updates. Should more than 2 weeks pass without a response, it may be appropriate to submit a petition to confirm that everything is proceeding as it should.

1.0 Recovering Access

In many cases when your account is compromised your password may be changed. Before we can initiate an investigation, it is first necessary to recover access to the account and confirm your identity as the rightful account owner. Fortunately, there are several methods to do so.

1.1 Account Recovery

Amongst the fastest methods to retrieve access to your account is via the Account Recovery page:

https://www.worldofwarcraft.com/loginsupport/

If you no longer remember the answer to your secret question, please refer to our Billing & Account Services page:

http://us.blizzard.com/support/article.xml?articleId=21469

1.2 Contacting Billing

If either of the above methods does not yield access, or if there are further issues, then it may be desirable to contact our Billing & Account Services personnel directly:

Billing & Account Services

Phone Support - 1 (800) 59-BLIZZ (1 (800) 592 5499)
Live Representatives Available Mon-Fri, 8am to 8pm PST
E-mail Support - [email protected]

If you are located in Australia you should use 1-800-041-378 if you cannot get through with the number above.
If you are located in Singapore use 800-2549927 if you cannot get through with the number above.
Latin American and International callers without access to our 800 numbers may use: (949) 955-0283

2.0 Initiating An Investigation

After you’ve recovered access to your account, your next step is to initiate an investigation. You can accomplish this one of two ways. You can submit an in-game petition, and a Game Master will be happy to take your report and submit the information. Alternatively, you can send an email from the email address registered to your account to our Account Administration department directly. In either case, please include the following information:

> Realms on which you have affected characters
> List of affected characters
> Brief list of what appears to be missing (gold, trade skills, characters deleted)

2.1 Submit An In-Game Petition

Submitting an in-game petition is an effective way of reporting a potential compromise. If you’ve never submitted an In-Game Petition before, then the following steps may be helpful:

Click the Help Request button, which looks like a red question mark on the lower right side of your screen.

Click on each of the following options as they appear.
>Open a Ticket
>Issues that GMs can assist with
>Character
>Report Character Issue
>Include the details in the bullet points above (realms on which you play, which characters seem to be deleted or missing items, and what appears to be missing).

2.2 Contact Account Administration

Sometimes it may be impractical to contact us in-game to report a report compromise. In such a case, the best means to do so is to contact Account Administration directly. There are two methods to do so.

You may use the webform:

http://us.blizzard.com/support/webform-us.xml?gameId=11

Or contact them via email:

[email protected]

Note: It is extremely important that you contact Account Administration exclusively from the email address that is registered to your account. We are unable to accept contact from any other source.

3.0 Compromise Issues/Complications

There are sometimes more unusual issues associated with an account compromise. Hopefully the information included here will enable you to resolve such issues as swiftly as possible.

3.1 Transferred Character Disputes

You may find that in the course of an account compromise that one or more of your characters was transferred to a different realm or account. It is possible to dispute such character transfers in some cases, though time is of the essence. If a character was transferred a substantial amount of time ago, then it may not be possible to return them to their original location, however.

To dispute a Character Transfer, please use the Paid Character Transfer Webform:

http://us.blizzard.com/support/chartransferwebform-us.xml

note: this form may be effective even in the case of free realm transfers.

3.2 ID Confirmation & Fax Issues

Occasionally, there can be issues with Identification confirmation. In these cases, the issue at hand is generally related to the state of the fax that is received by our Account Administration department, or the status of the actual identification that is provided.

For issues relating to faxed ID confirmation, please refer to:

http://us.blizzard.com/support/article.xml?articleId=21491

The Account Administration Fax numbers are:
(949) 725-7972
(949) 725-6341

3.3 My Account Was Banned!

Sometimes an account that is compromised will be used for malicious activities. In such a case, an account may be actioned, banned or locked for activities that take place during the compromise. If this occurred with your account, then there are some steps that can be taken to resolve the issue. It is worthy of note that account security is the responsibility of the account holder, as are any activities that occur on the account. That said, if it is possible to verify that an account compromise took place, then we may be able to help rectify the situation.

The appropriate recourse is to contact our Account Administration department as soon as possible:

[email protected]

3.4 I’m Not Getting Emails!

One of the primary means by which investigators, Game Master, and Account Administration representatives will attempt to reach you is by email. In some cases, there may be issues with certain email clients which can make it seem as though you are not being contacted appropriately.

To ensure that you receive emails from us, please refer to this page on our Support Site:

http://us.blizzard.com/support/article.xml?articleId=21485

4.0 Account Retrieval

In order to protect our community, our Account Administration department may often issue account locks and require our holders to prove their identity. This is done not only to ensure the account's safety, but the information associated with it. We realize this may be a confusing and frustrating process and so have created a list of tips and suggestions to hopefully alleviate some concerns.

Please bear in mind that this information is subject to change.


Should you require a Notary, please confirm all information below by consulting your local Notary Public and PDF by Account Administration. Valid forms of identification may vary from location to location, as well as between retrieval types.

4.1 All Retrievals Must Have

• (If required)Notarized Notary form, signed and sealed by a Notary Public (completed at your appointment)
  
• Retrieval Form (PDF included with an email sent by Account Administration)
  
• Valid ID (cannot be expired)

4.2 Helpful Faxing Tips

• Make a black & white photocopy of your information, this way everything is already in gray scale
  
• Enlarge the ID by about 100% and up its brightness
  
• Ensure that the writing is legible; use block letting if necessary
  
• Have all pages go through in one submission; multiple, consecutive submissions will not count
  
• Fax a copy of your submission to yourself first to see how the pages will look once sent; adjust size, writing, and brightness accordingly
  
• If, after 48 hours, you haven’t heard back, email [email protected] and resend

4.3 Additional Points

• Birth certificates can be used if you are under legal age; however, in certain provinces and countries, the “age of majority” varies. Make sure that you know what the age of majority is where you live, as it may be different than US law.
  
• All Notary retrievals must be mailed in. Fax submissions are no longer accepted for this particular request.
  
• If you're having trouble with the faxing process (that is, having it go through and appear legible), you're more than welcome to create a parcel with everything included and ship it off via normal postal service. This will take longer, but will ensure readability.

Original post found here: http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=6762836524&sid=1