World of Warcraft

This is a continuation of our compromised account sticky.
You can find the first part at http://eu.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/900641512

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TL;DR?                 We've turned the instructions here into a video on YouTube!                 http://bit.ly/qIJc3Y
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Please note that new forum posts regarding compromised accounts will usually be locked and directed to this thread. We ask that you read through the information here before posting new questions, as it should provide answers to the most common questions. The name and realm of one of your characters can greatly assist us in looking into your individual situation, but please do not post your email address or account name. Please also note that we will delete off-topic comments from this thread.

If you’re reading this thread it’s likely that your account has been compromised, and your items and gold stolen from it. Don’t panic! There are ways to restore the integrity of your account, and in most cases the restoration of lost characters, items, and/or gold is completely possible.

This thread has a lot of information that we recommend reading through in full, but if you prefer you can jump to the section that is most relevant to your account:

Frequently Asked Questions

http://eu.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/2226268467#2

• The Meaning of ‘Compromised Account’
• Account password has been changed
• Missing email after requesting a password
• Waiting Time
• Authenticator Issues
• Account has been locked after contacting Blizzard
• Online-Trading & Suspensions
• Someone you know has had their account stolen
• Guild Bank Theft
• Characters Moved Between Realms
• Changing Realm/Race/Faction
• Merged to Battle.net

Securing Your Computer

http://eu.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/2226268467#3

Unable to Login

http://eu.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/2226268467#4

Items & Gold Missing

http://eu.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/2226268467#5

Further Reading (and Viewing!)

http://eu.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/2226268467#6

Please keep in mind that despite the fact that compromised accounts are considered to be one our upmost priorities, there is currently some delay due solely to a rise in malicious activity. We are working to address this so that we can return your account to as quickly as possible, and in the meantime we hope that you’ll accept our thanks for your patience.

Frequently Asked Questions

• What does the phrase ‘compromised account’ actually mean, and why is it important?
  We use this term to describe accounts that have been taken control of by someone other than the registered owner. Sometimes this is done for the purposes of acquiring the gold contained within, and other times it’s simply a disagreement between friends that have shared their login information.
  
  It’s important to understand that common phrases such as ‘hacked’ are misleading and suggest that there has been some sort of all out ‘attack’ on your account, when in fact account details are usually obtained through websites and emails that pretend to be operated by us, or through the use of software downloaded to a computer that you use to play the game.
  
  More information about how to spot and protect yourself against this kind of account theft can be found in the Further Reading (http://eu.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/2226268467#6) section below.


• My password seems to have been changed and I can no longer access my account.
  If you find that you have been locked out of your account and the password you use no longer works, please follow the steps outlined in the Unable to Login (http://eu.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/2226268467#4) section below.


• I have followed these instructions to retrieve my password, but have not received a mail. Did I do something wrong?
  If you do not receive an email with your password then it is very likely that your registered email address was changed by the person who has infiltrated your account. You will need to contact our account support team, details of which can be found in the Unable to Login (http://eu.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/2226268467#4) section below.
  
  Another reason that you may not be receiving the email is that there may be an unauthorised mail forward. It is vital that you secure your email account to prevent further theft; malicious parties may still be able to obtain your account details through your email if not properly checked. To guide you through this, please take a read through this article on our support site:
  http://us.blizzard.com/support/article.xml?locale=en_US&articleId=28585


• How long does it take for Blizzard to reply to me/restore a compromised account?
  Our typical response time for dealing with compromised accounts has been considerably reduced in recent weeks and we continue to work on improving our efficiency in this regard. However, it may still take up to 5 days for us to complete our investigation and restoration.


• I get asked for an authenticator code when I try to login, what’s going on?
  This happens when the person responsible for the theft of the account uses a Battle.net Authenticator in an attempt to make it more difficult for us to assist you.
  
  The truth, however, is that our ability to recover your account and reimburse lost items is completely unaffected, and the necessary steps remain relatively unchanged.
  
  Should you find yourself in this situation, please follow the steps outlined in the Unable to Login (http://eu.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/2226268467#4) section below so that we can remove the authenticator for you.


• I contacted a member of the Customer Support team about my compromised account, but they locked the account! Did I do something wrong?
  In most cases when an account is compromised and reported directly to our support teams, we can reset your password and reimburse any lost property without the need to lock the account. However, in situations where we feel that the account is in significant risk of further loss, we may temporarily lock it so that your ownership can be properly verified. If this is the case, you should receive an email with further instructions.
  
  If for any reason you don’t receive an email or you feel that your account has been locked in error (e.g. you’d already contacted us and had your account unlocked), please contact us using our support web form details of which can be found in the Unable to Login (http://eu.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/2226268467#4) section below.


• I’ve received an email from Blizzard telling me that I’ve been banned for ‘involvement in online-trading’ and/or ‘use of 3rd party software’! Why?
  Compromised accounts are, unfortunately, often used by those responsible for exploitation, such as advertising or ‘farming’ for gold. These mails and the subsequent suspension are part of our preventative measures, and prevent further damage to your account. The only way to gain access again is to speak to us first, something you will likely need to do anyway.
  
  Rest assured that you will not be held responsible in these situations, and we will completely remove any warnings/suspensions once your ownership of the account and the circumstances have been verified.


• My friend is at work/school/etc, but their character is logged on! It looks like he has been compromised – is there anything I can do?
  Absolutely! Please submit a ticket to us in-game with the name and realm of your friend’s character, and any information you might have that could be useful. Additionally, you can help your friend by linking them to this thread for advice on what to do and who to contact.


• Our guild bank has been robbed! What do we do/who should make a ticket?
  Guild banks are reimbursed as part of the usual process of investigating a compromised account, and so we simply need the affected player to contact us as they would normally. It’s important to note that recovered items will be returned directly to the guild master, not the player that was compromised.


• One or more of my characters was transferred to another realm! Can I be moved back?
  Your characters will usually be returned to their original realms automatically provided that you did not willingly share your account details with a friend, for example. We recommend mentioning the fact that characters have been moved to other realms when contacting us, just to be absolutely clear that you wish us to investigate for you.


• I want to change realm/race/faction – will this affect my position in the queue or prevent reimbursement?
  You are free to change any of your characters’ race or faction or even to transfer them to other realms, and we will continue the investigation and reimbursement as normal. However, it’s preferable if you wait until everything has been returned to you before using our paid services.


• What’s Battle.net and how does it relate to why I can’t login?
  In mid-November 2009 we introduced our unifying account platform Battle.net (http://eu.battle.net/) and asked players to merge their existing WoW accounts into this new system. Essentially this replaces your old login name with your Battle.net email address and allows you to use a single address to access any WoW accounts connected to it.
  
  In some rare cases, previously unmerged accounts are sometimes connected to the Battle.net account of the player responsible for the account theft, preventing you from merging it to your own and logging in.
  
  Should you find yourself in this situation don’t worry; it’s something that we can help you to correct, and you’ll need to follow the steps outlined in the Unable to Login (http://eu.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/2226268467#4) section below.

Securing Your Computer

Please understand that Blizzard takes all aspects of security very seriously, and to that end we have invested heavily into ensuring that compromised accounts do not originate from us. If your account is broken into, the explanation simply has to be malicious software (discussed in this section) or some form of phishing. Additionally, remember that sharing your account information with a friend or family members means their computer is a possible avenue of attack.

Accounts are often compromised through the use of software that covertly installed on your computer by those responsible. This software is known by many names, some examples being ‘keyloggers’, ‘Trojans’, or sometimes simply ‘a virus’.

It’s very important that you check your computer and any others than you use to access World of Warcraft for this possibility, as failure to do so will likely mean that the account is put at risk of theft again in the future.

Once you are certain that your computer is completely free of this software, please take a look at the steps outlined in the Unable to Login (http://eu.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/2226268467#4) section below.

Unable to Login

Before contacting us, please be absolutely certain that you’ve checked for the possibility of malicious software that could be used to obtain your account details again. Check out the Securing Your Computer (http://eu.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/2226268467#3) section above.

Many players find that they are able to recover their account simply by resetting their password, thus allowing them to access the game almost immediately and saving a considerable amount of time. This can be done through the Battle.net password retrieval page, found here:
http://eu.battle.net/account/support/password-reset.xml

If this helps and you’re able to login, consider jumping ahead to the Items & Gold Missing (http://eu.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/2226268467#5) section below. However, if you are not able to retrieve your password or find that you’re asked for an authenticator code that you don't have, continue reading.

Our account support team can usually help when you're simply unable to login. To contact them in these situations you'll need to use our Account Recovery Webform. This can be found by clicking on the Can't log in? link underneath your account name and password when trying to log into Battle.net. Alternatively you can click this link to take you to the direct page:

http://eu.battle.net/account/support/account-recovery.html

This will help you recover your account and begin the restoration of any missing items you may have. However the speed of the process is dependant on how many other players have also requested this service; there may be a perfectly normal period of several days before you hear back. Whilst you are waiting please do read through the Further Reading section below.

Please be aware that there may be other circumstances surrounding your inability to log into the game. We would ask that you check the realm status page and your e-mail before filling out this form. It may be that the realms are down due to maintenance or that you are unable to log in due to other reasons than account compromise.

Items & Gold Missing

If you contacted us through the web form or over the phone to recover ownership of your account, it’s highly likely that an investigation is already pending and no further action on your part will be necessary. If you have any questions though, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Once you are able to log into the game and access your characters, you will likely find that some or all of your items have been sold or destroyed, and that your gold has been taken. Please don’t worry! This is quite a common outcome of compromised accounts, and we are able to recover lost property in the vast majority of cases.

Simply open a ticket using the red ? icon along the action menu at the bottom of the screen, briefly describing the circumstances in the text box provided. From here our in-game support team will investigate the matter for you and attempt to reimburse all that was taken, including gold, items, guild bank contents and even deleted characters.

Once submitted, your help request will be placed in our queue and we’ll respond as soon as possible. Please keep in mind that we reply to help requests in the order that we receive them, and so there may be a perfectly normal period of several days before you hear back.

While waiting, please take a look at our Further Reading (http://eu.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/2226268467#6) section below.

Further Reading (and Viewing!)

By far the best way to protect your account is with a Battle.net Authenticator, available as a physical token or as a download for most mobile phones available in Europe. You can find out more in the following articles:

Video: How to use the Battle.net Physical Authenticator

http://bit.ly/r79C9w

Battle.net Authenticator FAQ

http://eu.blizzard.com/support/article/36010

Video: How to use the Battle.net Mobile Authenticator

http://bit.ly/pFGVhF

Battle.net Mobile Authenticator FAQ

http://eu.blizzard.com/support/article/35970

If you’re waiting for a reply to your email or ticket, or simply interested in finding out more about preventing account theft in the future, take a look at these support site articles that may be of interest to you:

Video: WoW - Account security： General tips

http://bit.ly/q13nPo

Video: Battle.net Mobile Alerts

http://bit.ly/IxkPqM

*IMPORTANT* - Account Security

http://eu.blizzard.com/support/article/37473

Computer and Account Security

http://eu.blizzard.com/support/article/19385

Security Software

http://eu.blizzard.com/support/article/29142

Protecting the citizens of Azeroth is extremely important to us. Our new Battle.net Account Security Awareness page (http://eu.battle.net/en/security/) provides helpful advice on what you can do to safeguard your computer, how to spot scams, and tried-and-true methods to help prevent account compromises.

We'll also be posting new tutorial videos on our Blizzard Customer Support YouTube channel periodically, so please subcribe:

Blizzard Customer Support on YouTube

http://bit.ly/ozGji3

Finally, remember that buying gold and/or power levelling services can severely impact the security of your account and lead to it being compromised. Please don't do it!

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Good luck getting your account recovered Huntershoote and if you have any other questions then please ask. :)

Hello Dambob,

If you’ve already reported the situation to us then you’ve done precisely the right thing, but I’m slightly confused by your desire to speed things up as it looks like the investigation and restoration of your account and lost items was already completed about an hour ago. :)

Please ensure that you check your registered email, as you’ll likely have a password reset mail waiting for you (potentially in your ‘Junk’ or ‘Spam’ folders, so please check there also!), and finally please make sure you’ve taken the opportunity to fully scan and secure your PC before you access your account once more. The following thread should hopefully prove helpful with this;

[Guide] How to SCAN and SECURE your PC - Part II
http://eu.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/1820913657

Greetings Sztani,

I’m sorry to hear about your account compromise, but I notice that our support team appears to have already been able to reverse these Character Transfers (as well as completing the investigation into any lost items or gold as a result of the incident) much earlier this morning, several hours before you made this post even. :)

You should hopefully have received at least a web ticket response to your original report, but likely also an email notifying you that the help request had been answered, and if you check your characters you should already find them returned to their previous state prior to the compromise.

If you notice any other issues, however, please don’t hesitate to submit a further in-game or web ticket!

Indeed Forbobssake, in fact this is covered in the Unable to Login section above:

Our account support team can usually help when you're simply unable to login. To contact them in these situations you'll need to use our Account Recovery Webform. This can be found by clicking on the Can't log in? link underneath your account name and password when trying to log into Battle.net.