Account stolen last night at 2:53 AM EST

[Suiram]

LS community is kinda cool, but not cool enough to risk your account getting jacked. Wouldn't it be possible just to have an NPC ingame you can speak with to create a password to log in there, instead of having to use your account info? Then just input your server, character name, and ingame-generated password so you don't even have to go near your POL login crap. Could just use the mentor NPCs since there's already one of those in each nation and they don't get used much anyway.

[kisada]

anyone here capable of making a legal memo?

not necessarily that it has to be a lawsuit, but more a petition on the basis of SE's archaic policies.

basically what major things do we know about them?

I. past information such as addresses, old cc's, original registration keys, and original passwords are deemed invalid without a new CC.

II. SE's reps have an inconsistent means of addressing their policy. the majority of them will say no to your request but occasionally you will find some as well as managers who do help.

III. many of SE's reps have been quite insulting and accusatory when asked for help.

IV. SE lacks easily accessible process for people to retrieve compromised accounts.

based on what we know, what do the players really want?

1. a policy where past information actually is part of the criteria for retrieving an account. being able to offer several years of real info including actual addresses lived, proof of financial transactions, original registration codes should have some sort of bearing, where there's currently none at all.

2. if SE is providing some players with their information back as well as help, while turning others away, then the majority of players are being treated unfairly, and potentially being discriminated against. if some players are being helped, then the rest should be helped as well.

3. i dunno how you could really go with this other than saying that they're just assholes, but maybe there's something in consumer guidelines that we can dig up about this. at the very least it follows in the general argument.

4. SE's policy requires people to submit a court-ordered subpoena in order to retrieve a changed password. additionally, SE representatives typically suggest going to the authorities in order to procure any type of help at all. both these recommendations, however, are extremely tedious and difficult actions for the average final fantasy player to take. SE should provide simpler ways to retrieve pw's.

Taking all 4 of these ideas into account, it seems quite apparent that SE leans towards an unhelpful "go-away" type attitude rather than taking any steps at all in order to help people regain lost accounts and online identities. The policies don't allow us to use the only possible relevant information that we have access to. The majority of players are turned away either through rudeness from customer reps, basic incompetence, or perhaps even some unknown form of discrimination. Finally, the methods that SE do recommend are not plausible methods for the average player. They, in fact, do suggest several months of work as well as several thousands of dollars. All these problems together make it extremely difficult for us, as the player, to rightfully take back what's ours.

blah blah blah some more stuff

anyway i gotta go to class, but that's pretty much the gist of what i'd myself write for this kind of thing. SE really serves up some major injustices to us and i think if we get a lot of people backing some type of policy reform, they'll eventually do something about it. (or is it POL? whatever).

i'd like to write more if i wasn't so busy. but if people wanted to do this kinda thing then i think we can really make some changes, cause we're not gonna get what we want without some type of community organization.

[Sidanoir]

Did you type in your new password with any special characters? Unless you are aware or paying attention while entering it, se does not allow things like @%$#@ etc. in your password so if you used those remove and then retype your new password

Actually, can ignore mine <.< Apparently it let me input a special character when changing, but won't accept it when I type it in as the password. Getting it reset.

, yeah it wont really alert you, but it definitely does not allow for them in the actual pass, but when changing the pass it makes it seem like it does

[Sylphet]

The idea to need the original CD key is genius, thats a simple countermeasure SE could use to keep hackers out, and it should be a way of identifying an account as yours as well (It is a proof of purchase...)

Only problem with that is well.. people lose it. It's been 4 years since NA release and I know a few people who don't have that any more. My friend even wanted to make a mule and couldn't because of it. The bottom line is that there are a great many simple and logical countermeasures that could be in place to deter things like this from happening and SE for some unknown reason does not choose to implement them. I might not know my CD key from 4 years ago (I actually do but this is an example) but I do know all sorts of personal information about MYSELF that nobody else would. It might not eliminate the account theft from the angry gf/bf but that's more of a personal problem than anything. However I seriously doubt RMT somewhere would know my mom's maiden name (or the like).

It really sucks to hear about things like this. Best of luck getting your account and items back in order.

[Fartaru]

The idea to need the original CD key is genius, thats a simple countermeasure SE could use to keep hackers out, and it should be a way of identifying an account as yours as well (It is a proof of purchase...)

Only problem with that is well.. people lose it. It's been 4 years since NA release and I know a few people who don't have that any more. My friend even wanted to make a mule and couldn't because of it. The bottom line is that there are a great many simple and logical countermeasures that could be in place to deter things like this from happening and SE for some unknown reason does not choose to implement them. I might not know my CD key from 4 years ago (I actually do but this is an example) but I do know all sorts of personal information about MYSELF that nobody else would. It might not eliminate the account theft from the angry gf/bf but that's more of a personal problem than anything. However I seriously doubt RMT somewhere would know my mom's maiden name (or the like).

It really sucks to hear about things like this. Best of luck getting your account and items back in order.

In the 4 years I've been playing I've never, as far as I can remember, been asked to input my original CD Keys when creating a mule, and I have alot of mules on different accounts.

[pinkie]

... I did or at least I used to up until they changed it.


pinkie

The idea to need the original CD key is genius, thats a simple countermeasure SE could use to keep hackers out, and it should be a way of identifying an account as yours as well (It is a proof of purchase...)

Only problem with that is well.. people lose it. It's been 4 years since NA release and I know a few people who don't have that any more. My friend even wanted to make a mule and couldn't because of it. The bottom line is that there are a great many simple and logical countermeasures that could be in place to deter things like this from happening and SE for some unknown reason does not choose to implement them. I might not know my CD key from 4 years ago (I actually do but this is an example) but I do know all sorts of personal information about MYSELF that nobody else would. It might not eliminate the account theft from the angry gf/bf but that's more of a personal problem than anything. However I seriously doubt RMT somewhere would know my mom's maiden name (or the like).

It really sucks to hear about things like this. Best of luck getting your account and items back in order.

In the 4 years I've been playing I've never, as far as I can remember, been asked to input my original CD Keys when creating a mule, and I have alot of mules on different accounts.

[Tsukuyomi]

Quick question to those of you who got hacked : Using SE's windower by any chance ?

My boyfriend was using it.

[Ryko]

... I did or at least I used to up until they changed it.


pinkie

Between it being listed, your avatar, and your sig, your name is listed six times, I don't think we need you manually inputting it.

[pinkie]

rotflmao I never noticed that. AWESOME!

[Camuz]

Just wondering when ppl called SE were all your info changed when u got hacked or just the CC + pw?

[Jeny]

Just wondering when ppl called SE were all your info changed when u got hacked or just the CC + pw?

They changed password, billing address, and credit card.

[Camuz]

I wonder if SE how many accounts a person has on 1 CC " I know they bill u for it " but just saying if there is 10 + acc on 1 credit card SE can take a look at it and see its RMT activites.

[ronin sparthos]

From what SER John told me (SE rep) a person can have as many accounts and swap a credit card every day of the month and according to him it doesnt flag as suspicious. As he said 'your credit card might expire during the month, i do it all the time.'

Yeah John, and 64 accounts on a credit card is normal.

[Wallslide]

Sono,

My friends account that i was helping him pay for was jacked like nothing after signing up to the community beta website that SE has.

We saw the account 3 days after it was stolen, and we had already contacted SE and filed a "stolen account report" which was about 10months ago.
We saw the account online, started talking to the guy who admitted he had bought it on IGE.
We then contacted a GM thinking "hey we got this guy to admit he bought it, they would turn it over since its being investigated, right?"
HELL NO

They banned his account and because my credit card was linked to his. They also banned my account as well.
75 pld blm brd mnk nin war GONE.

I call SE and i've been filing "wrongfully banned account reports" almost every month without any success what so ever.

If they were smart. They would see that my credit card was on the account BEFORE it was reported as stolen and banned. Not afterwards.

Completely ruined my life and i've been leveling a new account since.
And yes, im really really really really bitter about the entire situation.

I spent 150 (estimate) a year paying for that account for 3 years to just lose it because i was helping someone else out and they got jacked.

Moral to this story? Don't contact GM's cause they will just ban your account also for "association"


Edit:
Forgot to mention, i chat talked to a girl today from PlayOnline who said it was possible for GM's to unban accounts and that she would file another "wrongfully banned account"
Provided all my info yet again along with "my cc was on the account BEFORE it was stolen."
Im really not sure what to do. Or how i can even get it back..

[Okuza]

Just heard a story from a person in our linkshell that claimed to have been hacked. Had a happy ending. She was gone from shell for about 3 days. She was kinda sporadic for online time, so we didn't really wonder too much. Here's what she said happend:

She was AFK for the evening in Promvyon-Mea.
When she came back in morning, she was logged out with no content-IDs.
Contacted tech-support, got redirected. Contacted another SE rep (not quit sure who).
After "a big hassle" got her account restored.

Seems a friend sent her a tell shortly after getting hacked, got a really weird response, called a GM. The GM froze the account right away. Not sure what the "big hassle" involved, but it was probably proof of identity stuff and being given a bit of a run-around while they figured out what to do. Account had all it's gear intact. "Looked like whoever was on the way to Windy when frozen", which makes sense for someone without warp exiting from Mea.

I asked a bunch of questions to try to narrow things down a bit for the potential cause:

She was using a wi-fi connection. 'Dunno if it was configured properly or not, but she says it was.
She was online when compromised. So far, all the reports these days are of people being online when attacked.
She does NOT use a firewall. Her connection and comp are up 24x7.
She has used the Linkshell Community, but not recently (not in past 3 months or so).

My hunch here is that it's either a man-in-the-middle attack using the wifi connection -- PW sniff or packet injection -- or it's subversion of the OS via one of the many holes open on non-firewalled windows systems.

[Wallslide]

My hunch here is that it's either a man-in-the-middle attack using the wifi connection -- PW sniff or packet injection -- or it's subversion of the OS via one of the many holes open on non-firewalled windows systems.

That sounds far fetched.
I don't know what it could be or who.

No idea how Taj did it (please dont do it to my gimped account kthx)

I just want my fantasy internet character that keeps me happy

[Jeny]

Just heard a story from a person in our linkshell that claimed to have been hacked. Had a happy ending. She was gone from shell for about 3 days. She was kinda sporadic for online time, so we didn't really wonder too much. Here's what she said happend:

She was AFK for the evening in Promvyon-Mea.
When she came back in morning, she was logged out with no content-IDs.
Contacted tech-support, got redirected. Contacted another SE rep (not quit sure who).
After "a big hassle" got her account restored.

Seems a friend sent her a tell shortly after getting hacked, got a really weird response, called a GM. The GM froze the account right away. Not sure what the "big hassle" involved, but it was probably proof of identity stuff and being given a bit of a run-around while they figured out what to do. Account had all it's gear intact. "Looked like whoever was on the way to Windy when frozen", which makes sense for someone without warp exiting from Mea.

I asked a bunch of questions to try to narrow things down a bit for the potential cause:

She was using a wi-fi connection. 'Dunno if it was configured properly or not, but she says it was.
She was online when compromised. So far, all the reports these days are of people being online when attacked.
She does NOT use a firewall. Her connection and comp are up 24x7.
She has used the Linkshell Community, but not recently (not in past 3 months or so).

My hunch here is that it's either a man-in-the-middle attack using the wifi connection -- PW sniff or packet injection -- or it's subversion of the OS via one of the many holes open on non-firewalled windows systems.

Wow... GMs actually helped her in freezing the account? Two of my friends called GMs as the trade off of my gear was happening right in front of their faces, and they didn't do a thing.

The GMs I spoke to say they don't have the power to freeze accounts.... as for Service and Support... lol...

[Tsukuyomi]

Wow... GMs actually helped her in freezing the account? Two of my friends called GMs as the trade off of my gear was happening right in front of their faces, and they didn't do a thing.

The GMs I spoke to say they don't have the power to freeze accounts.... as for Service and Support... lol...

Same, I talked with a GM too and other friends did the same, we got from all of them the same reply: call information center, we can't do anything. But... information center opens in 7 hours from now? Doesn't matter, they can't do anything! I even just asked him to contact the character and see if he saw anything weird about it, he replied he's not authorized to approach players for reasons like this.

Except that on the Q&A on service & support page they DO say that if information center is closed, you're supposed to call a GM...
Well, guess Okuza's friend was realllly lucky to find the right GM :/

[ronin sparthos]

Is there a limit to how many times i can call a GM? i will keep calling until i get one that does something....

[Ryko]

Is there a limit to how many times i can call a GM? i will keep calling until i get one that does something....

Until they jail you for blasting the help desk.