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All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsNew scam targets the WoW Launcher
by Matthew Rossi 
Mar 31st 2010 at 11:00AM
A post in the official forums today, later confirmed by a blue, points to hackers attempting to take advantage of a new avenue to attack the user -- the World of Warcraft Launcher.
As you can see from the screenshot above (large version here) the real launcher apparently is replaced with a fake launcher that sends the user to a web site that pretends to be official, asking for subscription information (including answers to secret questions and the original CD-Key) in what is meant to appear as the means to restore a supposedly suspended account. One of the telltale signs that this isn't legit, besides the very invasive information requested, is the version number in the upper left corner of the screen. We're way past patch 3.1.1 -- however not everyone might know this.
Ancilorn posts confirming that this is not genuine (reiterating that they will never ask for your password in such a manner, and also requesting that such things be sent directly to Blizzard if they happen to you). Goes to show that as security is increased, those looking to breach it become more desperate.
As you can see from the screenshot above (large version here) the real launcher apparently is replaced with a fake launcher that sends the user to a web site that pretends to be official, asking for subscription information (including answers to secret questions and the original CD-Key) in what is meant to appear as the means to restore a supposedly suspended account. One of the telltale signs that this isn't legit, besides the very invasive information requested, is the version number in the upper left corner of the screen. We're way past patch 3.1.1 -- however not everyone might know this.
Ancilorn posts confirming that this is not genuine (reiterating that they will never ask for your password in such a manner, and also requesting that such things be sent directly to Blizzard if they happen to you). Goes to show that as security is increased, those looking to breach it become more desperate.
Filed under: News items, Account Security
Reader Comments (Page 2 of 6)
Reuben Mar 31st 2010 11:27AM
I am so tired of people saying that on these sorts of posts. Really? Is that all you have to contribute? "..."they deserve it."
Please, save it.
Michael Mar 31st 2010 11:35AM
People fall for scams because they are ignorant. The kind of people that fall for stuff like this are the same people that have heavily infected computers. They click on anything and everything out there and they are the ones that cause the problems with the internet as a whole. I have zero sympathy for someone that gets bit by this or gets a virus. It is not about knowing the latest scams out there it is about common sense. If someone came up to you on the street outside of a bank and was wearing a Chase Bank name tag and asked you for your account information you wouldn't give it to them. This is no different.
visitingl337n00b Mar 31st 2010 11:46AM
I totally agree that this is the equivalent to giving your bank account information to someone because they claim to be from a bank. The difference is that almost everyone has enough social intelligence not to fall for that kind of scam because they are used to trying to identify people who are lying to them or trying to steal from them.
We do not all have the same level of awareness on how to identify software or internet sites that are trying to steal from us, nor do we have millions of years of evolution dedicated to pre-programming it into us. An otherwise intelligent person can fall for internet scams.
I just wish that people who were suckers would admit to themselves that they were suckers and go buy authenticators.
ZMES_Matt Mar 31st 2010 11:46AM
Oh Michael, I hope you're one of the special people that think they're too smart for an authenticator.
Jacqueline Mar 31st 2010 12:03PM
People are not ignorant just because they get scammed. It happens to the most technical and internet savvy people. Think please before you call victims of scamming ignorant or saying they deserve it. You never know one day it might happen to you.
Negatron Mar 31st 2010 12:40PM
Amazingly children, and people who are not computer savvy bought this game and play it from the sheer "hype" alone. Then they either love/leave the game just as fast, so it can happen.
Those same people can also probably excrete fecal matter that has more intellectual value than your statement.
This goes for every other dick, with the "Durr you can't be that dumb statements."
bep4815 Mar 31st 2010 2:47PM
@Michael
allow me to fix your scenario. it'd be the same as someone on the street going into what they thought was their usual bank, with the typical setup that they're used to, and walking up to a teller with a name tag and everything, who then asks for account info before logging into your account so that you can take money out. only difference would be them asking an extra "odd" question like these hackers do, that might not seem that out of the ordinary. most people would just continue along with this.
so saying that these people deserve to be hacked because they believe a launcher that looks very authentic is ridiculous. because of the logo, the font, the little lock/key picture, it looks to be something that could honestly be from blizzard. the only reason that we notice it is because we're aware of these hacking schemes and can tell by subtle little details that it is not the real launcher. a common person who does not even attempt to stay up to date on these things could easily believe this. just like a person who only actually went into the bank on occasion might miss the subtle details that would make you aware that it was a scam.
Dreamstorm Mar 31st 2010 11:13AM
*clicks on 'large version here'*
*Sees KittenCannon on said desktop*
KittenCannon? Seriously...?!
PeeWee Mar 31st 2010 11:14AM
So, they know that your account has been suspended, yet they want your account name?
I agree with the above poster, if you fall for this, WOW just became a better place without you.
eenersumbrella Mar 31st 2010 11:30AM
I disagree. I've had a few friends get hacked. Sometimes you do stuff without thinking about it until later. My one friend fell for an email because it looked pretty genuine, she'd been cramming for finals as well as working a full time job, so she was pretty exhausted and wasn't thinking clearly. It's not always about stupity.
PeeWee Mar 31st 2010 12:01PM
There's a difference between getting malware uploaded and executed and going right into the trap, like with this scam and replying to the scam e-mails.
Keeping updated with anti-virus and firewalls can still get you busted with a 0-day hack. But this? This is just a "common sense"-check. Unfortunately, common sense isn't.
Nikkiezorz Mar 31st 2010 11:18AM
kitteh cannon are win.
Hëx Mar 31st 2010 11:38AM
People, don't make the mistake of thinking this is Rossi's desktop. *I* of course am going looking for a version of Kitten Cannon right now!
BigDumbFace Mar 31st 2010 11:25AM
*cough* n64 emulator *cough*
Donegan Mar 31st 2010 11:27AM
Except when the dimwit had gbank access and then the entire guild pays for their mistake.
I'll give you an example - Person A is an intelligent player, adult-age, who would never fall for this kind of thing.
Person B (Person A's son or daughter) is a 12 year old idiot who happens to also play WoW on Person A's account which is perfectly allowable under the ToS.
Person B falls for this scam (or in-game whispers from toons with names like Wowgmofficial, etc. You've all seen the scams) and gets the account hacked. Person A's guild bank is now unburdened of all its valuables/raid supplies/whatever.
It happens. Get an authenticator. It's your best line of defense.
eenersumbrella Mar 31st 2010 11:45AM
Being ignorant and being an idiot are two separate things. Don't call a child an idiot just because they don't know any better. I'd honestly blame Person A in your scenario. Seasoned/older player is more likely not to fall the scam, new/older player might not know about the scams and proceed to give out the information. If Person A doesn't inform Person B about the things to look for, who's really to blame? Especially if Person B only plays maybe once a month or so.
Josh Powers Mar 31st 2010 11:34AM
I think the biggest problem with this scam is that with all the information they request here they could easily remove an authenticator from your account as well. Obviously this is not a huge problem for moderately intelegent people but none the less, this could provide a hacker a way around your authenticator.
Easiest way to avoid this however, if blizz ever "asks" for your information, call them up instead and talk to them, and not from the number provided in the email (if one is) but from the support phone number listed on their web site.
Goarther Mar 31st 2010 12:19PM
Whats to stop an infected computer from rerouting you to a blizz look-a-like website with a fake phone number? I would hope people would be smart enough to check the url, but I doubt it
Beatphreek Mar 31st 2010 12:02PM
I'm sure this is exactly why they are using this... to remove authenticators. Those are the exact questions that Customer Support will ask you to get one removed (Secret Question, and Original CD-Key) if you lose yours and don't know the serial number of the Authenticator.
Goarther Mar 31st 2010 11:53AM
I get scam emails usually once or twice a day so anything like this would immediately set my radar off. I use to send all the scam emails to blizzards hacks department, but then I seemed to be getting more so Ive just been deleting them lately. I feel bad for the people who get caught in this and have their account hacked. Why doesn't bliz just monitor people who get sent large amounts of gold from random characters? 95% of the time if someone is sent 1000+ gold from hajkshafar the level 1 orc it is probably because they bought gold. Ban them, rinse and repeat and hopefully it will cut down on the gold sellers.