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All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsBlizzard announces automated account recovery form for hacked accounts
by Mathew McCurley 
Sep 22nd 2010 at 3:00PM
Blizzard has just announced a new, speedier way to get help and answered about your hacked account, stolen items, authenticator issues and more! Now, under the new system, you will not have to email or call Blizzard to get these matters into its queue -- simply use the Account Recovery Form.
Calling the new method a "One-Stop Shop" for dealing with account recovery issues, Blizzard has automated the process by which Battle.net accounts can be recovered, dealt with and restored faster than otherwise.
Remember never to share your password with anyone and that Blizzard will never ask for your password. Also, one of the most prevalent ways that hacks, Trojans and keyloggers are spread is through malicious files that pose as addons, so to keep yourself unharmed, remember to only download addons from safe, reliable locations like WoWInterface or Curse.
I cannot commend Blizzard enough for this move. Thank you, Blizzard. In return, we will try really hard to stop getting hacked. Check out the full announcement below:
Items missing? Password changed? Characters transferred to realms you haven't even heard of? Being asked for an authentication code even though you don't have an Authenticator? If any of these questions match the ones you're asking yourself right now, your account might be compromised.
Now, don't panic. Blizzard Entertainment's Customer Service teams are here to help you. There is no need to create a trial account to be able to submit an in-game petition, nor are you required to have a friend submit one on your behalf. To restore access to your account as quickly as possible, please visit our Account Recovery page and be prepared to verify your account information.
With the introduction of our new Account Recovery Process, you should no longer be required to try calling or e-mailing our Billing & Account Services department to remove an authenticator that may have been placed on your account without your authorization.
All you will need to do is fill out our new Account Recovery Form: (https://us.battle.net/account/support/secure-computer.html).
How does it work?
Consider this your "One-Stop Shop" for reporting a compromised account. We'll ask you a series of questions that only you should know the answers to. After we are confident that you are who you say you are, our automated recovery process will take over and attempt to restore your access to the Battle.net account as soon as possible.
This process will issue a password reset e-mail for the Battle.net account that has been compromised as well as create a service ticket (petition) to have an investigation initiated. You will be unable to view this ticket when logged into the game, you should, however, receive a message to your e-mail address containing your ticket number and other information.
What do I do after I fill out the Webform?
• Check your e-mail account for two e-mail messages: one to reset your password and one containing your service ticket information.
• Consider adding a Battle.net Authenticator to protect the account: (http://us.blizzard.com/support/article/26552).
• Take a deep breath... Our customer service team will do the rest.
Now, don't panic. Blizzard Entertainment's Customer Service teams are here to help you. There is no need to create a trial account to be able to submit an in-game petition, nor are you required to have a friend submit one on your behalf. To restore access to your account as quickly as possible, please visit our Account Recovery page and be prepared to verify your account information.
With the introduction of our new Account Recovery Process, you should no longer be required to try calling or e-mailing our Billing & Account Services department to remove an authenticator that may have been placed on your account without your authorization.
All you will need to do is fill out our new Account Recovery Form: (https://us.battle.net/account/support/secure-computer.html).
How does it work?
Consider this your "One-Stop Shop" for reporting a compromised account. We'll ask you a series of questions that only you should know the answers to. After we are confident that you are who you say you are, our automated recovery process will take over and attempt to restore your access to the Battle.net account as soon as possible.
This process will issue a password reset e-mail for the Battle.net account that has been compromised as well as create a service ticket (petition) to have an investigation initiated. You will be unable to view this ticket when logged into the game, you should, however, receive a message to your e-mail address containing your ticket number and other information.
What do I do after I fill out the Webform?
• Check your e-mail account for two e-mail messages: one to reset your password and one containing your service ticket information.
• Consider adding a Battle.net Authenticator to protect the account: (http://us.blizzard.com/support/article/26552).
• Take a deep breath... Our customer service team will do the rest.
Filed under: News items, Account Security
Reader Comments (Page 2 of 5)
Mattimus Sep 22nd 2010 3:07PM
But then someday we might actually miss out on some genuine Sex Leg.
chris crouse Sep 22nd 2010 3:27PM
haha. the sex leg keylogging forum posts were funny as shit
lyons Sep 22nd 2010 7:10PM
you of couse seem to ignore ads on "safe" websites being subject to rogue ads over time (i have seen my fair share of this happening to alot of good site), of course a good admin would fix this asp.
when i first started wow in early 2007 i got a keylogger on a site that usualy is pretty safe (even today) but this can happen with any advertisment company from time to time.
Back then blizzard didn't give a damn, once you were banned, you were banned, no exceptions. the account still remains locked today.
thankfully i took precautions to avoid this ever happening again, and it has worked so far (i of course have been using anauthenticator since there launch also for more reassurance)
so remember, emails are not the only way to get "Hacked"
Moeru Sep 22nd 2010 7:17PM
It seems some people assumed that I meant that all people who get hacked is because they click random links in their emails. I understand it isn't.
Generally speaking you shouldn't download something if you're aren't sure of what it does. Also, having a good firewall usually helps. Hackers can't just spirit away the control of your computer without executing some kind of program from your side.
But of most of the hack stories I've heard of, it's people who will receive emails from 'Blizzard' and access the links they give (and installing whatever is there in the process), or they visit sites through google search or w/e that looks like the actual site, but isn't (eg wow.armory.com instead of wowarmory.com).
The email comment isn't to make people look stupid. Just relating to the fact that it seems more than a few people with an email inbox seem to open all their junk mail and access everything in it.
While this is a nice move on Blizz's part, I wish they'd just require authenticator use with Cataclysm, and send one with every box. Also, knowing a bit more about internet security helps. I'm surprised by how many people don't know still how an authenticator works or why it's useful.
classicalarchitect Sep 22nd 2010 3:09PM
Nice
Tomatketchup Sep 22nd 2010 3:14PM
"Automated account recovery sounds so silly... let's call it...
...the STAR WARS PROJECT!"
Sorry, it was the first thing I thought off when I saw this.
Drakkenfyre Sep 22nd 2010 3:14PM
And 80% of the people reading this will have no idea what it means.
Note, it's a nice reference to make, tho.
Moeru Sep 22nd 2010 3:15PM
Automated Account Recovery Form for Hacked Accounts.
Or
AARFHA (Pronounced Aerr-phah)
V Magius Sep 22nd 2010 4:08PM
I'd rather call it the Alan Parson's Project.
HunterOriion Sep 22nd 2010 4:56PM
So does it show my age that I get the Star Wars reference? That wasnt too long ago...
PonTelon Sep 22nd 2010 3:09PM
If they had released this yesterday, I might have saved myself an hour on hold to remove my authenticator after I reset my phone.
Bryan Sep 22nd 2010 3:37PM
I found my account hacked on monday and used this form and I had all of my items restored in about 20 minutes.
Charles Sep 22nd 2010 3:26PM
Nope you still would have had to call them and deal with resetting the authenticator. There's no form (at least from what I have seen) to do it online.
ManaByte Sep 22nd 2010 3:11PM
Curse reliable? LOL.
Aaron Sep 22nd 2010 3:27PM
I lol'd. ;-)
chyllyphylly Sep 22nd 2010 3:12PM
Is this for EU aswell?
Grovinofdarkhour Sep 22nd 2010 3:12PM
Woot! Better late than never :)
Now, how about automating the restoration of stolen items to the guild bank?
Teresa Sep 22nd 2010 3:13PM
What a great idea. It was so annoying trying to recover accounts for family members - I actually had to call in and pretend to be my sis to recover her account for her cuz she had no clue what she was doing. Hopefully recoveries will be faster, and the phone lines won't be jammed 24/7 now.
Now to email wow's tech support to update some of those outdated support pages...
(cutaia) Sep 22nd 2010 3:16PM
Alrighty. Who wants to test it first? :D
classicalarchitect Sep 22nd 2010 5:17PM
take off your authenticator and send me your log on info. You can be a trail blazer!!