WoW Lawyer Question and Answer

[linuxfreak]

I'm pretty sure you need sq/a for EU account transfers.

NO you dont!
you only need pass last name and secret answer on the NEW! account so np ^^

[Verye]

NO you dont!
you only need pass last name and secret answer on the NEW! account so np ^^

Yep. That's how it is for US, and I'm assuming that's how it is for EU, too.

[Despite]

Hey, I have a question if you happen to know things in this area.

When doing scams and using a proxy for all the web browser stuff, since the program AIM isnt using a proxy, cant your aim get reported and they track you by that IP?

[Air*]

Hey, I have a question if you happen to know things in this area.

When doing scams and using a proxy for all the web browser stuff, since the program AIM isnt using a proxy, cant your aim get reported and they track you by that IP?

1) use an online instant messaging service (like meebo.com)
2) ???
3) profit!

[Martognigno]

Darn : Can anyone else can confirm anything?

You need last name on the account, username and pass. The SQ was told about is for you new account. Just to confirm the other account is yours too.

[Verye]

Hey, I have a question if you happen to know things in this area.

When doing scams and using a proxy for all the web browser stuff, since the program AIM isnt using a proxy, cant your aim get reported and they track you by that IP?

If you're sexually harassing someone, perhaps.

See, this is an issue with AOL (America Online). I do not personally know AOL's policies about reports regarding their instant messaging program (AIM), but I doubt that they would investigate an issue such as "some guy scammed my WoW account".

[Nanny]

I'm in WoW US.


EDIT: Also, if I scam carefully and delete/remake chars and such, can I consistently do CODs? My friend and I have tried 8 in the past two days, 4 haven't been sent yet and 1 just hasn't been replied to yet but the first 3 have been fine. Our name is so ridiculously characterized that it's probably impossible for us to be reported...I'm just really nervous that I'll get banned (even though the money isn't even laundered directly to me and it's on a separate account). Should I be worried?

[Verye]

I'm in WoW US.

Alright then.

The answer is a bit...complicated. I took a bit of time writing this, so prepare for a long read.

In a perfect world, every single laundering case would result in the perpretator getting caught.

The biggest discrepancy among investigation that I've seen with Blizzard is gold laundering, though.

As an example:

The WoW US Customer Service Forum has 8 GMs. They are hand-picked senior GMs who have been working with Blizzard for a long time.

GM Syndri, who has been working on the forums for a while, too, made a post regarding this a long time ago.

Unfortunately, I cannot find this post, but it was where someone claimed they were banned for no reason, and then Syndri explained how the person had scammed a char and was trying to launder the gold. She said that all the tricks he used (creating, deleting, and re-creating chars with the same name, using the AH, etc.) did not work.

Why, then, do so many people get away with scamming and laundering gold?

I couldn't tell you. The only possible explanation, really, is that some Account Administration employees (and forum GMs) are more competent than others.

Either way though, no matter what you do, you are always at risk when trying to scam and launder gold.

Multiple GMs have said specifically, though, that deleting and re-creating chars with the same name does not help in the slightest. So, I'd recommend you don't bother doing it all.

As for response times...let me explain Blizzard's hierarchy and how tickets move through their system.

When you submit a ticket, you are instantly placed into a queue. There are then thousands of GMs (each GM responding to tickets from a multitude of servers; it is likely that GMs are assigned to battlegroups) who are answering these tickets in the order that they are received.

As the queue splinters off, each ticket will then land into a specific GM's "inbox". This is signified with a message "your ticket will be serviced soon". Depending on how many tickets are currently in that GM's line, and depending how complex each ticket's issue is, it could be anywhere from 5 minutes to 3+ hours before the GM actually gets to your ticket.

So, he reads it. If he sees that it is a report that someone was scammed, he will ask a few questions and then instantly escalate the ticket to the Specialist department. There are many different types of Specialists, and it's fairly safe to say that the Specialists who investigate scams are also members of Account Administration, and are therefore responsible for banning (and possibly unbanning) players.

GMs can only hand out warnings, suspend people for 3 hours, and in some cases, for 24 hours. They usually deal with minor issues like swearing, harassment, and zone disruption. They are the entry level customer service representatives; anything more complicated, they pass up to the Specialists. Account Administration are the only ones with the power to administer 48-hour, 72-hour, and perma bans. They deal with the major reports, like scamming, botting, exploiting, hacking, etc.

The Specialists have an entirely different queue of their own. This queue is typically longer, as each Specialist needs to invest an incredible amount of time into each investigation. Or rather, they're supposed to.

It is impossible to tell you precisely when a scam will begin to truly be investigated. It depends on the amount of queues a GM has, the complexities of the GM's tickets, and the Specialist's queue.

They, meaning the GMs and the Specialists, answer each report in the order they are received, which on some days can be quickly, and on some days can be very slowly. They do investigate each case, but as I have been saying earlier, some Specialists are better at investigating than others. The ones that miss things may be new, lazy, or just not very smart.

They never just "give" anyone money or items until they can confirm when, where, and how the person lost said items. They will do their best to punish the scammer and remove the stolen items/gold, but, in the cases when they don't, they may reward the scammed player with the stolen goods. Anytime a restoration of something is requested, they look into it.

Depending on what time of day you scammed someone, and the time of day the person reported it, it's fairly safe to say that the scam investigation will not begin within the hour or 2 that someone reports it. If luck isn't on your side, though, and the queue is short and the GM who gets the ticket is working fast and the Specialist has a bunch of really easy and simple cases, then it's possible the investigation could begin (and be concluded) within 24 hours. And then, there are some cases where it could be several days before it begins, and the investigation could be stretched over many days.

I know this answer is kind of vague, but it's the best anyone can tell you, really. The only advice I can give is to scam someone at peak time, when there are more tickets in queue. You can never truly predict how the lines look like, though.

I hope this answers your question.

Our name is so ridiculously characterized that it's probably impossible for us to be reported...

Not sure why you'd think this. If the person is intent on reporting you, they can simply shift+click your name in the petition, and it will appear with all of its high ASCII characters.

[Air*]

Wow, did I kill my own thread with that wall of text?

Cmon guys, keep the questions flowing!

if you so wish ^^
You mention the different policies between WoW US and WoW-Europe. Could you actually mention some examples that portray those? Would be interesting (to say the least) to see the contrast between continents (and the departments) within one company.

[Origano]

Yeah well I need some more information to this logging on scammed account issue. And yes, I have extreme paranoia after reading thru most posts here.

So let me explain situtation clearly.

I used phish site to get username + password. Then I installed Tor using Gladiator's guide. After that I enabled it on firefox, same time Tor was running backround and privoxy also, fully enabled. I went to one of these show my ip sites and it showed different IP than my own.


Then I checked if guy whose account I scammed was online, no he wasn't. I logged on his account, sold every item to vendor and send all his money to some random guy I found with /who. Then I deleted his character and logged off. Haven't logged in after it. I used Latoneydes service to get it banned and it should be banned now, havent got any clarifaction yet. Today I read somebodys comment on Gladiators thread that I have to set Tor up specifily for WoW.

So again this question. What's the chances my main account gets banned? Oh btw, I deleted my wow cache after logging off.

Thank you! Hopefully you can cure this paranoia

[Verye]

Trust me, you'll be fine Organo.

When Blizzard bans multiple accounts, 99% of the time, it's for accounts that were made with/use the same credit card info.

Bans due to IP linking are incredibly, incredibly rare.

[divajn]

When Blizzard bans multiple accounts, 99% of the time, it's for accounts that were made with/use the same credit card info.

I might also add that sometimes they ban multiple accounts that has the same email on them, I had around 8 accounts with the same email, and they banned them all.

[Verye]

I might also add that sometimes they ban multiple accounts that has the same email on them, I had around 8 accounts with the same email, and they banned them all.

But it's so easy to just make 8 different emails...

It's kind of common sense to use different emails for all of your accounts. =/

[divajn]

But it's so easy to just make 8 different emails...

It's kind of common sense to use different emails for all of your accounts. =/

I didn't do it, I guess I'm just stupid/Naive.

[Nanny]

I was banned because I was caught for scamming someone's account (logging on and trading all of the gold to my character). Now that I've already had my first ban I'm a little concerned for the second; how many chances do people usually get, and what are the chances I'll be caught COD scamming?