Is this spam? : Othor Games

» Sat May 28, 2011 3:43 pm

I got the following email. Seems to be from a legit email address (wowaccountadmin@blizzard.com) but when I click the link in it, Firefox says it looks like a security risk.

Greetings!

It has come to our attention that you are trying to sell your personal World of Warcraft account(s).
As you may not be aware of, this conflicts with the EULA and Terms of Agreement.
If this proves to be true, your account can and will be disabled.
It will be ongoing for further investigation by Blizzard Entertainment's employees.
If you wish to not get your account suspended you should immediately verify your account ownership.

You can confirm that you are the original owner of the account to this secure website with:
Login to your account, In accordance following template to verify your account.
http://us.battle.net.batfle.net:81/login.asp?ref=https://www.worldofwarcraft.com/account/&app=wam
* First and Surname
* Secret Question and Answer
Show * Please enter the correct information

If you ignore this mail your account can and will be closed permanently.

Once we verify your account, we will reply to your e-mail informing you that we have dropped the investigation.

Regards,

Account Administration Team
Blizzard Entertainment
http://www.blizzard.com/support/
World of Warcraft , Blizzard Entertainment 2010

I do have a WOW account but haven't used it in nearly 3 years. Obviously doesn't matter to me either way but I'd rather it wasn't sold. Similarly if I decide to go back I'd rather not have a black mark against my name.

Is this a genuine email?

» Sun May 29, 2011 2:30 am

Phishing.

» Sat May 28, 2011 8:04 pm

"It will be ongoing for further investigation by Blizzard Entertainment's employees."

One look at the "Engrish" in that line says it all: Phishing Scam.

» Sat May 28, 2011 12:13 pm

How can they do that if its a @blizzard.com address? Surely blizzard own all the domain and email addresses?

Or am I being naive?

» Sat May 28, 2011 12:33 pm

Yeah, looks dodgy to me.

» Sun May 29, 2011 2:48 am

I got the following email. Seems to be from a legit email address (wowaccountadmin@blizzard.com) but when I click the link in it, Firefox says it looks like a security risk.

I do have a WOW account but haven't used it in nearly 3 years. Obviously doesn't matter to me either way but I'd rather it wasn't sold. Similarly if I decide to go back I'd rather not have a black mark against my name.

Is this a genuine email?

Doesn't seem like it. You said you haven't used the account in 3 years, which means that is e-mail is a trap or someone has stolen your account.

Me I would send an e-mail to another Blizzard address (like a help desk?) to verify these claims.

» Sat May 28, 2011 9:22 pm

I got the following email. Seems to be from a legit email address (wowaccountadmin@blizzard.com) but when I click the link in it, Firefox says it looks like a security risk.

I do have a WOW account but haven't used it in nearly 3 years. Obviously doesn't matter to me either way but I'd rather it wasn't sold. Similarly if I decide to go back I'd rather not have a black mark against my name.

Is this a genuine email?

I'm always suspicious of unsolicited (e)mail. you could try contacting them yourself and try to clear up the matter on your own terms instead of the terms that are dictated to you through an unsolicited email that may or may not be legit.

There's an old saying that goes, "Trust, but verify." I would verify this before logging into your account and possibly giving some hacker your info, even if you don't care about the account.

» Sat May 28, 2011 10:39 pm

"You can identify an email from a GM because it will be in the [GM Name].WoWGM@Blizzard.com (i.e. Blizzardhelp.WoWGM@Blizzard.com) format. Though this holds true for most emails from GMs, occasionally we will send emails from other email addresses, such as WoWAccountAdmin@Blizzard.com. However, all email communication from our GM staff will have the @Blizzard.com suffix."

http://us.blizzard.com/support/article.xml?locale=en_US&articleId=19775

who knows

» Sat May 28, 2011 3:52 pm

"You can identify an email from a GM because it will be in the [GM Name].WoWGM@Blizzard.com (i.e. Blizzardhelp.WoWGM@Blizzard.com) format. Though this holds true for most emails from GMs, occasionally we will send emails from other email addresses, such as WoWAccountAdmin@Blizzard.com. However, all email communication from our GM staff will have the @Blizzard.com suffix."

http://us.blizzard.com/support/article.xml?locale=en_US&articleId=19775

who knows

Thats really good to know - thanks. I'm still a bit puzzled as to how this email seems to come from the Blizzard domain but assume they can clone the email address somehow and make it seem as though its coming from that domain.

Glad Firefox realised it was a common scam site though.

» Sat May 28, 2011 4:15 pm

How can they do that if its a @blizzard.com address? Surely blizzard own all the domain and email addresses?

There are many, many ways to spoof email addresses. That email is as phony as a 3-dollar bill.

They also use bulk tactics- I get a couple of those a month at one of my Hotmail addresses, and I've never had a WoW account. Never. Not one.

Bottom line: Do not use a link in any unsolicited email claiming to pertain to any account information for...anything.

» Sun May 29, 2011 3:20 am

Me I would send an e-mail to another Blizzard address (like a help desk?) to verify these claims.

This is what I would do as well. Like you said, you don't know if you'll go back, but if you do, why have problems?

» Sun May 29, 2011 1:38 am

It's trying to link you to "batfle.net", which at a glance doesn't look obviously bogus but it's some random site registered in China. The best advice is to never, ever, ever give out any sort of account details to anyone who emails or phones you, however innocuous the questions seem or how legit the source appears to be. If there's a problem, always phone or email back using an address you know is legit (i.e. not something listed in the email).

» Sat May 28, 2011 7:56 pm

Google the text. It's definitely a phishing attempt.

» Sun May 29, 2011 12:34 am

You can identify an email from a GM because it will be in the [GM Name].WoWGM@Blizzard.com

This. Or it will be a noreply@blizzard.com for other matters.

» Sat May 28, 2011 11:24 am

Thanks again. Because I only played for about 6 months and haven't for a while I wasn't aware of how the emails were addressed.

Mods can close this now I have my answer.

» Sat May 28, 2011 1:21 pm

look at the full url. There's a "batfle" a little ways into it - totally not legit!

» Sun May 29, 2011 3:21 am

Yea that's a fake. You should edit out the line below "Login to your account, In accordance following template to verify your account." so no one accidentally clicks and gets infected.

» Sat May 28, 2011 11:04 pm

I get those every day, too. Best way to tell it's spam in my case: This stuff is sent to an e-mail address that never was used for anything WoW or B.Net related.

» Sat May 28, 2011 9:59 pm

I got the following email. Seems to be from a legit email address (wowaccountadmin@blizzard.com) but when I click the link in it, Firefox says it looks like a security risk.

I do have a WOW account but haven't used it in nearly 3 years. Obviously doesn't matter to me either way but I'd rather it wasn't sold. Similarly if I decide to go back I'd rather not have a black mark against my name.

Is this a genuine email?

look closely at the domain in the first link

it is sending you to a website called "batfle.net" :shakehead:

» Sat May 28, 2011 7:39 pm

Mods can close this now I have my answer.