My account was hacked and support does not even answer me

[kins.3294]

Has anyone had the same experience?

I received a message that a different location logged into my account, so I promptly changed my password and turned on the 2 factor verification.

Problem is that every single piece of information was already in my previous support tickets.

Now all the sudden my email was changed, password changed, and I never received a single piece of correspondence from Anet on whether it was me!

My ticket #7357992 has been open for days now with no response or even acknowledgement, just their stupid canned email that they received it.

I logged on my 2ns account (this one) and saw that they were raiding my main account and still Anet does nothing.

I was wondering if anyone had any ideas on how to get this resolved faster because seeing almost 7 years of work stolen just hurts.

---

I added the original receipts for all the serial keysName, address, last CC used.

[Inculpatus cedo.9234]

Due to high volume, the CS Team may take longer to respond than usual. Also, some issues take more time than others. Especially account ownership disputes.You can update your original (don't make duplicates, as it sends you to the back of the queue) ticket to inquire about progress.

Good luck.

[TinkTinkPOOF.9201]

How was the account stolen?

Are you still able to log in, or has the password been changed? If it's been changed, they probably have access to your email as well. First step would be to change passwords on all of your email accounts etc, check to make sure no other recovery emails have been added to your email account before doing so, if they have, remove them, if you don't they will just do another recovery and have the password reset or recovered and be right back in.

Once this is done if you still have access to your GW2 account, reset the password and make sure only your email/phone number is listed for recovery. If you are able to do this then turn on two factor authentication. If you can't log in, try resetting the password, if nothing is emailed to you for resetting it, they have removed your email from the account for recovery. I would then go into your email account linked to the GW2 account and check junk or deleted emails for mail from anet that might have been sent for changing your password or recovery email, as they will often send one when any of those actions take place, but the person getting into the account will delete them so you don't know its going on.

You probably either had a simple password for your linked email account, or had the same password for it as you did for GW2.

If you are able to do all of this, I would still not play on that account, but at least you have control of it again. I would then wait for a reply and see what they might be able to do about recovering any stolen items/gold etc.

[kins.3294]

@TinkTinkPOOF.9201 said:How was the account stolen?

Are you still able to log in, or has the password been changed? If it's been changed, they probably have access to your email as well. First step would be to change passwords on all of your email accounts etc, check to make sure no other recovery emails have been added to your email account before doing so, if they have, remove them, if you don't they will just do another recovery and have the password reset or recovered and be right back in.

Once this is done if you still have access to your GW2 account, reset the password and make sure only your email/phone number is listed for recovery. If you are able to do this then turn on two factor authentication. If you can't log in, try resetting the password, if nothing is emailed to you for resetting it, they have removed your email from the account for recovery. I would then go into your email account linked to the GW2 account and check junk or deleted emails for mail from anet that might have been sent for changing your password or recovery email, as they will often send one when any of those actions take place, but the person getting into the account will delete them so you don't know its going on.

You probably either had a simple password for your linked email account, or had the same password for it as you did for GW2.

If you are able to do all of this, I would still not play on that account, but at least you have control of it again. I would then wait for a reply and see what they might be able to do about recovering any stolen items/gold etc.

They had support change the email address to the account I think because I cannot even recover it anymore.

[TinkTinkPOOF.9201]

@kins.3294 said:

@TinkTinkPOOF.9201 said:How was the account stolen?

Are you still able to log in, or has the password been changed? If it's been changed, they probably have access to your email as well. First step would be to change passwords on all of your email accounts etc, check to make sure no other recovery emails have been added to your email account before doing so, if they have, remove them, if you don't they will just do another recovery and have the password reset or recovered and be right back in.

Once this is done if you still have access to your GW2 account, reset the password and make sure only your email/phone number is listed for recovery. If you are able to do this then turn on two factor authentication. If you can't log in, try resetting the password, if nothing is emailed to you for resetting it, they have removed your email from the account for recovery. I would then go into your email account linked to the GW2 account and check junk or deleted emails for mail from anet that might have been sent for changing your password or recovery email, as they will often send one when any of those actions take place, but the person getting into the account will delete them so you don't know its going on.

You probably either had a simple password for your linked email account, or had the same password for it as you did for GW2.

If you are able to do all of this, I would still not play on that account, but at least you have control of it again. I would then wait for a reply and see what they might be able to do about recovering any stolen items/gold etc.

They had support change the email address to the account I think because I cannot even recover it anymore.

What do you mean can't recover? Does it say the email address is not correct or do you just not receive any email for resetting the password?

Possible, but more likely, they had your user name and password for GW2 and as I said above, your password for your linked email account was the same or easy to crack and they changed the linked email on their own through the automated system.

The only way you are going to get support to change it or reset a password is with lots of personal information, meaning maybe someone you know, or they would need to know your game key. I had to do this once for one of my secondary new accounts that at random had two factor turned on, they ask for name, billing address, game key code etc etc to recover.

[alcopaul.2156]

well hacking a.net game accounts is almost impossible now coz a.net got the previous i.p. addresses/locations of your client. and from that, they can tell if the account is yours based on that.

for example, from the first day of the month upto the next to the last day, you played it in your home and suddenly it logged from a very far flung place. and even if they use a vpn, obviously what will show in your previous ip logs is your ISP.

i bet all they can do is trace the path of items stolen if from your account, the "hackers" passed it to other accounts.

and luckily we have a wardrobe system.

and all they (CS) can do is like perform a "System Restore" to your account.

you just need to prove your game serial and probably the credit card info used to get that serial.

if everything tallies, you don't have to worry. just do someother things on the internet and hopefully your account will be restored to its pristine state, in no time.

[kins.3294]

@"alcopaul.2156" said:well hacking a.net game accounts is almost impossible now coz a.net got the previous i.p. addresses/locations of your client. and from that, they can tell if the account is yours based on that.

for example, from the first day of the month upto the next to the last day, you played it in your home and suddenly it logged from a very far flung place. and even if they use a vpn, obviously what will show in your previous ip logs is your ISP.

i bet all they can do is trace the path of items stolen if from your account, the "hackers" passed it to other accounts.

and luckily we have a wardrobe system.

and all they (CS) can do is like perform a "System Restore" to your account.

you just need to prove your game serial and probably the credit card info used to get that serial.

if everything tallies, you don't have to worry. just do someother things on the internet and hopefully your account will be restored to its pristine state, in no time.

Thanks man, that makes me feel a lot better! It is just frustrating that they take so long to respond.

[Ashantara.8731]

My biggest concern would be the safety of your computer system right now. Have you checked for viruses and malware? This whole thing seems to scream "Keylogger!"

[Michram.6853]

@"Ashantara.8731" said:My biggest concern would be the safety of your computer system right now. Have you checked for viruses and malware? This whole thing seems to scream "Keylogger!"

I second that, check your PC for malware, it can really "help" hack your game accounts and not only.

[Michram.6853]

@kins.3294 said:Has anyone had the same experience?

I received a message that a different location logged into my account, so I promptly changed my password and turned on the 2 factor verification.

Problem is that every single piece of information was already in my previous support tickets.

Now all the sudden my email was changed, password changed, and I never received a single piece of correspondence from Anet on whether it was me!

My ticket #7357992 has been open for days now with no response or even acknowledgement, just their stupid canned email that they received it.

I logged on my 2ns account (this one) and saw that they were raiding my main account and still Anet does nothing.

I was wondering if anyone had any ideas on how to get this resolved faster because seeing almost 7 years of work stolen just hurts.

---

I added the original receipts for all the serial keysName, address, last CC used.

You don't have to worry, they can restore your items and most importantly your characters. I can confirm restoring characters really work.

[Inculpatus cedo.9234]

When game accounts are compromised, often the email associated with the game account is also compromised. That way they can intercept any correspondence from the CS Team.You might consider creating a new email account to correspond with the CS Team, indicating you are not sure if your previous email account has been compromised.

Good luck.

[Lady Celtaine.3760]

@Inculpatus cedo.9234 said:When game accounts are compromised, often the email associated with the game account is also compromised. That way they can intercept any correspondence from the CS Team.You might consider creating a new email account to correspond with the CS Team, indicating you are not sure if your previous email account has been compromised.

Good luck.

This.Also gonna agree with others above you who have mentioned keylogging malware.

Have you got a decent antivirus program?If you don't, I recommend you get one, or if you know someone who is a close friend or fam member with one that allows install on multiple devices to let then install a copy on your machine. Or if you know people who haven't got one you can get them to all chip in with you and you be the primary installer which is what I did.How it works is I pay for antivirus and install it on every machine in the immediate family, it's about £70 a year but it's covering 3 PCs, 4 laptops, 2 tablets and a phone. Once everyone chips in £5 it's really a bargain for the security.

[Teratus.2859]

@"Ashantara.8731" said:My biggest concern would be the safety of your computer system right now. Have you checked for viruses and malware? This whole thing seems to scream "Keylogger!"

Third it.

Unless you use the same login details for multiple services (very very bad idea) then there's a good chance you've got some kind of keylogger malware.

[Ashantara.8731]

@Inculpatus cedo.9234 said:When game accounts are compromised, often the email associated with the game account is also compromised.

Exactly. Everything they've ever accessed is potentially compromised.

That way they can intercept any correspondence from the CS Team.You might consider creating a new email account

Pointless if they have a keylogger on their system. First they need to secure their PC, then they can create a new account. Also, once safe, they should change all their existing passwords for games, their bank and what not.

[Inculpatus cedo.9234]

One can always create another email account on a different device, to be very sure.

[Ashantara.8731]

@Inculpatus cedo.9234 said:One can always create another email account on a different device, to be very sure.

If the OP does not know how to secure their online devices properly, a different device is not necessarily a solution, as the whole malware/virus problem might not be restricted to just one device. Safety of all devices first, use only once safe.

@"kins.3294", how to avoid having your accounts hijacked in the future:

1. Learn how to configure Windows properly to make it more secure so that nothing can install without your knowledge.
2. Learn to configure your web browser properly for the same purpose (like don't allow every script to be automatically executed, block third-party stuff etc).
3. Install the right software to keep your system protected and warn you of possible threats. (I recommend Avast Free Antivirus, Spybot Search & Destroy, and ZoneAlarm Free Firewall. Look through their settings to activate their features or generally learn how those programs can assist you. Then run thorough scans to clean your system properly.)
4. Adjust your browsing habits. Don't click on every link (!!!) and don't visit insecure websites (Avast should help with the latter).
5. Check every e-mail's true source to avoid falling for phishing attempts.
6. Don't share any account information (login etc) with anyone.
7. Never log into your account on public computers or anyone else's computer that you don't know for sure is virus-free.
8. Use common sense. People need to treat their computers not like daily tools but like something that harbors an important part of their lives (like sensitive account information, for instance).

[kins.3294]

Thanks guys! I have created another email account on a different computer. I installed an antivirus and did indeed get some hits.

Hopefully support will fix this issue soon.

[alcopaul.2156]

do a thorough system restore to factory settings of your pc. or you can super clean restore your pc (clean OS install with only the essential softwares). install updates of your drivers. and this is the most important: if you have a bios upgrade available for your pc from the manufacturers site, install it coz it may eliminate some kind of rootkit. the device hardware driver update for the harddisks too. when updating GPUs, always do a clean install.

install the usuals: avs/firewalls/etc. practice safe/defensive computing. don't bother with unofficial third party software.

this is just to lessen the times you will be communicating with the CS.

But even without the security measures, your account is technically and generally safe. it's not the 90's anymore wherein they can steal accounts coz the MMORPG "architecture" back then doesn't have dedicated CS support that can inspect the database and focus on fixing everything on your account. before, it's majorly based on keys in the client.

nowadays, if you get hacked, it's not really hacked. it's like power outage or account suspension. you'll just experience absence/delay of playtime. and contacting the CS will restore everything, if you own the account.

[Ashantara.8731]

@kins.3294 said:Thanks guys! I have created another email account on a different computer. I installed an antivirus and did indeed get some hits.

That's not enough. Please follow my list step by step, educate yourself on how to configure Windows to notify you upon unwanted changes/installations and to configure your browser for max safety. Also, try the other programs I recommended and run thorough scans. This issue must not be taken lightly.

[Steve The Cynic.3217]

@"Ashantara.8731" said:

4. Adjust your browsing habits. Don't click on every link (!!!) and don't visit insecure websites (Avast should help with the latter).

@"kins.3294" Make sure you understand the difference between "secure" and "insecure" websites. If the browser says "Secure" or "Not Secure" (with nothing else), that means essentially nothing. If the browser complains about certificates or being unable to verify authenticity, that's a bigbigbig red flag, but if it looks OK and shows the padlock, the site isn't necessarily secure.

Why not? Well, security of websites is a many-layered thing. If the side is fully encrypted with the latest algorithms and all, but allows an attacker to put your email address instead of his in the "URL" and effortlessly see your stuff, I don't think many people would call it secure, but until it makes it onto the "black lists" in the browsers, they will not say "Not Secure" on it.

[Ashantara.8731]

@Steve The Cynic.3217 said:

@"Ashantara.8731" said:

4. Adjust your browsing habits. Don't click on every link (!!!) and don't visit insecure websites (Avast should help with the latter).

@"kins.3294" Make sure you understand the difference between "secure" and "insecure" websites. If the browser says "Secure" or "Not Secure" (with nothing else), that means essentially nothing. If the browser complains about certificates or being unable to verify authenticity, that's a bigbigbig red flag

With the right configuration and security tools installed, the browser aborts connection upon attempts of connecting to insecure sites. But yes, educating oneself about OS and online security and safe browsing is a necessity these days.

[Steve The Cynic.3217]

@Ashantara.8731 said:

@Steve The Cynic.3217 said:

@Ashantara.8731 said:

4. Adjust your browsing habits. Don't click on every link (!!!) and don't visit insecure websites (Avast should help with the latter).

@"kins.3294" Make sure you understand the difference between "secure" and "insecure" websites. If the browser says "Secure" or "Not Secure" (with nothing else), that means essentially nothing. If the browser complains about certificates or being unable to verify authenticity, that's a bigbigbig red flag

With the right configuration and security tools installed, the browser aborts connection upon attempts of connecting to insecure sites. But yes, educating oneself about OS and online security and safe browsing is a necessity these days.

Sure, but you missed the second half of my post. "Secure" means a big bundle of things of which "encrypted connections to the site" are only one part. Until a flaky-but-encrypted site makes it onto those blacklists, the browsers and security tools will be quite happy to let you go there.

[Ashantara.8731]

@"Steve The Cynic.3217" said:Sure, but you missed the second half of my post. "Secure" means a big bundle of things of which "encrypted connections to the site" are only one part. Until a flaky-but-encrypted site makes it onto those blacklists, the browsers and security tools will be quite happy to let you go there.

The tools I've listed have a huge blacklist collection (Spybot, for instance) that is frequently updated. Also, browser extensions (like the one Avast adds, and Ad Block Plus) add to the safety and are a great assistance to the user. :)

[kins.3294]

Well, still no word from support, guess they really just don't care.

[mercury ranique.2170]

@kins.3294 said:Well, still no word from support, guess they really just don't care

I guess you did create a new ticket when you created the new emailaccount? If so, this counts as a new ticket and you need to wait the queue.

Time might be of the essence for you, but if there is any harm done, it has been done. If thats the case, your account is most likely currently suspended for being used in RMT-activity or botting activity. When you regain controll support might be able to help and get your stuff back.So time is not of the essence for support and you should be happy for this. They have to be accurate now to determine that you are the rightfull owner. Behaviour like entitlement might cloud this process. Be polite, work along and do everything they ask as best as you can.