LAST UPDATE :
All is well people. I have received a letter from CCP. Apparently, I was right. My account has been hacked and used by a foreign IP. I have to admit that I overreacted and underestimated CCP's customer service. I think what made me react so much was the fact that I was permabanned instead of simply banned, like potentially hacked accounts usually are.
So yeah, to make a little summary of the whole story : two days ago, probably using a keylogger on my computer, a hacker was able to access my account has done something with it that got it permanbanned. I come home, discover my permaban, send a few letters to CCP. A few hours later I create this thread. Then, even later, CCP sends me a letter telling me really was the victim of a hijack, that the foreign IP was banned and that my account password has been reset and is awaiting for a new password. I am currently rescanning my PC for any harmful software.
Here's the letter
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Hi.
Our apologies for the late reply.
Your account has been accessed by a foreign IP and we banned the account when we discovered it.
The hackers probably obtained your login details by installing a keylogger on your machine.
It is therefore vital that you check and clean your computer of any malicious software that is installed. To aid you with that, you can for example use any of the following free anti virus programs. We do not endorse any of these scanners, we are simply trying to help you get rid of the nuisance and we know these have proven helpful in the past:
http://www.free-av.com/
http://secunia.com/vulnerability_scanning/online/
http://www.kaspersky.com/virusscanner
Afterwards, change the passwords both to your EVE Online account and to your email address and any other online accounts you have.
Furthermore, never use your EVE login info anywhere else on the Internet. The only place you should ever need to enter those details would be on our website and when logging into the EVE Online client. Remember that we will never ask you for your account password so ignore any emails you receive asking you for your password, as those are phishing emails.
Finally, it perhaps goes without saying, but it really can't be stressed enough: Never consider purchasing ISK or items for real life money. Even just visiting those sites puts your computer at risk.
The account has now been unbanned. When we ban accounts, the password gets reset, so in order to retrieve your password, go to the following link: ********************************
Remember not to log into your account before you have scanned and cleaned your computer.
Best regards,
Senior GM Gusto
The EVE Online Customer Support Team
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
What ever your opinion was, I greatly appreciate the input of anyone who wrote in this thread.
I want to reassure everyone that I keep CCP in high esteem again.
OLD POST :
Please read the whole post before replying, not that I can enforce that but it might prevent you to write about issues I've already addressed and you might see some clarifications.
Also, what ever your opinion is, be constructive, saying ''THIS IS JUST A GAME'' doesn't add anything to the conversation. Develop your thoughts a bit.
This is the MMO player's worst nightmare.
Today, at noon, an hour before heading back to college for my 2 hour philosophy class, I decided to check on my skills and corp mates in Eve Online.
I click on the Eve Online shortcut, I logged in, then I almost fell out of my chair.
This is what I see.
[http://img69.imageshack.us/i/permabaneveonlinek.jpg/]
''Permabanned!?'' I shout to myself.
I lay there, almost sitting on the floor. I gather up my thoughts, I try to analyze the situation.
I see that the ban notice registered that the last login to my account was yesterday.
I did not connect to Eve Online yesterday.
I begin to suspect that my account was hacked, but I pray to god that it was just a human error.
I go on the official website to try to connect to my account, to check if I'm really banned. I can't connect, so I really am permabanned.
I searched ''Banned from eve online'' on google. I find out a few places I can contact CCP about this. I also notice that only a very grave offence can lead to a permaban without any prior warning to a person who did not break the rules before.
I sent CCP a petition on the website and mails on both support@eve-online.com and mods@ccpgames.com
While I write the petition and letters to CCP, I start to have a headache.
Here is one of the letters :
''I just got wrongly banned from the game. I do not exactly know why, but apparently I breached the EULA. The window telling me why I was banned also told me I connected to the game yesterday, which I did not. I think my account got hijacked yesterday (the last connection) and the person who did this acted in such a was that he caught the attention of a moderator. Please, I've played the game for 3 years, and getting wrongfully banned is like a slap on the face. Please investigate the issue. I've always been an exemplary player. I don't want all the work and relationship I've build over the last years to go to waste because of an error.
At least give me the full reason for the permaban as soon as possible. I am almost physically sick form this whole ordeal. Please, answer quickly!''
Now I start to have some nausea.
I go on another forum, in a thread related to eve online and ask one of the guys to be kind enough to contact my CEO and tell him I was permabanned and that I was trying to find out why and get my account back. A guy named Kusakaze was kind enough to send a mail to my corporation.
Feeling sick, I go lie down on my bed. A few minutes later I go to the bathroom and vomit. I go back to my bed and collapse in exhaustion.
A few hours later, I wake up. My father just came back from work. I explained to him the whole situation. I told him how helpless I felt.
My father's brother is a lawyer. I thought about him.
I was still pumped from the whole thing.
I told my father : ''If CCP doesn't answer within a week or refuses to give back my account, can we contact your brother?''
''We'll see how the whole thing goes first, he said to me, but I understand how passionate your are for this game. I've seen you play it so many times. If nothing happens with that company, we'll maybe go to the small claims court.''
Suing CCP would be, of course, my last resort, but I'm just too darned afraid of loosing 3 years worth of work not to consider every possibility.
Just to make it clear, I just finished reading the EULA and I can strongly claim that I NEVER BREACHED THE EULA.
I'll keep you posted on the progress of this whole mess.
What do you think? Did anything similar happen to you?
PERTINENT COMMENT AND MY ANSWER :
People think that EULA will protect a company like CCP at 100% in every country in the world, While I am aware that EULA gives them some protection, blatantly violating the consumers laws in Quebec probably won't help them.
Thank you for your input, it really shows that you've read the whole first post. We must not forget that my goal here is to get my account back and that's it. The only reason for me to be worried is that I received a ban instead of a permaban. Usually, accounts that suspected to be hacked are simply temporarily banned until the matter can be fixed. So why a permaban for me? Looks like the GM who banned me didn't do his homework (check if last login use same IP as other times, look at history of player, look for past offences etc). I mean, even during Unholy Rage (Raid on ISK sellers accounts) they gave a chance to the offenders, before permabanning the people who went to their old ways. I even praised that operation. But why do I get permban without even knowing why?
UPDATE 1 :
Like I said, I was pumped. I really hope that CCP will fix the issue soon enough.
The thing here is that I was not just temporarily banned, like people under investigation for hack or ISK trading are, or other minor offences. This is a permaban. I am shocked, as a consumer, that CCP did not send me a prior warning for what I did (I'm still wondering about that), did not even take into account the fact that I am an old player that never breached the rules before (and still did not) and finally did not even give me any details on the reason of the ban.
I do not want to sue CCP, I'm just saying it's a last resort. People might say it's silly, but by banning me for no reason, and if they don't unban me, CCP effectively destroyed all the long hours of work I've put into even online, hours I've paid for with the relatively small salary a student gets from working. Of course, I live at my parent's house since my college is like 15 minutes away if I walk, but I have to work for my clothes and any other luxury. This is not like Guild Wars where you pay once to play the game. Don't forget there is a monthly subscription. If the ban if final, I won't be reimbursed for last payment either (technically I have still 2 months of playtime left).
I have a tendency to get headaches and to have nausea when I am tired, thirsty and stressed.
The first two conditions where already fulfilled, but learning of the permaban filled the last condition.
UPDATE 2 :
Yes, perhaps I am overreacting, and it is probable CCP will give my account back, but I fear that the permaban thing makes it final. That's the silly part. CCP just doesn't give enough information for me to say ''Well, I've done what I could for now''. I really don't know what happened to my avatar or all my stuff in eve online.
Yes, I also realize that ''Suing CCP'' sounds stupid, but that doesn't stop me for considering this possibility as a last resort. Also, I am fully aware that it might not be possible to sue CCP at all , or that the whole procedure may cost too much. But if I sue, (and as I'm saying, I probably won't), I won't ask for a ridiculous amount of money. I would just want my account back. And yes, I know is sounds ridiculous, and it probably is. But that would be a ridiculous solution to a ridiculous problem anyway.
As I said, this is a small possibility and I certainly don't want it to happen. I'm 90% sure CCP will fix the issue (I hope), but how long it will take is the big question.
UPDATE 3 :
Another clarification : I still went to college, swearing to myself while walking all the way to my class. I just did not get more time to study for the small test we had that afternoon.
And for my parents, they are odd enought, but not in the way you imply. My father didn't guarantee me anything, but he told me that he might ask a question or two to his brother who's a laywer. If CCP refuse unban me, and if the case can possibly be won (remember, the laws in Quebec have heavily pro-consumer, more than in the U.S.A. or even the rest of Canada), we could go to the small claims court.
Ok, post is long enough, I think I will stop posting updates and simply add directly my comments.
All is well people. I have received a letter from CCP. Apparently, I was right. My account has been hacked and used by a foreign IP. I have to admit that I overreacted and underestimated CCP's customer service. I think what made me react so much was the fact that I was permabanned instead of simply banned, like potentially hacked accounts usually are.
So yeah, to make a little summary of the whole story : two days ago, probably using a keylogger on my computer, a hacker was able to access my account has done something with it that got it permanbanned. I come home, discover my permaban, send a few letters to CCP. A few hours later I create this thread. Then, even later, CCP sends me a letter telling me really was the victim of a hijack, that the foreign IP was banned and that my account password has been reset and is awaiting for a new password. I am currently rescanning my PC for any harmful software.
Here's the letter
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Hi.
Our apologies for the late reply.
Your account has been accessed by a foreign IP and we banned the account when we discovered it.
The hackers probably obtained your login details by installing a keylogger on your machine.
It is therefore vital that you check and clean your computer of any malicious software that is installed. To aid you with that, you can for example use any of the following free anti virus programs. We do not endorse any of these scanners, we are simply trying to help you get rid of the nuisance and we know these have proven helpful in the past:
http://www.free-av.com/
http://secunia.com/vulnerability_scanning/online/
http://www.kaspersky.com/virusscanner
Afterwards, change the passwords both to your EVE Online account and to your email address and any other online accounts you have.
Furthermore, never use your EVE login info anywhere else on the Internet. The only place you should ever need to enter those details would be on our website and when logging into the EVE Online client. Remember that we will never ask you for your account password so ignore any emails you receive asking you for your password, as those are phishing emails.
Finally, it perhaps goes without saying, but it really can't be stressed enough: Never consider purchasing ISK or items for real life money. Even just visiting those sites puts your computer at risk.
The account has now been unbanned. When we ban accounts, the password gets reset, so in order to retrieve your password, go to the following link: ********************************
Remember not to log into your account before you have scanned and cleaned your computer.
Best regards,
Senior GM Gusto
The EVE Online Customer Support Team
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
What ever your opinion was, I greatly appreciate the input of anyone who wrote in this thread.
I want to reassure everyone that I keep CCP in high esteem again.
OLD POST :
Please read the whole post before replying, not that I can enforce that but it might prevent you to write about issues I've already addressed and you might see some clarifications.
Also, what ever your opinion is, be constructive, saying ''THIS IS JUST A GAME'' doesn't add anything to the conversation. Develop your thoughts a bit.
This is the MMO player's worst nightmare.
Today, at noon, an hour before heading back to college for my 2 hour philosophy class, I decided to check on my skills and corp mates in Eve Online.
I click on the Eve Online shortcut, I logged in, then I almost fell out of my chair.
This is what I see.
''Permabanned!?'' I shout to myself.
I lay there, almost sitting on the floor. I gather up my thoughts, I try to analyze the situation.
I see that the ban notice registered that the last login to my account was yesterday.
I did not connect to Eve Online yesterday.
I begin to suspect that my account was hacked, but I pray to god that it was just a human error.
I go on the official website to try to connect to my account, to check if I'm really banned. I can't connect, so I really am permabanned.
I searched ''Banned from eve online'' on google. I find out a few places I can contact CCP about this. I also notice that only a very grave offence can lead to a permaban without any prior warning to a person who did not break the rules before.
I sent CCP a petition on the website and mails on both support@eve-online.com and mods@ccpgames.com
While I write the petition and letters to CCP, I start to have a headache.
Here is one of the letters :
''I just got wrongly banned from the game. I do not exactly know why, but apparently I breached the EULA. The window telling me why I was banned also told me I connected to the game yesterday, which I did not. I think my account got hijacked yesterday (the last connection) and the person who did this acted in such a was that he caught the attention of a moderator. Please, I've played the game for 3 years, and getting wrongfully banned is like a slap on the face. Please investigate the issue. I've always been an exemplary player. I don't want all the work and relationship I've build over the last years to go to waste because of an error.
At least give me the full reason for the permaban as soon as possible. I am almost physically sick form this whole ordeal. Please, answer quickly!''
Now I start to have some nausea.
I go on another forum, in a thread related to eve online and ask one of the guys to be kind enough to contact my CEO and tell him I was permabanned and that I was trying to find out why and get my account back. A guy named Kusakaze was kind enough to send a mail to my corporation.
Feeling sick, I go lie down on my bed. A few minutes later I go to the bathroom and vomit. I go back to my bed and collapse in exhaustion.
A few hours later, I wake up. My father just came back from work. I explained to him the whole situation. I told him how helpless I felt.
My father's brother is a lawyer. I thought about him.
I was still pumped from the whole thing.
I told my father : ''If CCP doesn't answer within a week or refuses to give back my account, can we contact your brother?''
''We'll see how the whole thing goes first, he said to me, but I understand how passionate your are for this game. I've seen you play it so many times. If nothing happens with that company, we'll maybe go to the small claims court.''
Suing CCP would be, of course, my last resort, but I'm just too darned afraid of loosing 3 years worth of work not to consider every possibility.
Just to make it clear, I just finished reading the EULA and I can strongly claim that I NEVER BREACHED THE EULA.
I'll keep you posted on the progress of this whole mess.
What do you think? Did anything similar happen to you?
PERTINENT COMMENT AND MY ANSWER :
Well, I mean, I was shocked, but then even more shocked to know I felt sick about the whole thing. Heh, now I don't feel so bad about it.Muphin_Mann said:
People think that EULA will protect a company like CCP at 100% in every country in the world, While I am aware that EULA gives them some protection, blatantly violating the consumers laws in Quebec probably won't help them.
Thank you for your input, it really shows that you've read the whole first post. We must not forget that my goal here is to get my account back and that's it. The only reason for me to be worried is that I received a ban instead of a permaban. Usually, accounts that suspected to be hacked are simply temporarily banned until the matter can be fixed. So why a permaban for me? Looks like the GM who banned me didn't do his homework (check if last login use same IP as other times, look at history of player, look for past offences etc). I mean, even during Unholy Rage (Raid on ISK sellers accounts) they gave a chance to the offenders, before permabanning the people who went to their old ways. I even praised that operation. But why do I get permban without even knowing why?
Exactly.Maze1125 said:
UPDATE 1 :
For me, it's more like CCP stole my money and did not give me any good reason for it. I payed CCP to play their game and without any reason or warning, they remove this service from me.APPCRASH said:
Like I said, I was pumped. I really hope that CCP will fix the issue soon enough.
The thing here is that I was not just temporarily banned, like people under investigation for hack or ISK trading are, or other minor offences. This is a permaban. I am shocked, as a consumer, that CCP did not send me a prior warning for what I did (I'm still wondering about that), did not even take into account the fact that I am an old player that never breached the rules before (and still did not) and finally did not even give me any details on the reason of the ban.
I do not want to sue CCP, I'm just saying it's a last resort. People might say it's silly, but by banning me for no reason, and if they don't unban me, CCP effectively destroyed all the long hours of work I've put into even online, hours I've paid for with the relatively small salary a student gets from working. Of course, I live at my parent's house since my college is like 15 minutes away if I walk, but I have to work for my clothes and any other luxury. This is not like Guild Wars where you pay once to play the game. Don't forget there is a monthly subscription. If the ban if final, I won't be reimbursed for last payment either (technically I have still 2 months of playtime left).
I should clarify.Pyromaniac1337 said:
I have a tendency to get headaches and to have nausea when I am tired, thirsty and stressed.
The first two conditions where already fulfilled, but learning of the permaban filled the last condition.
UPDATE 2 :
Yes, perhaps I am overreacting, and it is probable CCP will give my account back, but I fear that the permaban thing makes it final. That's the silly part. CCP just doesn't give enough information for me to say ''Well, I've done what I could for now''. I really don't know what happened to my avatar or all my stuff in eve online.
Yes, I also realize that ''Suing CCP'' sounds stupid, but that doesn't stop me for considering this possibility as a last resort. Also, I am fully aware that it might not be possible to sue CCP at all , or that the whole procedure may cost too much. But if I sue, (and as I'm saying, I probably won't), I won't ask for a ridiculous amount of money. I would just want my account back. And yes, I know is sounds ridiculous, and it probably is. But that would be a ridiculous solution to a ridiculous problem anyway.
As I said, this is a small possibility and I certainly don't want it to happen. I'm 90% sure CCP will fix the issue (I hope), but how long it will take is the big question.
UPDATE 3 :
Heh, I might have to do another update. Thanks for pointing this out.Woem said:
Another clarification : I still went to college, swearing to myself while walking all the way to my class. I just did not get more time to study for the small test we had that afternoon.
And for my parents, they are odd enought, but not in the way you imply. My father didn't guarantee me anything, but he told me that he might ask a question or two to his brother who's a laywer. If CCP refuse unban me, and if the case can possibly be won (remember, the laws in Quebec have heavily pro-consumer, more than in the U.S.A. or even the rest of Canada), we could go to the small claims court.
Ok, post is long enough, I think I will stop posting updates and simply add directly my comments.
