Simple thread premise. The shady goons behind the scene who spend the majority of their time trying to phish for your GW information for the purposes of scamming, hijacking, or the likes.
How do they ever manage to get it?
Most would suggest simple things like, "Have you given your information to anyone?" (No.) "Have you used any mods like Texmod, downloaded from an unreliable source (with the potential for keylogging)?" (No.) "Have you ever used or posted your GW account e-mail on a, in retrospect, shady looking GW site, or anywhere other than GWG?" (No.) "Do you use the same e-mail for your GW account as your GWG account and allow GWG users the option to e-mail you?" (No.)
I'm answering no to all of these things because I was the subject and current victim of an account hijacking by a Taiwanese user of all things, and while I'm still in contact with support trying to retrieve my account, one thought continues to linger. How DID they get my account? Nevermind that, how do they confirm the changes when the confirmation email is sitting in your inbox and both your GW and email passwords are different? Furthermore, why is ANet's system so fault-ridden and the security flimsy?
If this is the wrong section then please, mods, feel free to move it, but I thought this was fairly suiting for general discussion.
So, how DO some of these phishers get your information?
BLOODGOAT
Kumu Honua
Most of the time? You. You let them in.
Whether that is due to downloading bad things, or having poor security, or a completely open system.
Even when people say "I DIDN'T DO ANY OF THAT!" 90% of the time, they did and they know it.
Whether that is due to downloading bad things, or having poor security, or a completely open system.
Even when people say "I DIDN'T DO ANY OF THAT!" 90% of the time, they did and they know it.
I pwnd U
Sorry but you downloaded something and probably got it hacked that way. They could have forced their way into your account but that would have been a TON harder to do and highly doubtful...
Xunlai Guru Agent
Yeah, you probably downloaded a keylogger..
Tom Swift
Frankly - I still think it is bad security at NCSoft's end.
No proof - I'm just suspicious of any big company that assures it's customers that it's security it air tight and invulnerable.
No proof - I'm just suspicious of any big company that assures it's customers that it's security it air tight and invulnerable.
removed
Bottom line is, if they get your password, it's game over. Bad luck. Finished.
And what more protection can anet really give? A 2nd password? Come on. There's nothing wrong on their side. Though what does probably happen is some disgruntled employee sells account info to botters and such for a price.
And what more protection can anet really give? A 2nd password? Come on. There's nothing wrong on their side. Though what does probably happen is some disgruntled employee sells account info to botters and such for a price.
AKB48
well you could have 10 billion passwords for one account but then log in would be hard.
The Primeval King
Well I could tell you exactly how it works and give you the steps to make your own phisher... But I might get in trouble 
Although it IS fun going into a thousand peoples myspaces and changing all their stuff ^_^
But account info is stolen mainly in two ways:
1. Submitting your info on a fake website with a similar looking URL.
2. Downloading programs.
Although it IS fun going into a thousand peoples myspaces and changing all their stuff ^_^
But account info is stolen mainly in two ways:
1. Submitting your info on a fake website with a similar looking URL.
2. Downloading programs.
Thizzle
warm me up some chicken.
Lady Raenef
Them: "[name] is quitting! PM him for free ectos!"
You: "I want free ectos!" /pm
Your PM: "Hey, give me free ectos!"
Their reply: "[name] is quitting! PM him for free ectos!"
Your 2nd PM: "WTF?"
Them1: "NEED GOLD? BUY OFF BLAHBLAHBLAH.COM!"
Them2: "NEED GOLD? BUY OFF BLAHBLAHBLAH.COM!"
Them54: "NEED GOLD? BUY OFF BLAHBLAHBLAH.COM!"
You: "Oh shit."
You: "I want free ectos!" /pm
Your PM: "Hey, give me free ectos!"
Their reply: "[name] is quitting! PM him for free ectos!"
Your 2nd PM: "WTF?"
Them1: "NEED GOLD? BUY OFF BLAHBLAHBLAH.COM!"
Them2: "NEED GOLD? BUY OFF BLAHBLAHBLAH.COM!"
Them54: "NEED GOLD? BUY OFF BLAHBLAHBLAH.COM!"
You: "Oh shit."
pumpkin pie
don't answer any unnecessary and suspicious questions on the forum? every time people ask this sort of question, i automatically think they are trying to find a way around all the usual thing/scamp you know like collecting data to make a even more good way to phis lol
BLOODGOAT
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Kumu Honua
Whether that is due to downloading bad things
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Kumu Honua
or having poor security
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Kumu Honua
or a completely open system
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by I pwnd U
Sorry but you downloaded something and probably got it hacked that way. They could have forced their way into your account but that would have been a TON harder to do and highly doubtful...
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Xunlai Guru Agent
Yeah, you probably downloaded a keylogger..
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by The Primeval King
1. Submitting your info on a fake website with a similar looking URL.
2. Downloading programs. |
(Again, 3rd party application downloads, I expect you only mean for GW.)Quote:
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Originally Posted by Thizzle
/image snip
warm me up some chicken. |
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Lady Raenef
Them: "[name] is quitting! PM him for free ectos!"
You: "I want free ectos!" /pm Your PM: "Hey, give me free ectos!" Their reply: "[name] is quitting! PM him for free ectos!" Your 2nd PM: "WTF?" Them1: "NEED GOLD? BUY OFF BLAHBLAHBLAH.COM!" Them2: "NEED GOLD? BUY OFF BLAHBLAHBLAH.COM!" Them54: "NEED GOLD? BUY OFF BLAHBLAHBLAH.COM!" You: "Oh shit." |
Quote:
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Originally Posted by pumpkin pie
don't answer any unnecessary and suspicious questions on the forum? every time people ask this sort of question, i automatically think they are trying to find a way around all the usual thing/scamp you know like collecting data to make a even more good way to phis lol
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In any event, all the things I expected to be mentioned were mentioned, and as I expect, I had a big old "no" to go with every one of them. This is where my confusion lies. Regardless, ANet did reset my account information for me and I have my account back, I'm still wondering how it happened. As much as I know I'll never be certain about it, there has to be something that someone will bring up that I can actually amount to a "yes" with.
zwei2stein
Quote:
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Originally Posted by BLOODGOAT
SOtherwise, I always have Sygate running and have a daily NOD32 scan at 4 am which I am sure would indicate any nasties.
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first, it takes time to identify virus, analyze it and add it to detection database and for you to update software. It can take hours/days during which you are vulnurelalble.
seccond, rare "nasties" - i.e. keylogger which was made to target GW and is only on dozen of computers worldwide - might never be discovered because they are simply under radar.
there is more, but point is that you can only trust your AV to protect you from past threats that are no longer really dangerous.
bhavv
Quote:
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Originally Posted by avisotin
Bottom line is, if they get your password, it's game over. Bad luck. Finished.
And what more protection can anet really give? A 2nd password? Come on. There's nothing wrong on their side. Though what does probably happen is some disgruntled employee sells account info to botters and such for a price. |
I wish that all MMOs could have a pin like Maple Story does.
Kumu Honua
It is possible that you were the direct target of malicious and evil ninja hackers.
However Occam's Razor tends to disagree.
The chance of being the direct target of a malicious hacker (especially since you are a security expert and all) is so infinitesimally small that you should go out and buy a lottery ticket. Not two of them. You only need one.
However to play devils advocate: Do you brag about being the richest person in Guild Wars? Do you cycle through all your permatonics? Do you randomly show random people 8 stacks of armbraces? Do you wander around town with a panda and raincaller and assasin and...
You must have done something that got the attention of the evil ninja hackers. They don't come out into the light for 20g and a purple broadsword...
However Occam's Razor tends to disagree.
The chance of being the direct target of a malicious hacker (especially since you are a security expert and all) is so infinitesimally small that you should go out and buy a lottery ticket. Not two of them. You only need one.
However to play devils advocate: Do you brag about being the richest person in Guild Wars? Do you cycle through all your permatonics? Do you randomly show random people 8 stacks of armbraces? Do you wander around town with a panda and raincaller and assasin and...
You must have done something that got the attention of the evil ninja hackers. They don't come out into the light for 20g and a purple broadsword...
natmarie21
i saw a vid by whitesword on youtube about him almost giving all his WoW(I know that WoW isn't gw but he makes funny vids(i think WoW sucks btw)) details to someone over an email that said somethig like YOUR WOW ACCOUNT WILL BE REMOVED UNLESS IMMEDIATE ACION IS TAKEN + he thought that the fact that he'd bought gold a while back was finally catching up with him. so he filled out his details, then glanced down at the URL and realised that it wasn't a real WoW website. if he'd sent it off he could have lost his account so BEWARE EMAILS LIKE THAT & ALWAYS CHECK THE URL! did you reply to an email like that?? 0.0
Koudelka
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Kumu Honua
They don't come out into the light for 20g and a purple broadsword...
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On topic: I'm sorry your account was hacked... I'm sure no one enjoys having all their stuff rifled through by some random person. I hope you get it back! At least NCSoft seems vaguely concerned about it.
This is why I'm hesitant about downloading textmod... I need it to complete cartographer, but when I read threads like this...
isildorbiafra
[/QUOTE] This is why I'm hesitant about downloading textmod... I need it to complete cartographer, but when I read threads like this...[/QUOTE]
I concur. 0,6% left for GMC; scrape, scrape scrape. Better safe than sorry. Besides nothing beats the feeling of acomplishing something the way it was meant to be.
I concur. 0,6% left for GMC; scrape, scrape scrape. Better safe than sorry. Besides nothing beats the feeling of acomplishing something the way it was meant to be.
wilkinscs1
Well, as long as you download it from a legitimate site, there really shouldn't be a problem.
N1ghtstalker
i use texmod: no problems
finished almost all 3 continents without problems
i got an avast! free edition running and i got no problems with it
and i avoid any suspicious pm's
finished almost all 3 continents without problems
i got an avast! free edition running and i got no problems with it
and i avoid any suspicious pm's
N1ghtstalker
i use texmod: no problems
finished almost all 3 continents without problems
i got an avast! free edition running and i got no problems with it
and i avoid any suspicious pm's
finished almost all 3 continents without problems
i got an avast! free edition running and i got no problems with it
and i avoid any suspicious pm's
wilebill
What is known to be possible is not all that is possible.
1. Be super paranoid about all your downloads.
2. Get Windows Defender from MicroSoft. There is a function under Tools tab that will show all running background processes. In addition, WD will scan daily.
Open the WD Software Explorer. Look at all the processes. If it does not say "permitted," look it up in a search engine. Find out what it is. A process may not say permitted and yet may still be OK. It is tedious, but you have to learn about each one.
If you do this after any download, you will learn to recognize any new item that shows up.
3. It is true with the Internet as with everything else. There ain't no such thing as a free lunch.
1. Be super paranoid about all your downloads.
2. Get Windows Defender from MicroSoft. There is a function under Tools tab that will show all running background processes. In addition, WD will scan daily.
Open the WD Software Explorer. Look at all the processes. If it does not say "permitted," look it up in a search engine. Find out what it is. A process may not say permitted and yet may still be OK. It is tedious, but you have to learn about each one.
If you do this after any download, you will learn to recognize any new item that shows up.
3. It is true with the Internet as with everything else. There ain't no such thing as a free lunch.
FrAnt1c??
Small and simple tip to avoid getting your password recorded by a keylogger:
Write down your password in a word file or something like that, open gw, and paste the password in the password box
Most keyloggers record keystrokes once a program is started, so by copy pasting it, they cant .
Write down your password in a word file or something like that, open gw, and paste the password in the password box
Most keyloggers record keystrokes once a program is started, so by copy pasting it, they cant .
Dylananimus
Quote:
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Originally Posted by BLOODGOAT
How DID they get my account? Nevermind that, how do they confirm the changes when the confirmation email is sitting in your inbox and both your GW and email passwords are different?
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If we look past how a person got hacked in the first place and to the fact that it seems you don't actually need to use the confirmation email to change your password, then I think it needs looked at by ANet. What's the point in having a confirmation email if it's not used, or a 'hacker' can fool Play NC into thinking it was confirmed or whatever.
ramma77
I myself got h4x0red and more than likely it was something dodgy i had downloaded. They stole everything and deleted all my chars.
I lost 11 level 20 chars. Some had finished all 3 games. Most had 1 set of elite armour. Some had 3-4. *sobs*
What i'd like to see is some kind of lock you can put on characters and maybe certain items to stop them being deleted/sold. it could be something as simple as a password.
I lost 11 level 20 chars. Some had finished all 3 games. Most had 1 set of elite armour. Some had 3-4. *sobs*
What i'd like to see is some kind of lock you can put on characters and maybe certain items to stop them being deleted/sold. it could be something as simple as a password.
Kumu Honua
Quote:
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Originally Posted by ramma77
What i'd like to see is some kind of lock you can put on characters and maybe certain items to stop them being deleted/sold. it could be something as simple as a password.
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Paper Tiger.
Commander Ryker
To add to what the others have said......be careful of exe's (you can scan them before opening) and websites that friends send you. They might not know it has a virus and send it innocently. Years ago, I got one from a friend that the virus itself sent. So be suspicious of everything.
BLOODGOAT
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Kumu Honua
However to play devils advocate: Do you brag about being the richest person in Guild Wars? Do you cycle through all your permatonics? Do you randomly show random people 8 stacks of armbraces? Do you wander around town with a panda and raincaller and assasin and...
You must have done something that got the attention of the evil ninja hackers. They don't come out into the light for 20g and a purple broadsword... |
However, I am beginning to suspect, wearily as it may be, that it might have just been a gold farmer. I mean, when I got my account back and checked it, I had a whopping 500+ points on my Wisdom title... in a week? It took me like 6 months to get to tier 3 and in less than a week I'm 10 away from tier 4? And my stash was just packed with unids PROBABLY waiting to be sold in a 5-for-7k type of thing. And given the fact the user was Taiwanese of origin, this is just the random conclusion I've jumped to.
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Dylananimus
How exactly DOES this happen if your email/user name is different to the one you use for confirmation emails? Nobody has answered this yet.
If we look past how a person got hacked in the first place and to the fact that it seems you don't actually need to use the confirmation email to change your password, then I think it needs looked at by ANet. What's the point in having a confirmation email if it's not used, or a 'hacker' can fool Play NC into thinking it was confirmed or whatever. |
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Commander Ryker
To add to what the others have said......be careful of exe's (you can scan them before opening) and websites that friends send you. They might not know it has a virus and send it innocently. Years ago, I got one from a friend that the virus itself sent. So be suspicious of everything.
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Chokey
The current phishing scam hit me too.As far as I can see it(and correct me if I'm wrong) couldn't have been a keylogger,as I've been using the -password command line. The one I got took my FoW set,a few weapons and the 30k I had in storage.They left a few other sets of armor with Sup. Vigors on them. Wheres the logic there?
Tatile
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Karoli
The current phishing scam hit me too.As far as I can see it(and correct me if I'm wrong) couldn't have been a keylogger,as I've been using the -password command line. The one I got took my FoW set,a few weapons and the 30k I had in storage.They left a few other sets of armor with Sup. Vigors on them. Wheres the logic there?
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Oh, on logic, there is none. The person was either being cautious (seen ANet's policy on random big trades?) or lazy.
BLOODGOAT
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Karoli
The current phishing scam hit me too.As far as I can see it(and correct me if I'm wrong) couldn't have been a keylogger,as I've been using the -password command line. The one I got took my FoW set,a few weapons and the 30k I had in storage.They left a few other sets of armor with Sup. Vigors on them. Wheres the logic there?
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Chokey
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Tatile
You got your account back?
Oh, on logic, there is none. The person was either being cautious (seen ANet's policy on random big trades?) or lazy. |
Tatile
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Karoli
Hadnt lost it in the first place,until a couple of hours after discovering that.AFAIK the email and password for my account have changed.So right now,I'm working on getting it sorted via PlayNC and my master account.If only I could've remebered the details for that in the first place :'(
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Chokey
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Tatile
Well, good luck on getting your account back. The master accounts for PlayNC are weird, and also seem to be a slight risk when it comes to accounts and owning them. If you need anything just let me know, my storage mules are getting fairly full
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Thanks for the generosity. I should be able to get back on my feet quite well though. Dumb phisher left my 600'ing staff and armor,so I should be able to CoF plenty. If I get another account though,that'll be a different matter entirely.Thanks
lordheinous
Something that has always made me slightly suspicious is how many of the guilds who advertise here on guru have links to there forums where if you want to apply, you must make an account, complete with a confirmation e-mail address and a password. Now, I know most, if not all, of these are probably innocent, and that even if they weren't, using a different email than you use for gw and obviously a different password as well would make their efforts meaningless. However, there are plenty of people I'm sure who use the same email address, and probably use the same password as well, hence I've always felt a fair bit of suspicion to said forum links. I am somewhat suspicious by nature though, so judge it as you will.
RedNova88
Good luck with getting your account back and such. I don't see how in the world it could just simply happen to someone when their computer is supposedly safe, but stranger things have happened.
Oh and to note on what bhavv said, that's not as safe as one might think, there are plenty of programs just as common as keyloggers that will snapshot your screen, and monitor how your mouse moves/clicks, as well as recording keystrokes.
It saddens me that things like this happen. Even if it is just a video game, stealing is still stealing.
Oh and to note on what bhavv said, that's not as safe as one might think, there are plenty of programs just as common as keyloggers that will snapshot your screen, and monitor how your mouse moves/clicks, as well as recording keystrokes.
It saddens me that things like this happen. Even if it is just a video game, stealing is still stealing.
auch
spyware? o.O or a trojan ,. did u visit any supsicious sites
Rexion
I hate to use this one reference, but it is probably something ANet should implement.
If anyone has played RuneScape in the past year, you would know that to get into your bank, you must click, with your mouse, in a 4 number code.
ANet should implement this when logging in.
All you have to do is type email in, type password in, punch 4 numbers by CLICKING a 4 number code. That way, even if your password is stolen, they still can't get into your account.
Simple answer. Would work well.
If anyone has played RuneScape in the past year, you would know that to get into your bank, you must click, with your mouse, in a 4 number code.
ANet should implement this when logging in.
All you have to do is type email in, type password in, punch 4 numbers by CLICKING a 4 number code. That way, even if your password is stolen, they still can't get into your account.
Simple answer. Would work well.
Chokey
Just thought I'd give an update, I got my account sorted. And the above post would be spiffy.
ramma77
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Kumu Honua
If they can "hack" your account and change your game account password, what in the 9 hells makes you think a character password is going to slow them down at all?
Paper Tiger. |
They never changed my game password at all. And as far as i am aware they get your password by reading it when you put it in. So if you only put the character locking password in once then chances are they wont be able to find out what it is. Unless you were already compromised when you made the char.