ShiftWerx Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 My story is this... On Feb 16, my account was compromised. The hacker sold off multiple items. I called the Customer Support number and the situation was handled. The items and characters have been restored. However, while my main character (who was a guild leader at the time) was under the other person's control, the person kicked out all of the guild members and passed guild ownership to his own account. I have been trying to get the guild restored to my ownership but I have not had any luck to this point. I have called the Customer Support center 4 times since the first call. After explaining the situation, every call ends with the same answer, “Guilds are an in-game issue that can only be handled by the in-game support team”. I have tried escalating to supervisors there, only to be given the same answer, “We are unable to help, put in an in-game ticket” After the first call where I was directed to put in an in-game ticket, I did so as instructed. My first ticket (#23428291) was closed with a form letter response that Account Security issues were handled by the Customer Support call center. My second and third tickets (#23445053 and #23455054) were closed with form letters that guild leadership with an inactive Guild Leader will automatically transfer to an active player and that in-game support could not help with these issues. (Please note: The person who stole the guild is active every day- I can see him with /who). My fourth and fifth tickets (#23453484 (Feb 18) and #23514522 (Feb 22) ) have not been updated or actioned to date. I have also posted on the official EA Support forums. No response from anyone at EA/Bioware/SWTOR. The best answer so far was to send an email to communitysupport@swtor.com, which I have sent this morning. The CS team say they cannot help and they cannot contact the in-game people. The in-game people do not communicate with me, and close my tickets with form letters that do not address the issue. And despite requests to do so, the groups appear to be unwilling and/or unable to talk to each other. It is like they work for different companies. I am very frustrated at this point. I do not know where else to try. Does anyone have suggestion as to who I can talk to for support? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AurraPing Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 If ingame refuses to help you are SOL by EA since they have no inter support contact which as a former ISP rep find very asinine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richiesilva Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 There's nothing more frustrating than being ignored and, when you finally get an answer, it's the same formated bot-like response telling you there's nothing they can do. This is serious enough and I hope it's sorted out quickly. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PorsaLindahl Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 Not knowing what you put in your tickets... Maybe something along these lines: I have spoken with Customer Service about an issue with my guild, and they have directed me to speak with an in-game representative. I am requesting help to alleviate this matter. When they contact you in game you can explain the situation to them. And remember the ABC's of communication: Always Be Courteous (even if you're frustrated). If you get pissed and go off on them, they'll probably be less likely to help. I have had nothing but good experiences with CS. I haven't had to speak to an in-game rep for quite some time, but I've never had any bad experiences with them, either. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theeko Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 Guessing your account was hacked, maybe you can try explaining into fuller detail what happened? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kagekeishu Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 Not knowing what you put in your tickets... Maybe something along these lines: I have spoken with Customer Service about an issue with my guild, and they have directed me to speak with an in-game representative. I am requesting help to alleviate this matter. When they contact you in game you can explain the situation to them. And remember the ABC's of communication: Always Be Courteous (even if you're frustrated). If you get pissed and go off on them, they'll probably be less likely to help. I have had nothing but good experiences with CS. I haven't had to speak to an in-game rep for quite some time, but I've never had any bad experiences with them, either. Good luck. In addition to what Porsa wrote I would like to add the following... In my experience with CSs they always handel everything according to the "book"... That means that they have a list with questions and answers A), B), C), etc. on it and always work through it... Therefore it is the best to guess or anticipate what could possibly be on that list and give as much Information as possible - but in a structured and clear way so that the CS will be able to understand everything !! - in your ticket or E-Mail... The idea behind it is that if you already answered all questions and worked through the list given by the text book approach they won't have anything to hold on to and must deal with the situation individually... In your case you now could include the following things: i am contacting you because xxxxxmy account informations arewhat happend was at first was xxxxx (problem was not 100% solved)still existing problem is xxxxxalready contacted CS and IG-Supp about itboth redirected me to the Oppositionboth told me the other side is responsible for handling the matter because they can not do anythingalready received help from xxxxx regarding the case of xxxxxhelp consisted of the following things xxxxxxthis matter is related to case of xxxxx because it is result of the hack therefore I am requesting helpetc.etc.etc. Best regards Kage Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knowmyname Posted February 24, 2016 Share Posted February 24, 2016 (edited) Been there done that with my guild. Never resolved and that old guild of mine is still posting and recruiting new players. http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=869078 Customer service is a joke in SWTOR. I have never seen an ingame CS or GM whatever you want to call them. Be sure to add a security key to your account, be that the mobile security key or the Microsoft one (heard it works too), or if you can get your hands on one of the physical keys. This would add a layer of security to your account and is highly recommended. Edited February 24, 2016 by knowmyname Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andryah Posted February 24, 2016 Share Posted February 24, 2016 (edited) If we accept that everything shared in your story is correct... Then moving your guild to the hackers account was exceedingly dumb on their part. I recommend you send a PM with your specifics on the issue and events to Eric Musco. Why? Because he can connect with the security team and have them investigate this and look to remedy it. That is a big trail they left. Not faulting Customer Service in any way... but this event as portrayed is clearly an odd corner case (as in .... happens so rarely they have no CS workflow to follow to resolve it. CS operates primarily on formal workflows where customer presents Issue-X and the CS rep looks it up in their work flows to determine what the company approved remedy is. I'd be exceedingly surprised if there is a workflow for remedy of guild theft as a result of an account hack. Accounts don't get hacked all that often in SWTOR, and even then it is only if the player is careless and/or refuses to use tools provided to raise security beyond hackable. Edited February 24, 2016 by Andryah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShiftWerx Posted February 24, 2016 Author Share Posted February 24, 2016 In addition to what Porsa wrote I would like to add the following... In my experience with CSs they always handel everything according to the "book"... That means that they have a list with questions and answers A), B), C), etc. on it and always work through it... Therefore it is the best to guess or anticipate what could possibly be on that list and give as much Information as possible - but in a structured and clear way so that the CS will be able to understand everything !! - in your ticket or E-Mail... The idea behind it is that if you already answered all questions and worked through the list given by the text book approach they won't have anything to hold on to and must deal with the situation individually... In your case you now could include the following things: i am contacting you because xxxxxmy account informations arewhat happend was at first was xxxxx (problem was not 100% solved)still existing problem is xxxxxalready contacted CS and IG-Supp about itboth redirected me to the Oppositionboth told me the other side is responsible for handling the matter because they can not do anythingalready received help from xxxxx regarding the case of xxxxxhelp consisted of the following things xxxxxxthis matter is related to case of xxxxx because it is result of the hack therefore I am requesting helpetc.etc.etc. Best regards Kage Thank you Kage and Porsa. I have attempted to cover off these points in my previous tickets and calls, but I have resubmitted again using your suggestions here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShiftWerx Posted February 24, 2016 Author Share Posted February 24, 2016 Be sure to add a security key to your account, be that the mobile security key or the Microsoft one (heard it works too), or if you can get your hands on one of the physical keys. This would add a layer of security to your account and is highly recommended. I did have a key prior to the compromise. I have changed all passwords, including the email attached to my SWTOR account, and reattached a new security key. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShiftWerx Posted February 24, 2016 Author Share Posted February 24, 2016 If we accept that everything shared in your story is correct... Then moving your guild to the hackers account was exceedingly dumb on their part. I recommend you send a PM with your specifics on the issue and events to Eric Musco. Why? Because he can connect with the security team and have them investigate this and look to remedy it. That is a big trail they left. Not faulting Customer Service in any way... but this event as portrayed is clearly an odd corner case (as in .... happens so rarely they have no CS workflow to follow to resolve it. CS operates primarily on formal workflows where customer presents Issue-X and the CS rep looks it up in their work flows to determine what the company approved remedy is. I'd be exceedingly surprised if there is a workflow for remedy of guild theft as a result of an account hack. Accounts don't get hacked all that often in SWTOR, and even then it is only if the player is careless and/or refuses to use tools provided to raise security beyond hackable. I have been very surprised that no one from the Support side has taken any action against the hacker, because as you say, it is very odd and lots of evidence. I have provided CS and In-Game the name of the character several times. A clear breach of Terms of Service, yet no action - I am boggled. I had considered reaching out to Eric Musco myself on this. Thank you for that suggestion as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andryah Posted February 24, 2016 Share Posted February 24, 2016 (edited) I did have a key prior to the compromise. I have changed all passwords, including the email attached to my SWTOR account, and reattached a new security key. This indicates to me that your email account linked with SWTOR was compromised. How else could they possibly bypass/remove an active security key tied to the account? Do you have two factor authentication on your email account? Edited February 24, 2016 by Andryah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andryah Posted February 24, 2016 Share Posted February 24, 2016 I have been very surprised that no one from the Support side has taken any action against the hacker, because as you say, it is very odd and lots of evidence. I have provided CS and In-Game the name of the character several times. A clear breach of Terms of Service, yet no action - I am boggled. You will not know if they took action against someone. They simply will not confirm or deny to a 3rd party any action taken. The only person who would know the actions taken would be the hacker. And keep in mind, the hacker may have sold the guild to an innocent party to throw them off the trail a bit. Biowares logs will contain all the bread crumbs regardless.. so they should be able to resolve this... but it probably requires the security team to address it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShiftWerx Posted February 24, 2016 Author Share Posted February 24, 2016 This indicates to me that your email account linked with SWTOR was compromised. How else could they possibly bypass/remove an active security key tied to the account? I have been wondering this myself. Again, I have since changed all the passwords, just to cover off that potential threat. I have seen no other activity that would indicate "they" have been accessing my email - no other accounts attached to that email show any abnormal activity/purchases - no spam emails being sent out on my behalf. I have run security software checks on my system with no malicious programs detected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts