Curse

KCBeserk · Dec 06, 2006, 02:43 PM // 14:43

i like how =HT=Ingram dosnt understand how a game connect'd toa server works. on guildwars or any game made after 1999 you connect to a server and other people connect to the same server. there is 100% no way ANYONE got ur ip addy from playing gw. so u either bought gold. or this the most likley one you have a key logger on ur comp

Trakata · Dec 06, 2006, 02:56 PM // 14:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by KCBeserk

i like how =HT=Ingram dosnt understand how a game connect'd toa server works. on guildwars or any game made after 1999 you connect to a server and other people connect to the same server. there is 100% no way ANYONE got ur ip addy from playing gw. so u either bought gold. or this the most likley one you have a key logger on ur comp

I like how you have nothing to add to the discussion other than baseless accusations of gold-buying.

Thanks for the heads-up, HT.

Domon Kasho · Dec 06, 2006, 03:24 PM // 15:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cass

Anet would do well to address this problem at the source and take action against the bots that flood some towns.

Take a look at Granite Citadel for example (euro server, english d1, evening time GMT). There's always a number of Mo/W and Mo/Me's there that follow the EXACT same pattern. They walk to the leftmost henchman, to the Spearhead Peak signpost, to the merchant, repeat the last two steps, then go to the Tasca's Demise signpost, and proceed to exit there. ALL of them do exactly this. Many have similar names and a number of them are in the same 'guild'. These are obvious bots and have been there for MONTHS. Why are these accounts not banned? I'm sure Granite is not the hotbed for botfarmers, so it should be even more blatant in other places (Elona Reach? etc)... I just happened to visit this town in PvE recently.

It would take only 10 minutes to identify the majority of these bots in this place. One person could easily check the towns in a given region and ban accordingly, all in less than a day's work. Instead it's going on unchecked forever... why?

there is an almost unbelieveable amount of bot activity in aspenwood (lux/kurz) and in kodash bazzar amer dis1 late nights posting gold sales websites.if anet has some care for the wellbeing of there game and there REAL players they would attempt to cut down if not cut out all bot activity

Gorebrex · Dec 06, 2006, 03:30 PM // 15:30

I like how KC doesnt seem to understand that your IP goes to the server, and all someone has to do is hack the server, and they can get a list of IPs, then(somehow, probably something with login info)match it to a character name, and bingo! "You've got haxord!" If you know the way in, and your way around, its not very difficult to track an IP.

1/2_Extreme · Dec 06, 2006, 03:31 PM // 15:31

interesting...

Mentalist Ellie · Dec 06, 2006, 06:13 PM // 18:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gorebrex

I like how KC doesnt seem to understand that your IP goes to the server, and all someone has to do is hack the server, and they can get a list of IPs, then(somehow, probably something with login info)match it to a character name, and bingo! "You've got haxord!" If you know the way in, and your way around, its not very difficult to track an IP.

So it's that easy for some schmuk to hack into Anet database servers? Ya, right. Get real.

Knightsaber Sith · Dec 06, 2006, 06:44 PM // 18:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by Domon Kasho

there is an almost unbelieveable amount of bot activity in aspenwood (lux/kurz) and in kodash bazzar amer dis1 late nights posting gold sales websites.if anet has some care for the wellbeing of there game and there REAL players they would attempt to cut down if not cut out all bot activity

They have been attempting to rid the servers of all bots since the beginning; but that's easier said than done. If you have some care for the well being of the game; you can send screens and descriptions of such incidents to support to help them in their task.

kade · Dec 06, 2006, 07:15 PM // 19:15

Paypal has been problematic since day 1. I've read countless stories online of scams and faulty transactions through this service and even when it is the company's fault I've never heard of an issue being resolved without a huge amount of unnecessary effort on the user's part. The moral: Don't use Paypal - it's evil!

In all seriousness, if you must use this service, use a card with limited credit on it and check your account regularly...or close the account after the transaction.

Superdarth · Dec 06, 2006, 07:32 PM // 19:32

Heres sompthing:How the heck would they get a CC with a Guild Wars account?You dont pay for Guild Wars,not monthly anyway.

So one would have to have used that account for other activities,illegal ones maybe(MAYBE,read that part.),but other activities anyway.

On a sidenote dont flame the first person that dousnt trust the OP!

shardfenix · Dec 06, 2006, 09:49 PM // 21:49

Technically, breaking the EULA is illegal (in the USA at least), and if you get your paypal/GW account stolen for it, I'm glad it happened to you.

For those people who actually follow the rules of the game and the law, yes, be careful about scammers. Check your comp for spyware/keyloggers weekly if you do not have a program to do it automatically. If something seems to good to be true, it's usually a scam, so don't fall for it.

I always see people in game that say something like "John Doe scammed me out of my ectos, dont trust him." Always check the gold amount someone is giving you before trading, Anet changed the display to a no-platinum display to "fix" scamming.

I also see people in the forums who say something like "yesterday i logged into my account and all my chars/items were gone." You can prevent account stealing by:
1: Not making your password easy to guess (if your email is [email protected], don't make your password windows. You'd be surprised how many people in D2 whose account I could have stolen)
2: Don't download/run any programs you don't trust. They may contain keyloggers which can pick up all your account names, passwords, and email messages you make.
3: Lastly, if you're giving your password to a friend, be sure you trust that friend to not give it to someone else. Not even my best friend knows my PW.

Phaern Majes · Dec 07, 2006, 02:23 AM // 02:23

Really the sad thing about this is that someone would go through the trouble to steal an account simply for buying gold on guild wars... I mean if you're going to commit a felony I'd think you'd at least make it worth the trouble, of never being able to vote (for 7 years without another offense, I believe), own a gun, leave the country (without pre-approval by the country you wish to travel too), and not to mention a job might be hard to come by. Just saying 400$ of guild wars gold seems lame... I mean what it comes down to is its just a game.

Don Zardeone · Dec 07, 2006, 07:37 PM // 19:37

It's big business

them guys make 6-7 figure profits, not 400$, add a few zeroes.

edit: nvm I'm an idiot, my eyesight is failing

Swinging Fists · Dec 07, 2006, 07:59 PM // 19:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phaern Majes

Really the sad thing about this is that someone would go through the trouble to steal an account simply for buying gold on guild wars... I mean if you're going to commit a felony I'd think you'd at least make it worth the trouble, of never being able to vote (for 7 years without another offense, I believe), own a gun, leave the country (without pre-approval by the country you wish to travel too), and not to mention a job might be hard to come by. Just saying 400$ of guild wars gold seems lame... I mean what it comes down to is its just a game.

It's been a while since I read the OP, but didn't he mention it was traced back to China ? In which case, not only is $400 a lot to them, but all those consequences of committing a felony can be disregarded.

=HT=Ingram · Dec 08, 2006, 12:24 AM // 00:24

here is the jest of the scam. they use fan forums to get IP numbers and Email addresses. then they do the rounds...

In my uncles case it happened when I was up there using my laptop and they got his IP address from the router off GWOnline. Guru has protections in place to keep that from happening.

Then they use a Hotmail packet sniffer to retrieve packets from my uncles IP. Unfortunately at the time he was doing something with Winzip and those idiots Sent his password in the open back to him for whatever reason. Also my uncle never listened to me to have different passwords on his multiple accounts, so when the email said you paypal order is verified and gave a password in the open, well that was all they needed...

They then go to town... First they got a Skype setup so they would have a contact number for the resellers. then they ordered massive amounts of game gold for GW WoW FF and Galaxies... Were talking hundreds of dollars worth of this crap... Well then they turn around and make a paypal transfer to his CC and got the PID number from god knows what... Then they started making cash withdrawals of the CC from Retail Checkouts or something else where a PIN is not required... Which means they can make fake Credit Cards. that's when the FBI got involved... Interstate bank fraud.

All this happened in 3 days time...

Now I have some contacts at anet and they told me to forward EVERYTHING to them so at the very least they could ban the accounts involved in the transaction, Which I did. Arenanet also offered to work with the FBI on getting IP numbers and Account data to them on request for the investigation, which I was very thankful for. They of course can not say the person has been banned but I don't see any of their nicknames online anymore so I am going to assume everything went as expected.

Anyhow Everyone is all "Well how they get this or that". and there you go, that's the just of it... A combination of the easy of hacking of Microsoft hotmail, along with very weak passwords on my uncles paypal account. But according to the law enforcement people we have talked to during this ordeal this is a all too common problem in the online world. Same user names and passwords on everything means your vulnerable. I got my uncle FINALLY to change everything I mean EVERYTHING so there is all different usernames and passwords for all his stuff now...

Luckily I understood this and didn't have the problem MYSELF... But it was unfortunate still that my uncle was victimized just because I use a fan forums that didn't secure up IP addresses...

Where the involvement in GW and WoW and Galaxies ect... came in is that the feds told us this is becoming an all too familiar scam because the people Selling this illegal product have no real way to get the authorities involved to help stop the fraud, because what they are doing themselves by selling virtual goods is also illegal under the DMCA. Because they are selling protected intellectual property without the permission of the owners. So the People doing the fraud USE that for some easy virtual money, that they in turn resell to the gold resellers for real cash on different accounts. Alla Money laundering.

The IPs were Routed though a Proxy server in China, But the Skype account was traced to a person in New Jersey, which has been confirmed with the IP from Anet and Blizzard.

So All I was trying to do was alert the community. which I have. I have never purchased gold and never will, Anet knows this all too well. I stand by my reputation and honor in the game. Not many of you making these pointless and biased accusations can say the same thing... I know you want your right to cheat in the game protected, but I'm sorry that is not fair to the legitimate gaming community.

Regards.

Ingy.

PS: let me put it this way. if they would have done it to just about anyone other then an internet security specialist they would have probably got away with it. But I do this kind of tracing and job site security for a living for a large oil company here in Alaska. I know how to find people when I have too. and Trust me, so does the FBI...

More Outrage · Dec 08, 2006, 02:03 AM // 02:03

Firstly I must say I am very sorry for your family and what you all must be going through at this point in time. It is the saddest part of the whole internet thing that we must always be watching what we are doing with private information such as passwords and bank account info..

I don`t think Paypal should be blamed or ANet, or any other online company named above (if I missed somebody).

It is a serious case of uneducation in computers and sending of information. Those of us who used chalk and slates and later moved up to quills and ink could never of dreamed of such an age of information and when it happened it was nothing more than a new way to keep accounts and play games. It all happened so fast and it`s easy to see why mistakes are so easily made with such a lack of foresight.

I can`t wait for the day, and I hope to live to see it, when all this kind of activity ends. I can fully understand the turmoil of those caught up in online fraud and the pressure they must feel when one has to justify oneself.

DeathandtheHealing · Dec 08, 2006, 02:28 AM // 02:28

paypal does have money back system they use. I'm unsure if it is offered to all members... or just verified members.

But are you saying that if you use a hotmail account for your paypal account it is easily haxed?

jimmy_logic · Dec 08, 2006, 01:15 PM // 13:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by =HT=Ingram

But I do this kind of tracing and job site security for a living for a large oil company here in Alaska. I know how to find people when I have too. and Trust me, so does the FBI...

The FBI knows all... reminds me of that IRC log where the guys says something about the FBI reading whats was on there and then someone logs in and says we know... then logs out.

Phaern Majes · Dec 08, 2006, 03:28 PM // 15:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by Swinging Fists

It's been a while since I read the OP, but didn't he mention it was traced back to China ? In which case, not only is 400$ a lot to them, but all those consequences of committing a felony can be disregarded.

Yeah I understand that, but the OP pointed out that this case was around 400$ or so and just some guy in the US.

Quote:

Originally Posted by =HT=Ingram

The paypal and Credit card company has reverse the near $400 worth of charges this fool did. He was good. He had my uncles mailing address and was going to town... The contact phone number came back to a number in new jersey, which is where the FBI stepped in, cause THAT is interstate bank fraud, and a felony.

So in that case it is just a guy getting 400$ of gold, and risking a few years in prison and the label of a felon for it. Believe me I know there are big businesses that rake in millions off of this. I was just saying that this case is a little bit sad because the guy was buying gold not selling.

LoKi Foxfire · Dec 09, 2006, 12:04 AM // 00:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by jimmy_logic

The FBI knows all... reminds me of that IRC log where the guys says something about the FBI reading whats was on there and then someone logs in and says we know... then logs out.

I hate to break it you, but that was a bash.org quote. It's not real.