Martin Fury cheat draws Blizzard ire
WoW Insider had a chance to sit down today and talk with Karatechop, the man at the center of the cheating scandal that has been rocking World of Warcraft to its core.
We'll have the full interview up for you soon (later today hopefully, or tomorrow at the latest), however one thing we learned from the interview is that his account has been closed, permanently. While we cannot verify this with Blizzard directly, as there are privacy concerns that forbid them from talking about other people's accounts, we can verify that the account administrator who dealt with the closure is real, and that the template used in disseminating the account closure information is legitimate.
The account closure email was forwarded to us from Karatechop during the interview, and we are confident in its authenticity. You can see the full email after the break. We have his express permission to reproduce and report on the actions taken against his account.
The other thing to note is that despite claims on other websites, he is not an employee of Blizzard. There is no evidence to support such claims, and he made a point of telling us today that he is in no way affiliated with Blizzard Entertainment, which we believe.
The full account closure email, sans personally identifiable information, after the break!
From: "wowaccountadmin@blizzard.com" <wowaccountadmin@blizzard.com>
To: REMOVED
Sent: Wednesday, April 29, 2009 6:30:24 PM
Subject: World of Warcraft - Account Issue
Salutations,
Thank you for taking the time to contact us regarding the World of Warcraft account you are using. We apologize for any gap in communication, yet our in-game Player Relations team sent an email detailing the account issue and resolution to the registered email address on Tuesday, April 28, 2009 7:55:14 PM Pacific Standard Time. We have included a copy of the original message for your review and apologize for any inconvenience you may have experienced.
*********************************Original Email*******************************************************
Subject: World of Warcraft - Account Closure
****Notice of Account Closure****
Greetings REMOVED,
Account Name: REMOVED
Realm: Vek'nilash
Character Name: Karatechop
Account Action: Closure
Reason for Action: Terms of Use Violation - Abuse of Game Mechanics
• Using or exploiting errors in design, features which have not been documented, and/or "program bugs" to gain access that is otherwise not available, or to obtain a competitive advantage over other players;
• Anything that Blizzard considers contrary to the "essence" of the Game.
After a thorough investigation, Account Administration has determined that the account above was found to have participated in exploitive activities.
The character, "Karatechop," on the realm "Vek'nilash" was found to have obtained an item (inaccessible by standard game play) from another player and trivialized the World of Warcraft raid contents with the exploitive use of this item. Consequently, this character was able to assist with the accumulation of items and achievements through the use of this item that is not obtainable by "normal" means.. The character's actions gave the account an unfair advantage over all other players. As a result of the violation of the World of Warcraft Terms of Use, this account will be permanently closed.
This action has been taken in accordance with the Terms of Use (http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/legal/termsofuse.html) and our In-Game Policies (http://us.blizzard.com/support/article/20309). Any recurring subscriptions on this account have been suspended to prevent further monetary charges.
Only the Account Administration department can address disputes or questions you may have about this account action. To learn more about how we are able to assist you, please visit us at http://us.blizzard.com/support/article/21505.
Regards,
REMOVED
Senior Account Administrator
Blizzard Entertainment
www..blizzard.com
*********************************Original Email*******************************************************
Thank you for your patience and understanding in this matter. Please feel free to contact us with further questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
REMOVED
Account Administrator
Blizzard Entertainment
www.blizzard.com
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"Players who buy gold are supporting spamming, botting, and keylogging."
http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/basics/antigold.html
"How to Stay in the Game"
http://us.blizzard.com/support/article.xml?articleId=21506
