wow-pony-scam

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  • New scam tries to give you a free Celestial Steed

    by 
    Fox Van Allen
    Fox Van Allen
    07.13.2010

    One of the sadder parts of this job is reporting on the numerous scams that sweep across the World of Warcraft landscape. It's no secret that your WoW account is valuable to thieves -- the entire gold-selling industry is built on a foundation of hacked accounts and stolen items. Their latest scam vehicle? Our inherent desire for sparkle ponies. Let's get two things straight off the bat: You did not just win a free Celestial Steed mount. That in-game tell is an attempt to steal your account. No one just bought you a Celestial Steed mount. That email you got is an attempt to steal your account If it sneaks by your spam filter, the latest scam email can be quite convincing. The message, which appears to be from sales@mail.blizzard.com, masquerades as a receipt for the purchase of the $25 Celestial Steed mount. Of course, the email is not actually from Blizzard (the "from" email is spoofed), and the links to Battle.net and Worldofwarcraft.com inside send you to a phishing website designed to steal your password or infect your computer with a keylogger. Attempt to collect your sparkle pony, and within a few short hours, your entire account will be under someone else's control. If you haven't put an authenticator on your account, the scammers will do it for you, locking you out of your own account and severely hampering your ability to get it back. More information on the latest scam, what you can do to protect yourself and what to do if you're a victim, all after the break.