World of Warcraft auction house hacks confirmed, Blizzard issues security warning
World of Warcraft's mobile armory has been compromised, and a wave of unauthorised log-in attempts on both the game's site and mobile companion app have caused developer Blizzard to issue a security warning to subscribers.
PCGamesN reports that Blizzard is in the process of mailing players, along with instructions on how to reset their accounts.
The studio has also closed mobile access to the game's auction house while it tackles the issue, which saw gold being laundered through hacked player accounts in the auction house. Players found that their gold had been used to buy high-value items in the store, as a way of ferrying the cash to the perpetrator's account. Blizzard has pledged to restore any stolen gold or items at request.
Over on the Blizzard forums, players have started listing unauthorised purchases made on their account, and are calling on the developer to remedy the matter. Despite having the Battle.Net authentication tool installed - which is said to combat such breaches - players using it are reporting gold thefts as well, suggesting it isn't working in some instances.
The studio said of the authenticator in a post, "While no means of account security is guaranteed, every precaution you take to secure your computer and your account - including changing your password periodically - adds another defensive barrier. We strongly encourage everyone to take a few moments to read through the security tips available on our support website and follow the suggestions posted there."
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