As usual, a quick message unrelated to the article. I've *still* not sorted out the graphics that I used for my old posts, but I will as soon as I have time. This article is late as it is and workload is piling up! Promise, soon!

I was asked what the worst type of ticket we can get as a GM, and while this varies from one GM to the next I think there is one that we all fear having to do because of its nature. Compromised Account cases.

This is when you get a keylogger attack on your computer or give the details to someone that is untrustworthy. An example of a very smooth conversaton is as follows...

GM Wint: Hello, Afrodo, I am Game Master Wint. Would it be possible to have a moment of your time regarding your compromised account?
Afrodo: ye sure
GM Wint: Excellent.
GM Wint: There's a few questions I need to ask before we look into this for you, if you don't mind?
Afrodo: np m8
GM Wint: I'll try to make it quick.
GM Wint: When did you first notice that your account was compromised?
Afrodo: duno sorry. i was away for 2wks
GM Wint Wint: Are there any items or characters missing from the account? If so, could you give some names?
Afrodo: my main, he was tank.
GM Wint: Okay, thank you. That gives us a good idea where to start our search.
GM Wint: Do you have any idea who may have done this? Does anyone else have access to the account?
Afrodo: no
Afrodo: no1 know my acc
GM Wint: Excellent, thank you, Afrodo. What I will do is pass this information onto our Account Admin team for them to look into for you. This could take some time.
GM Wint: While they do this, it is required that we close your account so that no more damage is done to it. Is there anything you wish to ask me before I lock the account for safe-keeping?
Afrodo: How long will it be?
GM Wint: As I said, this could take some time. It is hard to give an exact timescale, but hopefully within a week or two.
Afrodo: ok no more to ask
GM Wint: In that case I will take my leave and forward your information to the accounts team. Hopefully this will be a quick and painless, and you'll be back to playing in no time. :)
GM Wint: Farewell and take care, Afrodo.

I usually leave the chat open for the next minute or so while I do the paperwork just in case the player has any last thoughts or questions. If there are none, the account is locked and forwarded for investigation.

This is one of the easier types of compromised account tickets. Others are not so straightforward with their answers, or fight you when you try to lock their account for safeguarding. This can cause a few delays in getting the ticket finished, and can turn into a pain.

With these cases I usually use my macros to speeds things along. While the conversation is taking place with the use of macros I am multi-tasking in the background doing the required paperwork. Each compromised account case needs to be dealt with by the Account Admins, so the information and some data pulled from the player's account is always attached to the E-Mail.

The above conversation shows the actual macros that I use during these types of tickets so these are my genuine macros - excited, aren't you? I don't like roleplay macros normally, but for a compromised account especially there is no need for them. The player has a serious problem and on the whole these people devastated. Some are even in a state of panic, meaning delicacy and tact is required.

The key information we need for a compromised account from the back end are the items that have been deleted from the character between the suspected time of compromisation, or the character names where applicable, and a log of the IP addresses used to connect to the account. All genuine compromised account cases have an 'alien IP' that can be easily traced, so this is one of the first things that is searched for when dealing with a compromised account. It helps us to determine whether or not this is a genuine case.

Once all the information is collected from the player, an E-Mail is composed with the details copied into it with the saved IP log and deleted items attached. Whoosh goes the mail and click goes the lock on the account.

With enough experience, even a difficult player can be calmed and the issue closed quickly without sounding too rude. It's all a matter of experience and practise, and after just two months working at Blizzard I found myself rather familiar with these tickets having dealt with a large number of them.