14 DAY TRIAL // A not-so-clever phishing scam aimed at Blizzard customers has been making the rounds for the last month or so.
Emails entitled “Blizzard Entertainment IP Restrictions” notify recipients that their accounts might have been compromised. Potential victims are urged to verify the legitimacy of their accounts by accessing a link.
“This is an automated notification sent from our account security system. You logined your account successfully at – on – form the – range, but our system shows the – IP range exists a large number of hackers. As too many customer complaints, the – IP range has been blacklisted,” the emails read.
“We are concerned about whether your account has been stolen. In order to guarantee the legitimacy of your account, visit click [URL].”
It’s clear from the poorly written text that the notification doesn’t originate from Blizzard. Instead, those who click on the links are taken to a phishing website that attempts to trick them into handing over their information.
Blizzard representatives have already confirmed that the emails are part of a phishing campaign.
However, besides the poorly written text, there’s another clue in the latest versions of this email that proves it’s fake. ThreatTrack Security’s Chris Boyd notes that the bogus messages are signed “Blizzard Entertainment – Guild Wars 2 Support.”
Gamers probably know that Guild Wars 2 hasn’t got anything to do with Blizzard.
“Blizzard? Guild Wars 2? They should have done their homework, because Guild Wars 2 is developed and maintained by ArenaNet – not Blizzard. While this won’t stop every potential victim from handing over their login details, this surely removes a large chunk of people from the fake MMORPG sweepstakes,” Boyd explained in a blog post.
It’s true that ArenaNet founders are former Blizzard Entertainment employees, but that still doesn’t explain why Blizzard notifications would mention Guild Wars 2.