The fight against cheaters in Pokémon GO continues – Players are now made aware of bans via email.
Since the release of Pokémon GO, cheaters have been a problem for the community. GPS services, which allow players to “fake” their current location in the game to catch Pokémon, use PokéStops, or take over gyms, are particularly popular. With these cheats, players have significant advantages over others who do not use these services. If players have used certain third-party websites or software for these or similar purposes, they will now be banned.
Ban Notification via Email
A few days ago, a form on the support website for Pokémon GO provided the first signs of bans for cheaters. The form serves to give players who were banned by mistake a chance to question their ban. In a Reddit thread, screenshots of the email that is sent when a player is banned have now been shown.
According to this email, the following actions are categorized as cheating: Using software that informs the game of a false location of your device, emulators, using modified or unofficial software, or unauthorized access to “Pokémon GO” clients or data. However, these are not all the “offenses” that can lead to a ban, but just a few examples.
For players who feel wrongfully banned, a form is mentioned in the email that you can use to question the ban. In the Reddit thread, players report that they have only tested a website for a short time (for example, to read IV values) and now fear a ban. It is still unclear how exactly Niantic addresses these offenses and whether these players should also expect bans.
Some players report that although they received this email, they can still log into the game. Often, this was because they logged in with their Google account, while their Pokémon Trainer Club account was banned.
