In the fantasy MMORPG The Elder Scrolls Online bargain hunters might face a nasty surprise. Tomorrow on Tuesday, May 26th, illegally obtained codes will be deactivated.
“Greed is good and if you have to pay for an MMO, you want to pay as little as possible”, this is a common attitude among gamers today. One is almost gleeful, that instead of the nearly 40 or 60 euros that a game officially costs at Amazon or elsewhere, you pay only a fraction of that. Even if the sources from which you get the codes don’t always seem completely kosher: “Well, it’s not my problem, what could possibly happen?”
Tomorrow could be the day of reckoning for some bargain hunters: Accounts created with fraudulent codes in The Elder Scrolls Online will simply be deactivated. As Zenimax reports, there have been more and more illegally obtained codes redeemed recently. Starting from May 26th, these accounts will be banned, and players will receive a notification on how they can continue to play TESO with a valid game.
Zenimax states:
Certain companies profit from using stolen credit cards and fraudulently obtained credit card information to make digital purchases from legitimate merchants, then resell these stolen goods. These companies often offer their digital goods at minimal prices. Customers of these companies expose themselves to the increased risk of unintentionally sharing their personal data with third parties. Extreme price differences compared to those on our official website may indicate that the offered digital code was obtained fraudulently.
It is recommended to make purchases either through their website or through a list of recommended dealers, which you can find in this source. And before you look for it: No, the known “game code only” sites with low prices are not on this list.
There remains the somewhat indiscreet question: Where did you actually get your codes from and do you trust your dealer?
