As fans were counting down the days to Diablo III’s release, the farthest thing from their mind was probably having their account stolen just one week after release. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what happened to a few poor souls who’ve taken to the Blizzard forums to air their grievances.
Account theft in the digital world is big business apparently, as these thieves sell digital currency for that of the real world variety, but Blizzard says that these account compromises are “historically in-line” with other game releases.
A representative told Joystiq “Historically, the release of a new game — such as a World of Warcraft expansion will result in an increase in reports of individual account compromises, and that’s exactly what we’re seeing now with Diablo 3. We know how frustrating it can be to become the victim of account theft, and as always, we’re dedicated to doing everything we can to help our players keep their Battle.net accounts safe and we appreciate everyone who’s doing their part to help protect their accounts as well.”
Securing your account is free if you have a mobile device that supports the Battle.net Authenticator App. If you don’t, they also sell keyfob authenticators for $6.50. For iPhone and iPad users you can snag a mobile authenticator from iTunes. For Android users you can get a mobile authenticator on Google Play.
For those of you that don’t have a mobile device, I’d like to start by telling you that it’s 2012. Since you’ve likely been a coma for the last ten years, alot has changed since your “accident”. You made a wise choice in picking up Diablo III straight from the hospital, and to secure your account you can pick up a physical authenticator at the Blizzard store.
