account hacked, no way to identify ownership.... options?

[swedishfox Ghost]

One of my friends accounts got hacked, they got LL to lock it but couldn't verify that they are the owner of it.... so what options do they have?

[Charolotte Caxton]

Can't they verify it by telling them what the old email was before the hackers changed it, or giving up some personal info?

[swedishfox Ghost]

from what im told, they used someone's license to register, and LL didn't accept the email address as proof.

[Peggy Paperdoll]

Let me see if I understand this.  Your friend has had one of their accounts compromised (hack's not the proper term unless tthe account was accessed by whoever broke into it entering Linden Lab's account servers to gain access.........I don't think that happened).  The account was compromised by either your friend giving someone the password (in which case, your friend should have a very good idea of who it is) or your friend had an easy to guess password and someone guessed it.  And, from the way you stated the second post, you friend can not verify that he/she is the proper owner of the account because your friend used someone else's identification when they created the account.  If that's right, then your friend should be permabanned.  Not only is that against the ToS (a pretty big violation, by the way) but it's also against real life law to use someone else's identification for anything on the Internet..........it's called identity theft and carries some pretty heftly penalties (including prison time).

If I misunderstood the second part (about the use of someone else's identiy) and your friend simply can't prove ownership of the account, the best thing to do is just forget that account.  If there is payment information attached to the account then contact the payment provider (credit/debit card provider or PayPal) and close to change the account.  They might also want to change their email and email password........and be on the look out for funny stuff going on with the rest of their online accounts.  And, since one account was accessed without authorization, assume whoever did it the first time is going to try to do it again with other accounts.........change all those passwords.  Tell your friend to treat it seriously because it sure can wind up being serious........very serious.

[MasoDevotina]

Got to fully agree about the part with identity theft, Peggy, it is considered a serious crime, and if the owner of the identity agreed to the use of it he may run into troubles as well.

If payment information is attached to the account then it shouldn't be a problem to proof ownership of the account (but why use someone elses identity then ....)

Anyway, Swedishfox, make sure your friend is using passwords with some strength (not only letters but numbers and special characters as well) in general, to not tell passwords to anybody and to not click on every damned link that pops up.

I wonder anyway why people treat their online stuff so careless, the don't hand their wallet to strangers and don't enter suspicious looking cars of strangers in RL, all the same they switch off their brain while being online and end up with a SL account they can't use anymore, probably with a lot of Ls spent over time (just an example, I can imagine much worse things).

Your friend should be happy to have lost nothing more serious than an SL account,  treat it as experience and learn something.

[Dilbert Dilweg]

Sound like you may have said too much lol

[wrable Amat]

Birds of a feather flock together as they say.

Might what to get less involved with people when it involves identity theft and you are a vendor that might have cash out leaving a nice paypal foot print to start stalking you with.

 

My all time favorite smooth move is the people who put the disclaimer in their profile about using anything they say in SL ageist them in a court of law will be unlawful because they wrote the disclaimer in their profile...read the TOSS ..every thing here can be handed over as proof to what ever crimes you commit here to the Fed/State or local law information in your country.

[swedishfox Ghost]

Know what's funny? I did use someone elses identification in SL's infancy to sign up, I did ask this person and they agree'd to let me use their info, only because way back then, you had to use a cellphone to sign up, and our carrier wasn't supported.

 

If someone would let you use their id to sign up, I see no problem at all. Not sure thats what's going on here, but lets not turn this thread into "LOL IDENTIFY THEFT!!!!!"

 

in a nutshell: It was their account, then it got compromised, and they can't verify ownership through normal means, is there anything at all they can do to get it back?

[Peggy Paperdoll]

"in a nutshell: It was their account, then it got compromised, and they can't verify ownership through normal means, is there anything at all they can do to get it back?"

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In a nutshell:  The only thing I can think of is to contact Linden Lab directly and plead his case.  The problem I see with that is it's going to be extremely difficult explaining why your friend had to use someone else's identification to sign up.  It never was a requirement to give a cell phone (at least not back in late 2005 it wasn't).  I signed up without a cell phone (but a cell phone was one of the options).  Up until June, 2006 some form of indentification was required for an SL account and it was never okay to use someone else's identification (even with "permission").  Back then, if you didn't have acceptable identification then you were left with two choices.......lie or stay out of SL.  Linden Lab expected you to do the later.  Back then SL was an adults only grid (well there was the Teen Grid but that was an entirely different grid separated by a big fat firewall).  The ID requirement was partly in place for just that reason..........to make it harder for minors to enter the grid.  If LL ever allowed someone to use someone else's ID then a large reason for ID would have been completely defeated.  If you wanted to go to an adults only nightclub and didn't have any ID do you think it's okay to use someone else's?  Even if that someone else said it was okay?  I don't think so.  If you get caught, you'll get thrown out (possibly even have the police called to come have a chat with you).

Like I already said, if your friend used someone else's ID to get an account then they should be permabanned.  Declining to cal it what it is does not change what it is........identity theft.

[Phil Deakins]

I agree with everything you've said, except one word - "theft". If the ID was used with the owner's permission, it's not theft. It may me fraud - fraudulently using a false ID, but I don't believe it's theft (regardless of what the law pidgeonholes it as)

 

@the OP: If your friend has nothing to show that it's his/her account, then it seems to me that that's the end of the account. To be honest, if I knew a way round it, I wouldn't tell you. Imo, anyone who needs to use someone else's ID shouldn't be in SL at all.

[161488303349]

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swedishfox Ghost wrote:

in a nutshell: It was their account, then it got compromised, and they can't verify ownership through normal means, is there anything at all they can do to get it back?

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no