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Accounts Banned (Aug. 26)
We would like to report the termination today of multiple accounts held by players involved in the usage of third-party tools or cheats, or engaged in RMT (Real Money Trading) activities.
Based on the results of our investigation, around 5760 PlayOnline accounts were terminated while around 420 accounts were temporarily suspended.
Additionally, we have increased the number of mass bannings against certain PlayOnline violations in order to prevent illegal acts.
Details of the violations are as follows:
- Usage of tools that allow enhanced character movement.
Week of July 20, Approx. 240 cases
Week of July 27, Approx. 330 cases
Week of August 3, Approx. 210 cases
Week of August 17, Approx. 340 cases
Week of August 24, Approx. 150 cases
- Usage of tools that circumvent game mechanics with respect to the timing of ability use, etc. in certain areas or at points where Notorious Monsters appear.
August 26, Approx. 20 cases
- Using cheats to automatically repeat a particular action.
Week of July 20, Approx. 160 cases
Week of July 27, Approx. 60 cases
Week of August 3, Approx. 140 cases
Week of August 17, Approx. 240 cases
Week of August 24, Approx. 30 cases
- Gil and item exchange for real world money.
Week of July 27, Approx. 20 cases
Week of August 3, Approx. 20 cases
Week of August 17, Approx. 200 cases
Week of August 24, Approx. 150 cases
- Instances of areas or monster monopolization.
July 24, Approx. 190 cases
August 7, Approx. 200 cases
August 25, Approx. 160 cases
- Usage of synthesis and auction houses for RMT activities.
July 22, Approx. 650 cases
- Involved in compromised accounts
Week of July 20, Approx. 420 cases
Week of July 27, Approx. 810 cases
Week of August 3, Approx. 700 cases
Week of August 17, Approx. 680 cases
Week of August 24, Approx. 60 cases
The termination of these accounts has led to the removal of approximately 2.5 billion gil from circulation.
We would like to remind players that as well as adversely affecting game balance, the use of third-party tools or cheats can also have consequences that are not immediately obvious, such as introducing damaging viruses, and comprising the security of private account details. Usage of third-party tools will not be tolerated within FINAL FANTASY XI, and we will continue to severely penalize any players found to be in violation of the PlayOnline Member Agreement.
As we continue to ensure a fun and balanced environment for FINAL FANTASY XI, we hope that our players enjoy the game as it was intended and take care to avoid involvement in activities that violate the PlayOnline Member Agreement.
Thank you for your continued cooperation and understanding.
FINAL FANTASY XI Official Web Site
Special Task Force Report (08/26/2008)
Special Task Force Activities and Future Plans
There has been no considerable increase or decrease in the number of accounts banned for July or in the number of reports received. We have been maintaining the same conditions since the bannings in May and June.
We will start by addressing the use of synthesis and auction houses for RMT.
As the result of banning groups using multiple accounts, the number of accounts banned in July was slightly higher than in June. However, since then, no large-scale groups have emerged, and we can assume from the gradual decrease in reports that the use of synthesis and auction houses for RMT has calmed down.
There were roughly 1000 reports regarding illegal fishing in July--an increase of about 100 since June. However, because in actuality this violation is steadily decreasing, the number of accounts banned in July came to 700, about 200 less than June. As one can see in the graph above, we have managed to maintain a lower number of bannings since we strengthened our activities in May.
Additionally, the number of hunters banned in July decreased by 150 accounts from June to 800 accounts. The number of reports regarding hunters has decreased by about 40, and hunter activities seem to have calmed down.
Because the violations mentioned here are habitual practices in the illegal collection of gil for RMT, it is common for players to continue their actions with a new account after they have been banned. As a result of the Special Task Force's repeated bannings, reports regarding illegal fishing which we had received the most reports about have decreased to 1 or 2 reports a day per world. We can surmise from this statistic that the number of violators engaged in illegal fishing has considerably decreased.
Although these problems have been mostly solved for some time, a new problem has emerged and grown in magnitude. We have confirmed in multiple investigations that many accounts harmed by unauthorized access have been used by players for RMT purposes. Cases where characters have been commandeered and used by violators of the user agreement have been on the increase.
In order to lessen the damage caused by unauthorized access and freeze as much gil used for RMT as possible, starting in July, the Special Task Force started activities that will put more importance on banning accounts involved in RMT. We are still continuing the same activities we have been conducting up until now in preventing players from being harmed by illegal actions.
As a part of our plan in dealing with unauthorized access, security for all PlayOnline services has been strengthened, but we ask that Windows users take preventative measures to prevent unauthorized access before it can happen. For specific information on preventative measures in dealing with unauthorized access, please take a look at the unauthorized access page.
If your account does happen to be accessed by an unauthorized third party, please contact the Information Center after reading through the unauthorized access page.
Matters of Concern Within the Community
In the following section, we will be explaining the Special Task Force's direction and plans in dealing with matters of concern within the community.
- There are characters who seem to be automatically repeating actions such as singing in Campaign battles to build up experience.
Since the June 10 version update, there have been many reports to GMs and the Special Task Force regarding suspicious characters that have been witnessed continually singing even after Campaign battles have ended. The GM team is currently focusing on this problem and if it is confirmed that a character is involved in actions violating the user agreement, that character's account will be immediately banned.
- Someone logged into my account through illegal means and used my character for actions violating the user agreement. Because of this, a GM banned my account. Can I have the record of the banning erased?
If a user's account is accessed by an unauthorized third party, its characters may be used for actions violating the user agreement without the user's knowledge. In particular, many cases of characters on stolen accounts being used for hunter activities or being sold on RMT sites have been confirmed by the Special Task Force's investigations.
If your account has been engaged in illegal actions, it will be banned by a GM, but once it has been confirmed that your account had been illegally accessed, the record of the banning (the disciplinary measures history) will be erased.
- My account was accessed by an unauthorized third party, so I e-mailed the Special Task Force about getting my account recovered, but I still haven't gotten a reply. Is the account recovery going smoothly?
Unfortunately, even if you send a report of unauthorized access to the Special Task Force, we cannot recover your account or respond to your e-mail.
If your account has been accessed by an unauthorized third party, please contact the PlayOnline Information Center.
Reporting to the Special Task Force
The Special Task Force relies on everyone's information regarding violations of the user agreement to help keep FINAL FANTASY XI an enjoyable environment, and we appreciate your continuing support and cooperation.
Report to Special Task Force
*Please contact the Square Enix Information Center by telephone or through the "Contract Help" e-mail support under Service & Support in regards to unauthorized access or other concerns regarding your account.
If you become aware of unauthorized access outside of the Information Center's hours of operation and possess multiple PlayOnline IDs, log in from another PlayOnline ID and contact a Game Master (GM). The GM will make the accessed account temporarily unavailable.
However, please note that a GM cannot perform account related actions such as changing one's password, so it will be necessary to contact the Information Center at another time.
We would like to report the termination today of multiple accounts held by players involved in the usage of third-party tools or cheats, or engaged in RMT (Real Money Trading) activities.
Based on the results of our investigation, around 5760 PlayOnline accounts were terminated while around 420 accounts were temporarily suspended.
Additionally, we have increased the number of mass bannings against certain PlayOnline violations in order to prevent illegal acts.
Details of the violations are as follows:
- Usage of tools that allow enhanced character movement.
Week of July 20, Approx. 240 cases
Week of July 27, Approx. 330 cases
Week of August 3, Approx. 210 cases
Week of August 17, Approx. 340 cases
Week of August 24, Approx. 150 cases
- Usage of tools that circumvent game mechanics with respect to the timing of ability use, etc. in certain areas or at points where Notorious Monsters appear.
August 26, Approx. 20 cases
- Using cheats to automatically repeat a particular action.
Week of July 20, Approx. 160 cases
Week of July 27, Approx. 60 cases
Week of August 3, Approx. 140 cases
Week of August 17, Approx. 240 cases
Week of August 24, Approx. 30 cases
- Gil and item exchange for real world money.
Week of July 27, Approx. 20 cases
Week of August 3, Approx. 20 cases
Week of August 17, Approx. 200 cases
Week of August 24, Approx. 150 cases
- Instances of areas or monster monopolization.
July 24, Approx. 190 cases
August 7, Approx. 200 cases
August 25, Approx. 160 cases
- Usage of synthesis and auction houses for RMT activities.
July 22, Approx. 650 cases
- Involved in compromised accounts
Week of July 20, Approx. 420 cases
Week of July 27, Approx. 810 cases
Week of August 3, Approx. 700 cases
Week of August 17, Approx. 680 cases
Week of August 24, Approx. 60 cases
The termination of these accounts has led to the removal of approximately 2.5 billion gil from circulation.
We would like to remind players that as well as adversely affecting game balance, the use of third-party tools or cheats can also have consequences that are not immediately obvious, such as introducing damaging viruses, and comprising the security of private account details. Usage of third-party tools will not be tolerated within FINAL FANTASY XI, and we will continue to severely penalize any players found to be in violation of the PlayOnline Member Agreement.
As we continue to ensure a fun and balanced environment for FINAL FANTASY XI, we hope that our players enjoy the game as it was intended and take care to avoid involvement in activities that violate the PlayOnline Member Agreement.
Thank you for your continued cooperation and understanding.
FINAL FANTASY XI Official Web Site
Special Task Force Report (08/26/2008)
Special Task Force Activities and Future Plans
There has been no considerable increase or decrease in the number of accounts banned for July or in the number of reports received. We have been maintaining the same conditions since the bannings in May and June.
We will start by addressing the use of synthesis and auction houses for RMT.
As the result of banning groups using multiple accounts, the number of accounts banned in July was slightly higher than in June. However, since then, no large-scale groups have emerged, and we can assume from the gradual decrease in reports that the use of synthesis and auction houses for RMT has calmed down.
There were roughly 1000 reports regarding illegal fishing in July--an increase of about 100 since June. However, because in actuality this violation is steadily decreasing, the number of accounts banned in July came to 700, about 200 less than June. As one can see in the graph above, we have managed to maintain a lower number of bannings since we strengthened our activities in May.
Additionally, the number of hunters banned in July decreased by 150 accounts from June to 800 accounts. The number of reports regarding hunters has decreased by about 40, and hunter activities seem to have calmed down.
Because the violations mentioned here are habitual practices in the illegal collection of gil for RMT, it is common for players to continue their actions with a new account after they have been banned. As a result of the Special Task Force's repeated bannings, reports regarding illegal fishing which we had received the most reports about have decreased to 1 or 2 reports a day per world. We can surmise from this statistic that the number of violators engaged in illegal fishing has considerably decreased.
Although these problems have been mostly solved for some time, a new problem has emerged and grown in magnitude. We have confirmed in multiple investigations that many accounts harmed by unauthorized access have been used by players for RMT purposes. Cases where characters have been commandeered and used by violators of the user agreement have been on the increase.
In order to lessen the damage caused by unauthorized access and freeze as much gil used for RMT as possible, starting in July, the Special Task Force started activities that will put more importance on banning accounts involved in RMT. We are still continuing the same activities we have been conducting up until now in preventing players from being harmed by illegal actions.
As a part of our plan in dealing with unauthorized access, security for all PlayOnline services has been strengthened, but we ask that Windows users take preventative measures to prevent unauthorized access before it can happen. For specific information on preventative measures in dealing with unauthorized access, please take a look at the unauthorized access page.
If your account does happen to be accessed by an unauthorized third party, please contact the Information Center after reading through the unauthorized access page.
Matters of Concern Within the Community
In the following section, we will be explaining the Special Task Force's direction and plans in dealing with matters of concern within the community.
- There are characters who seem to be automatically repeating actions such as singing in Campaign battles to build up experience.
Since the June 10 version update, there have been many reports to GMs and the Special Task Force regarding suspicious characters that have been witnessed continually singing even after Campaign battles have ended. The GM team is currently focusing on this problem and if it is confirmed that a character is involved in actions violating the user agreement, that character's account will be immediately banned.
- Someone logged into my account through illegal means and used my character for actions violating the user agreement. Because of this, a GM banned my account. Can I have the record of the banning erased?
If a user's account is accessed by an unauthorized third party, its characters may be used for actions violating the user agreement without the user's knowledge. In particular, many cases of characters on stolen accounts being used for hunter activities or being sold on RMT sites have been confirmed by the Special Task Force's investigations.
If your account has been engaged in illegal actions, it will be banned by a GM, but once it has been confirmed that your account had been illegally accessed, the record of the banning (the disciplinary measures history) will be erased.
- My account was accessed by an unauthorized third party, so I e-mailed the Special Task Force about getting my account recovered, but I still haven't gotten a reply. Is the account recovery going smoothly?
Unfortunately, even if you send a report of unauthorized access to the Special Task Force, we cannot recover your account or respond to your e-mail.
If your account has been accessed by an unauthorized third party, please contact the PlayOnline Information Center.
Reporting to the Special Task Force
The Special Task Force relies on everyone's information regarding violations of the user agreement to help keep FINAL FANTASY XI an enjoyable environment, and we appreciate your continuing support and cooperation.
Report to Special Task Force
*Please contact the Square Enix Information Center by telephone or through the "Contract Help" e-mail support under Service & Support in regards to unauthorized access or other concerns regarding your account.
If you become aware of unauthorized access outside of the Information Center's hours of operation and possess multiple PlayOnline IDs, log in from another PlayOnline ID and contact a Game Master (GM). The GM will make the accessed account temporarily unavailable.
However, please note that a GM cannot perform account related actions such as changing one's password, so it will be necessary to contact the Information Center at another time.
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