@EA_David Figured I might as well throw my hat in the ring on this issue as well. What follows is my year long struggle attempting to get my account unbanned for a proven hacked account.
It is June 11th, 2020. After losing interest in Apex Legends for several months, my friend group was looking to get back into playing the game, excited for the new content that had been added. Sharing this feeling, I too jumped on to my account through Origin, signed in and booted up the game. After bypassing the Main Menu, I prepared to send invites to my Friends - though I quickly came under the realization that the Friends that I regularly played Apex with were no longer in my Friends List... Though there were several names I did not recognize. At this point I will tell you, that outside of the Sims, Apex Legends is the only thing that I ever used Origin for, so these were not friends added by myself through another game. I will also tell you, I am not one of those players that add people they play with just because they are good - I use my Friends List, for my Friends. My "In Real Life" Friends. Simple.
So, realizing that I do not recognize these names I begin to fear the worst and my suspicions were confirmed. The last time I myself played, Wattson was released and Crytpo may have been teased at that point but not actually out yet. I know for a fact, Wattson was the last one I unlocked. So lo and behold my surprise when I check my characters (long time Caustic Mains shoutout) and learn that not only was Crypto unlocked for my account but Revenant as well! Not to mention that Crypto had a Legendary Skin, but that is beside the point. I did not unlock these characters. I have never played these characters. I have never unlocked any cosmetics for these characters.
At this point it is obvious I was hacked, but my buddies were still waiting on me so I decided to play a game before sorting out my account security (sue me for doing it for the boys). We join each other in the lobby, ready up and find a game. Now to choose my character an-...
Oh great, my account has been banned as well. Shouldn't be surprised honestly, lets see if I can't get EA to sort this out for me.
I share with the boys my conundrum and tell them to just play a couple games while I figure this mess out - cue my visit to EA Help Desk.
EDIT: I think it is also worth sharing that by now, I have scoured through my emails and have confirmation that EA sent me an email regarding being banned for cheating on May 14th, 2020 - a month before I attempted to begin playing with my friends for the first time in months. At the time, I likely ignored this after reading the title of the email believing it to be spam.
After speaking with a Chat Representative, they confirm that there was suspicious activity on my account. Allow me to reiterate, that at this point... This very point, EA has confirmed there was suspicious activity regarding my account and that I was indeed hacked. The Chat Representative and I proceed with putting two-way authorization on my account (or whatever security it is - I'm not computer smart I just want to play Apex, again sue me). Following this, passwords are changed, confirmation of Origin account ownership is done, etc. My Representative is now forwarding along my case up the good ol' chain of command and I should be contacted soon regarding the status of my account. Shoutout to Chat Rep Reema P., you are a goddess and a scholar. I tell the boys I probably will have to sit the day out, until this issue gets sorted. At this point, the date is still June 11th, 2020.
Fast forward to the next day. June 12th, 2020. No contact was made - perhaps I was being too hopeful, let me jump on and talk to a Rep again and see what the status might be. I jump back onto EA Help Desk and talk to a Rep once more (shoutout to Harsh C, you are a gentleman and god bless your heart). They confirm that everything is proceeding as normal and that the case will be looked at in the following days and that it was indeed sent up to the team which handles these cases. Cool beans, that is all I needed to hear.
Ok, here is where things get frustrating - inevitably I am not contacted in the next couple days and my interest in playing the game again waivers.
FAST FORWARD
The day is now February 7th, 2021. A new Season of Apex Legends has begun and my friend group is once again eager to start playing. I recall my previous issues and am excited to play, hoping that whatever befell my account before had been sorted out by the team and that I would be able to play again. Fire the game up, lobby up with my friends, connect to a server, prepare for character sele-...
"Well damn, be right back boys."
I travel once again back to the land that is the EA Help site and prepare to see what in the world is going on that would result in my account still being banned - had I been hacked again somehow? Had they even unbothered unbanning it in the first place? Turns out it was likely the latter as I soon would find out after reviewing my cases. The case which I had put in over a year ago, now displayed the "Closed" description. It was Closed and I had not been contacted, nearly a year later. Nearly a year later and I had not been contacted in regards to ANYTHING that pertained to my account.
There was no unbanning of my account.
There was no explanation as to why the account remained banned.
There was no reason for the Case being closed without the issue being actually resolved.
There was no communication as to WHY my case was closed to begin with.
Well at this point it all just seems wacky, doesn't it? A year later and now I am forced to open up ANOTHER case and talk to MORE EA Help Desk Reps (Shoutout to Priyavrat and Mamta T, but not you Kushlata R. - you just left the chat or something). But a huge shoutout to Mamta T, who went so far as to even say "Within few hours, you would receive the e-mail, once investigation completed."
Hot damn, the Terms of Services team are kicking butt right now - a couple hours? Sweet, I'll finally be able to play Apex Legends again here soon. After a year long wait, I can wait another couple hours. This conversation occurred on February 11th, 2021 at 3:30 in the morning (don't judge me, I work backshift).
It is now February 21st, 2021 at 3:00 in the morning once again. There has been no word still from any team member to assist me regarding an issue that has been PROVEN that I am nothing but a victim here. I might be literate but I'm too much of a * to figure out how to install cheats anyway. I don't care if the Crypto and Revenant unlocks are taken away along with their skins - I didn't earn them anyways, nor did I pay for them. However, I was a shmuck when I did play regularly and dropped upwards of $150 on cosmetics. For those of you who are reading this, if you are to judge me for anything in this tirade, judge me for this - as this is the main reason I feel like I have been kicked in the gonads regarding the whole fiasco.
At this point my frustration is beyond belief and I am going so far as to write this rant on a public form to voice my displeasure, along with reach out to Respawn themselves in my last ditch effort to rectify this injustice. For everyone else who may be in the same boat as me regarding this issue, I wish you the best of luck.
Thank you for listening to my TED Talk.
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