Don't Buy Accounts!

Account trading is an illegal practice in which everyone loses, both the buyer and the seller. The reason is simple: since it goes against our Terms of Use, and threatens the entire community, the account is eventually suspended.

Every now and then we come across cases of account trading, especially when we are dealing with player requests for account recoveries. Those cases almost always end up with the account buyer being scammed by the seller, who ends up reaping an unfair profit at the buyer's expense. Unfortunately, a lot of account buyers often don't realize the risk that they expose themselves to. This article contains some of our account security pro tips and common examples of fraud and scamming that we encounter on a daily basis.

Tl;dr: Never buy an account from anyone. Ever. They are almost certainly attempting to scam you. Also, account trading is against our Terms of Use and will get your account permabanned.


Understanding Account Security

How an Account Seller Can Scam You

Account Selling FAQ


Understanding account security

Our account security is based on a principle of secure hidden credentials, which are closely linked with your signup information. For example, your username (the name you use to log in) is considered to be secure because no one can see it in-game. The only way for someone to know your username is if you tell them. Knowledge of secure credentials such as these help us identify a player as the account owner, since there is no other way to verify ownership of something that isn't physical in nature.

If you share your account details with anyone else, they can pose as you online (i.e. in a player support ticket) and it will be impossible for us to verify who the original owner was. In this case, we will have no choice but to ban the account in order to prevent further fraud.


How an account seller can scam you

Bearing the above point about account security in mind, let's look at how an account seller can exploit this to their advantage.

Example 1: The Classic Steal

  • A buyer purchases an account from the seller.
  • The seller does not reveal or provides wrong signup information to the buyer.
  • After the sale is complete, the seller submits a ticket with correct signup information.
  • Support recovers the account for the seller, as correct signup information was provided.
  • Conclusion: Buyer has no way to prove ownership of account and is cheated out of their money.


Example 2: The Multi-Steal

  • The seller sells their account to multiple buyers and provides everyone with correct signup information.
  • Each buyer attempts to recover the account through player support, providing correct signup information.
  • Player support bans the account, since multiple people know the signup details and the account is deemed compromised.
  • Conclusion: Multiple buyers are cheated out of their money.


Example 3: The Noxian Betrayal

  • An account is shared between friends, or is shared as a result of MMR boosting or other services.
  • The second party (i.e. whomever the account is shared with) sells the account.
  • The original owner and the buyer try to recover the account, which ends up being banned due to multiple recovery requests with correct signup details.
  • Conclusion: Seller just got away with selling someone else's account.

There are many variations of the above examples, but the pattern is always the same - the buyer is completely at the mercy of the seller. Since the buyer and the seller do not usually know each other in real life, there is often no recourse for the buyer.

To put it in perspective, a buyer is putting their trust in an internet stranger to not cheat them out of their money.



Account Selling FAQ

Should I buy an account from an internet stranger who will most certainly cheat me out of my hard earned money?

No. You should buy Teemo skins instead.

 

But I know a guy! He is trustworthy! Should I buy an account from him?

Everything you know about him is a carefully fabricated lie designed to gain your trust.

 

My friend bought his account and they didn't have any problems...

While not every case of account selling is fraudulent, you are still putting your trust in a stranger over the internet to not scam you.

 

Does that mean that I should buy an account?

NO!

Okay, okay. Sheesh. Well, what should I do if I see someone selling an account, like on social media?

Keep calm, and don't panic (and don't buy it). You can send us a ticket to report the issue. Remember, the buying and selling of accounts is harmful to the whole community. Crime doesn't pay, and in this case it could end up costing you money. Nobody wants that, so stay smart and steer clear of account buying.

 

 

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