Over the weekend we already reported that batches of Far Cry 4 keys purchased at third-party key sellers might be blocked by Ubisoft as there was something fishy going on. It now is clear that the keys purchased have been bought with stolen credit cards, EA Confirms.
EA has confirmed Ubisoft's assertion that the fraudulent keys in question were purchased from Origin. The company provided us with additional detail.
"A number of activation keys for Ubisoft products were purchased from Origin using fraudulent credit cards, and then resold online," an EA representative told us via email. "We identified the unauthorized keys and notified Ubisoft. If you are having trouble with an activation key, we recommend you contact the vendor who sold it to you for a refund. We strongly advise players only purchase keys from Origin or trusted resellers. For more information on our policy is available here: http://help.ea.com/en/article/should-i-purchase-my-ea-downloadable-games-from-cd-key-sellers/."
EA has since removed Ubisoft games from Origin. The publisher says this was to "protect against further fraudulent purchases."
We removed Ubisoft games from Origin to protect against further fraudulent purchases. We've followed up with EA with a request for more information, including why Ubisoft games were targeted and how removing that publisher's catalog improves security.
A representative from G2A, another 7 Entertainment site that has had customers affected by this situation reached out to us. The company is taking steps to investigate and refund consumers who had their codes locked.
"In the moment we are in the process of thoroughly checking all codes and merchants on our marketplace affected by this procedure," the representative tells us. "Please note that as to our knowledge to date, not all codes from this publisher are affected. All customers affected by this action will receive a refund from G2A, even if G2A is neither responsible for this procedere nor can influence it. I think it is important to note that G2A is a marketplace, in comparison to a shop or an outlet."
G2A also sent us additional information about how it secures purchases made on its user marketplace. "Regarding security with transactions on our marketplace in general, we have already taken several steps to make transactions as secure as possible," we were told. The company uses an automated process to verify that codes work, the company offers chat support, and it says that it uses unspecified "innovative social and behavioral systems" to help secure the site.
The representative also says that the site also has a "Shield" program that users can opt into for a fee. We were unable to discern the cost from the website (it requires that you enter a credit card before you can even take advantage of the first 30 days free). G2A tells us that it costs €1 per product purchased or, alternatively, €1 per month on a subscription basis.
Kinguin has issued a more extensive statement on the matter, citing statistics about its response to the ongoing matter. The company says it has refunded €146,377 ($165,312). Kinguin says that over the past three days, it has fielded 4,600 customer service tickets, including over 1,000 copies of Far Cry 4, 450 Assassin's Creed codes, and under 100 copies combined of Watch Dogs and The Crew. The company says it has 3,400 community merchants, of which 35 were affected, and all of those that have been in touch with the company will be issuing refunds. Additionally, Kinguin has explained what it thinks happened.
