uh so my account got cracked

[Nut]

Ugh okay so there was a time when I would have written a whole long post being upset about this, but I just don’t care that much anymore, at least not about superficial items or NP. But yeah, a few days ago I went to Neopets and noticed I was logged out, which was weird because I normally stay logged in (although I haven’t really checked it in months) and I noticed but I didn’t think much of it since that happens sometimes when they update the site or something, and I didn’t feel like being on Neopets right then so I figured I’d log in later.

Anyway I went there today to look at Kristykimmy’s user lookup, logged into my account... and found that I had over 3 million NP out and my activity log was full of accepted Trading Post transactions with “meganmeyers14” and “manwiththepants”. I knew immediately what must have happened since I had absolutely not done any trading in ages and assumed they must have taken all my NP and paintbrushes. I immediately went to change my password and changed my email password because it was an old address which was linked to an even older, less secure email and that may have been how they got in. (I was actually recently fiddling around with those emails thinking what a mess it was to have them connected, and I wonder if that activity somehow allowed this to happen, like I forgot to change one of the reset codes I was sent...) I am just grateful that I was able to get back in at all. They changed my PIN, but I was able to get that reset via email.

I checked my pets and they were all fine, so at that point I was more just confirming what I expected. Yeah, they took something like 16 million out of my bank account, and all my rarest paintbrushes were gone. I had Faerie, Pirate, Maraquan, and loads of others collected over the years, all prizes from creative contests that I had meant to sell but never got around to.

I guess the thing I’m saddest about is that I never gave away the stuff I was hoarding to people who would have enjoyed it. I never really cared about it, but I just kept keeping it around because I liked having it there or something. I’m sad it was lost in a way like this, to someone who wouldn’t even consider it special.

But to be honest this mostly feels like a hassle. I’m really grateful they didn’t harm my pets (I’m so glad 11-year-old me gave them some of the least marketable names available! This is a decision I have never once regretted) and I feel lucky I was able to get back into my account, but where do I go from here? Should I report the usernames in the trading post transactions, and what should I write? Does JS deal with this kind of thing? Just... ugh, people who do this kind of thing are not practicing something that’s going to win them valuable friends and respect in life.

.....Right so I wrote that intending to end it there, then looked at my inventory, which is stuffed full of things taken out of my SDB, neodeck, and gallery. Whatever happened, it looks like the person left midway through before they totally cleaned out my account, though the stuff that’s left seems to be pretty low-value. They did rob my keepsakes gallery though, including my category of gifts from friends, which is what I’m most sad about. In particular, I remember Nina sent me a Faerie Raindorf Plushie as a surprise gift for one Christmas when I sent her presents and personalized poems about her comics throughout the month. I’ll always remember that because she enjoyed it so much and I was so happy I got to do that for her, and the fact she sent me a present afterwards to thank me had always made me really happy. And of course it’s gone now, but at least I still have the memory and the (too brief) acknowledgement in my gallery description.

...But, in my inventory I also have two Lost Desert Draik Eggs... which I definitely have never seen before?? Are these legit? What do I do now? I feel like I shouldn't do anything with them in case they're trouble, but if they are then I don't want them either. I basically just... want to forget this whole thing since I feel lucky to have gotten away relatively unscathed, but it all just feels weird and unsettling on top of other things that have happened recently... I can't even seem to come up with any good nut-cracking jokes to end this on.

[Reiqua]

Oh, so sorry to hear that, Nut - I'm glad you managed to keep the account and the pets!

I'd say definitely report the usernames involved. Jumpstaff will look into it, but there's every chance those are throwaway accounts anyway.

As to the Draik Eggs, I have no idea - that's just confusing??? What? Any ideas anyone?

(Maybe they were in the middle of using your account as an intermediate account - part of an elaborate scheme to throw TNT off the trail of all the stolen items???)

[Twillie]

Aw geez, that's good that you were able to get your account back

I'm not familiar with how cheaters do their business, but I wouldn't trust those eggs. If you don't know where they came from, then it's probably safe to guess that they shouldn't be there, and thus should be reported. I'd report those as well as the usernames you got.

[Duke Pikachu]

Sorry to hear this, if you need any help ask and we'll see if we can help.

Hmm, I don't know what you should do. The obvious thing would to report what happened an include the usernames you traded with. But those accounts are probably just shell accounts. Actually, being you have items you don't recognize and they left your inventory in a mess it sort of sounds like they may have also been using your account as a shell. So now you have a risk of JS freezing your account while they investigate what happened and who knows how that'll turn out (not sure what's the protocol of them finding stolen items on a hacked account; if you do decide to send in a report make sure to include a list of items you don't remember having).

[Patjade]

Sounds to me like your account was hit about the same time many of ours were, back in April.I was hit, but I was online at the time and locked things down before anyone had a chance to do much other than move some things around and change my PW and PIN. I got those recovered and secured.

However, JS locked down everything when they found out what was going on, and I suppose that meant the intruders were kicked out before they had a chance to finish up doing what they were going to do on your account. Since they used an automated lookup hack to gain access to your account, they probably didn't know how to get into it afterwards and left things as it were when they were kicked out.

They hacked hundreds of accounts, from what I've heard.

[Killix]

Ugh, that's terrible. I didn't know there had been a security breach.

I checked my account (I hadn't logged in in forevar) and my pets seemed untouched, but my NT coin was in my inventory... and I did not have that in my inventory last time I was logged in, so someone was definitely in there. Not sure if they took anything, I tried to look at item transfer activity and trading post history and found nothing.
but... eh, nothing I can do about it now I guess. I don't even really know what I had.

Either way, you definitely got it worse than I did, Nut. D: I'm really sorry.

[Diana]

Yikes, Nut, I'm so sorry. D': I would report those usernames - if nothing else it'll get Neo to look into them, since it seems likely they were using your account to move stuff around. They might be links in a chain, but it's still a trail to follow. I would send in a ticket about the eggs, too, and don't use them until you know what they were from.

It's sad to think that so many treasured possessions were just rifled through and stolen by thieves who couldn't care less about any value other than that of what they could sell them for. It's good that your pets weren't harmed, though... :x