World of Warcraft accounts take a lot of time to develop, and many times people will opt to acquire a pre-leveled account rather than grind their own to level 85.  There are many level 85 WoW accounts that are unused – many times the owner quit the game and is looking to sell/give it away, or gold farming companies will power-level accounts to quickly sell.

Whatever means you use to obtain a high level World of Warcraft account, there are certain precautions you should take to make sure that no one else attempts to steal the old account back.

WoW Account Scams to Watch out For

There are a number of scams sellers can do when handing over details to a free account.  Beware when buying from an individual person; they may try to recover the account through Battle.net’s support after you pay them for the account details.  Gaming companies that sell a lot of accounts and gold are almost always safe – they simply profit too much and conduct too much business that scamming buyers is simply not worth it to them.  Account selling companies mainly advertise through word of mouth, so they make sure to take care of their buyers.  Sometimes they will even give you a free bonus (for example gold) when you buy a WoW account through them.


Another common scam is when a user will give you a free WoW account and then wait a few weeks for you to start using it.  They will then recover the account through Blizzard’s support and then keep all the items and gold you transferred onto it.

How to Safely Keep a New World of Warcraft Account

As long as you follow these procedures there is no way someone can attempt to recover a WoW account. You will be able to keep the account free from worry.

1. After receiving the account details, immediately use a Credit or Debit card to pay for the subscription.  NEVER use a game card for the first payment.  This is so that you will have unique proof on record that you have had control of the account.

2. Ask for the registration code located on the original CD case cover (preferably as a copy/scan).

3. Make sure you know the secret question and answer for the account.

4. Have the seller change the email of the account to yours.

5. Know the important information of the original account creator: full name, zip code, address, city and state.

6. Make sure you know the phone number used for account creation by the original owner.

7. Make sure to change the existing password to one of your own.

8. If purchasing an account, make sure to use an online transaction company that protects intellectual/virtual goods.  PayPal is a safe bet when purchasing a WoW account, as they can take investigatory matters in the event your seller recovers the account.

9. Be smart – if the seller is unable to provide any of the important information, or is unwilling to use PayPal, simply look for a new seller.

The safest way to protect your new character is to purchase a new World of Warcraft CD Key and then register a new account using the same name as the account that you purchased.  Afterwords, simply transfer the character to the new account.  This way you can create new important information that the seller won’t know, and thus be unable to recover the account.

Whether you purchase or receive a free WoW account, make sure to take these safety measures!