The difference between hacked and shared accounts
Accounts are considered to be hacked only when it is determined by Game Masters that the access to it was unauthorized. This means that the owner has not shared the details with the third party and the account was accessed via brute force (hack). A hack like this leaves distinctive marks on the account and is always seen during investigation.
Accounts are not considered hacked when they are shared with multiple people and then one of the owners is locked out, meaning that the account has changed ownership.
Accounts are not considered hacked when it was sold to the third party through the illegitimate means and therefore it is treated as a shared account.
Sharing login details of your account is a EULA violation. This is not something that Team Security actively pursues daily. However, if somethings goes wrong, Support will not be able to help. If the items and skill points are lost when the account sharing gone wrong, they will not be returned under any circumstances.
It is always possible to determine whether the account has been shared between multiple parties.
FAQ
How do I avoid getting hacked?
- Authenticator. Always use an authenticator whenever you can. It decreases the chances of getting hacked significantly.
- Take care of the security of your email and change passwords frequently or if you suspect that the integrity of your email might have been breached.
- You can check whether your email has been compromised here: https://haveibeenpwned.com/
- Do not share access to your account with third parties as it might lead to many unfortunate accidents.
I suspect that my account has been hacked. What do I do?
Contact Support as soon as possible. Include as many details as you can and make sure to mention why you think that the account might have been hacked and when you were last able to access the account.
If Support determines that the account was hacked, there is a possibility that it may be restored. However, keep in mind that the faster a hacked account is reported the better. This means that if the account’s security was breached many years ago, Support might not be able to help or find all the items that were lost.
I am taking a break from the game and want to lend my account to a friend. Is that OK?
Nope. This is considered account sharing. There is always a chance that your break will end and it would be devastating to come back to the game only to see your character stripped of all its skill points and assets. None of them can be returned, unfortunately.
I want to sell my EVE Online account. What will happen next?
Selling your account is forbidden.
Not only is this account sharing, but is also considered RMT (real money trading). If the account is banned, the ban will not be lifted. If the owner decides to come back and claim the account to be hacked, assets will not be returned (because it was not hacked, it was sold).
There are more risks as well. The third party (the buyer) can gain access to your personal information, compromising not only your EVE Online account, but potentially more valuable data. If the buyer has been involved in previous offenses, it is possible that the access to the game will be revoked for you in the future and it would be impossible to “start clean”.
The buyer can also make a chargeback of payment, meaning that in the end both the account and the payment for it will be lost. Team Security will not be able to intervene in any of those scenarios.
I left EVE 3-5-10 years ago and gave my account to a friend. The account has been in active use all this time. Can I have it back now?
Unfortunately, no.
As soon as the account is involved in sharing and the access to it is granted by the owner, we can not help. This has to be settled between you and your friend.