Have you been "hacked"? How accounts get stolen

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For more information on protecting your IMVU account, please check out this article. For information on "doxxing" and how to protect yourself from it, check out this entry.

So you try to log into your account, and suddenly found you can’t. You know you know your password, and you know you’ve typed it in correctly… What could have happened?

First of all, you have not been hacked. IMVU's servers are secure, and no one can obtain your account details by hacking in.

However, from time to time, users have reported that their accounts were scammed, stolen, or taken over. This commonly occurs due to the following reasons:

• Somebody obtained your password

• You left your account still logged in

• Your computer may be infected with spyware

You might also be seeing an error message that says there's "too many login attempts".

Already know how your account has been hacked? Check this section to know what you can do!
 

Somebody Obtained Your Password

This usually occurs when another user offers to "pimp out" your homepage, or help your account get extra credits, or any number of reasons why another person may ask to log into your account. Please remember, one of the first messages you will receive upon joining is:

"Just a quick reminder that you should NEVER give your password to anyone. Scammers will stop at nothing to gain access to your account and steal your things. They will try to convince you to type your password into a 3D IM window. NEVER type your password into a 3D IM window for any reason. Also, IMVU staff will NEVER ask you for your password so do not give your password out to anyone for any reason. NEVER tell anyone your password."

Below are some helpful tips to keep your IMVU account from being taken over:

TIP 1: Beware of scammers directing you to other websites that look like IMVU.com. You will NEVER be asked to login in order to verify your account.  

TIP 2: If someone asks you to click on a link and you are redirected to a login page, check the address bar to make sure you're still at "https://imvu.com". If something else is showing, it's a phishing site! Close the window immediately. Check out this article to learn more about phishing sites.

TIP 3: Do not share your password even with friends or family. This is against the IMVU Terms of Service, as is asking another user for their password. The appropriate response to someone asking for your password is to use the Report Abuse feature in chat (use this process for IMVU Next).

TIP 4: If you have revealed your password to someone, it is recommended to reset your account password before submitting a help ticket. For detailed instructions, click here.

TIP 5: Always have a strong password, ideally one that has both uppercase and lowercase letters, as well as numbers. Don't use personal information such as birthdays for your password, as they can easily be guessed. Some scammers can get your password from bits and pieces of personal information they get from talking to you in chat!

IMPORTANT NOTE: One very common way scammers try to get into your account is by giving you links to so-called “Credit Generators”, for “free credits”. You may find these links anywhere: in the Feed, in the Chat, in your Inbox. Such credit generators do NOT exist! These pages will ask for your username and password in exchange for credits. This is a SCAM, and will only get you to lose your account.

An example site is imvucreditsgenerator *dot* com (unlinked to protect our users) and there are several others on the web.

Others may also ask you to advertise such links. Their sole purpose is to get you to advertise an account stealing operation. Please be reminded that posting links to fraudulent websites will result in the permanent deactivation of your account. Taking free Credit offers outside of IMVU can also get your account banned, so be careful when earning credits! Here's more information on this topic.

Rest assured that IMVU is taking action to track down and sanction these offenders, but we count on all our members to help us by flagging these accounts. For more information on flagging, you can check out this article (read this instead if you are on the IMVU Website).

Also, please read this article to help you avoid the most common ways scammers try to get into your account.
 

You Left Your Account Still Logged In

This is very common in shared devices, such as at home or in public computers. Sometimes, users forget to click the Sign Out button on their account before leaving their computer. Alternatively, users have selected options for their browser to remember their account details and log them in automatically.

Below are some helpful tips that you may try in resolving this issue:

TIP 1: You may try adjusting your browser settings that will not automatically log you in to IMVU. Clearing the saved passwords from the browser's Privacy section could help.

TIP 2: Do not store your password anywhere on the computer where others may gain access to it.

TIP 3: If someone has already taken over your account, please see this article for instructions on resetting your password.
 

Your Computer May Be Infected with Spyware

Unfortunately, the Internet  is filled with nasty viruses and spyware that can log your keystrokes and send the information somewhere else. To protect yourself, you may try the following tips:

TIP 1: It is highly recommended to install and maintain a virus scanner as well as a firewall to protect your computer from new viruses, spyware, worms, or trojans. There are plenty of free virus scanners and ad-ware removal tools available, and you can find them from a simple Google search.

TIP 2: Do not visit any unusual links you see via Chat, Feed, Inbox, or any other in-game communication. Scammers can try to get a virus into your computer by sending you to infected sites or by asking you to download an infected file.

TIP 3: If it's too late, please take the appropriate steps to protect your machine, and see this article for instructions on resetting your password.

TIP 4:  If you observe any suspicious activities on your account, you have an option to temporarily disable it either through the IMVU Classic website or IMVU mobile and reach us to review your account activities. If no sign of account take over is found, you can reactivate your account and reset your password for its security.

I am seeing "Too Many Login Attempts" -- is my account in danger?

The error message "Too Many Login Attempts" shows when there are multiple login attempts to your account using the wrong password. This is a temporary lock-out, and you should be able to get back into your account after one hour.

If you still cannot log into your account after an hour, you may contact us through Live Chat (for VIP users) or Help Ticket.

What can I do?

IMVU also has several security measures in place to help protect your account. To find out what you can do, head over to this article!