Tips to secure your account

By EchOw, 8th March 2021 13:29:50
5


HellOw!

Losing horses, items, resources, or even your account…these are the terrible consequences of phishing.

What is phishing and how can you prevent it? We will address these questions here, to help you protect your Howrse account from the practices of malicious individuals.

For those in a hurry, here's what to remember:

To protect yourself from phishing (account and personal data theft):

First of all, remember to NEVER give out your password to anyone. Moderators, admins or Owlient staff will NEVER ask you for your password.

- Use a password specific to Howrse that you aren’t using anywhere else
- When you receive a private message, check who the sender is and if there is a link in the message. See below for what questions to ask before clicking on a link. Private messages from the Howrse team appear in the "Official" tab.
- Never give out your password.
- When in doubt, do not click on the link and report the message through the related reporting tool or contact our Customer support team

Want to know more? Continue reading...

What is phishing?


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This is a fraudulent practice of sending messages intended to deceive an Internet user.
The perpetrators send messages with tempting offers to encourage Internet users to communicate their identifiers (login, password) and personal and/or banking information by posing as a trusted person in order to strip them of their accounts.
They invite you through a form, a Flashcode or even a site similar to Howrse.

Better be safe...


1. Use a unique password on Howrse


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Do not use a password that you are already using somewhere else, for example to connect to your e-mail.
The password should not include your player name, the name of your favorite horse or any other easily identifiable element.
If the thief obtains your e-mail address and password, they can try to connect to your other accounts (Mail, Paypal etc.)


2. Do not divulge personal information


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Make sure you don't put personal information on the forums, your page or anywhere on the game (name, first name, e-mail address, where you live, etc.)


How to protect yourself from this?


1. Be on your guard if you are offered attractive but suspicious offers or if someone threatens you (with a warning, karma withdrawal of karma or ban for example)

Account thieves hook their victims with:


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- a copy of a contest organized by Owlient (Tombola, lottery)
- Free Passes or Divine horses (if it’s free, it’s probably too good to be true)
- a vote for the next divine or for the Black Pearl
- a problem on your account (intervention, warning and threat of ban)
The list is not exhaustive and thieves can be very creative.


2. Pay attention to external links and always check our forum communications and in-game offer inserts.

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When you click on a link, a warning message appears, take a few minutes to check if it is a secure link.
Official communications appear in your private messaging via the "Official" tab.
When in doubt about a link, do not click.
Report private messages using the tool available in the game.


How do they operate?


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The thief contacts you in-game by a private message or on the forums.
The thief can pose as part of the support team, as an Owlient employee, or even use the account of a friend they have previously stolen.
They will try to lure you into their nets with particularly tempting offers, a threat of account closure or any other technique that could deceive your vigilance or scare you.
They will send you by PM a link, a QR Code or ask you to search for information on a search engine as "good faith" (for example : "if you don't believe me, look at xxxx on google you will see") .
The site or the form on which you will arrive will ask for your identifiers (username and password).
Once the information is submitted on the site, the thief recovers it and will be able to connect with your identifiers and rob you of your horses, Divines, Passes and Equus. They can also use your account to attract other players, including your friends. You risk a double penalty by seeing your account sanctioned for phishing as well.
Phishing PM Example "Hello! You have been selected by the Howrse raffle. This raffle is organized by Owlient and rewards random players every month. Just scan the QR code that will be sent to you on the link to our form. You can fill out this form and access your winnings from a list of several rewards! Please do not hesitate to contact Owlient support or the account delivering this message to ask any questions. Goodbye."

Do you think you've been a victim of phishing?


If it has just happened, log into your account without delay and change your password. If you are successful in doing so and the security of your account is no longer compromised. However, please contact the customer support to advise of the situation and to make sure your account really is secure.

These tips apply to Howrse but not only.

The risk of phishing is everywhere: Phone, Email, Social Networks.

Sincerely,

The Howrse Team
EchOw
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By sassyk, 10th March 2021 21:13:42
18
You can't trust anyone on this game anymore, I see so many accounts being sold for real money on Facebook, you don't know who is the owner of accounts these days.
sassyk
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By Oathkeeper, 10th March 2021 21:46:42
19
sassyk wrote:

You can't trust anyone on this game anymore, I see so many accounts being sold for real money on Facebook, you don't know who is the owner of accounts these days.


Which is something that should be strongly discouraged as well, as not only is this trafficking, it's also dangerous if the person choosing to illegally sell their account forgets to clear out their personal details.
Oathkeeper
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By Angeygirl, 10th March 2021 22:03:05
11
Was there some kind of security breach recently?
Angeygirl
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By Retired breeder, 3rd April 2021 15:07:52
2
weird who would do such a thing
By Retired breeder, 13th April 2021 18:22:54
5
Angeygirl wrote:

Was there some kind of security breach recently?


<font color="0066ff"> No breach. Breach would imply hacking into Howrse itself, which is not realistic and [u]incredibly[/u] unlikely to occur.<br><br>Players who have their account stolen is caused by them sharing their credentials. We wanted to explain the dangers of a weak password and to remind players to NEVER share their Password. If you need help with your account from a friend, you can use the co-management system. default smiley ^) </font><br>
By ellie1910, 15th September 2021 21:31:18
2
There is probably just someone who is making phishing attempts or tempting people to malware, malicious software, spear phishing, spray phishing etc...

Here are some tips from me on how to keep your account protected!

1. Go to Howsecureismypassword.net or haveibeenpwned.com
2. you should have at least a 6 digit password(if you do not then I suggest changing it to a bit of a longer password
3. P.M. me if you have any questions



P.S. haveibeenpwned.com is like a site that tells you if someone has cracked your password and posted it on the web or the dark web.

thank you for your help!

-ellie1910
ellie1910
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By ellie1910, 15th September 2021 21:32:11
1
and follow the tips on the websites that I posted!
ellie1910
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By Retired breeder, 19th September 2021 00:33:36
I have lost 3 accts on here and i have to start all over everytime and a new email address also why
By Retired breeder, 21st September 2021 15:25:07
I have confirmed my email address many times and i cant get into my starter pack to watch the free videos
By minkthepink, 22nd September 2021 07:20:05
Retired breeder wrote:

I have confirmed my email address many times and i cant get into my starter pack to watch the free videos
If you are having problems with email validation, check your spam folder and , if it's not there, you'll need to go to contact us for help. There is a link at the bottom of every page on Howrse . Bear in mind that sometimes there are no videos for the area you live or possibly for your age group.
minkthepink
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By Retired breeder, 1st December 2021 00:50:41
1
i have to sell all of the horses i ahve to get money jsut to keep some of my horses alive so i make new accounts to buy lots of horses why?
By kgame, 15th February 2023 14:09:48
1
How does one win a prize during a contest
kgame
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By Ladyorgans, 11th November 2024 10:55:25
1
If you have multiple accounts for different versions of Howrse, for example all the English speaking ones, is it better to have a password for each one or just one password for all of them?
Ladyorgans
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By Legacy Ann, 11th November 2024 13:13:35
2
Ladyorgans wrote:

If you have multiple accounts for different versions of Howrse, for example all the English speaking ones, is it better to have a password for each one or just one password for all of them?
It's always best to have different password for each website you have an account on. That way if someone manages to guess a password for one account they can't use it for another.

The Howrse servers are all separate sites/accounts, so it is possible to use different passwords and e-mails for each
Legacy Ann
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