Temp suspension for pre-ordering a book from SE?

[Cincierta]

Strange title, but this has happened twice now.

First time was when I tried logging in last week and the mogstation did not recognize my password, so I had to change it, and was given a temp suspension.

Today I pre-ordered the second volume of Eorzean Encyclopedia and was given a temp suspension for it while in-game.

My question is this normal practice to temp suspend accounts that purchase items from SE's store? If so, that's actually a very strange practice to do so.

[Fawkes]

I've heard that temp suspensions are normal for people without security tokens.

[MomomiMomi]

Did you perhaps order it from a device that you don't normally log in with?

This would fall under "suspicious activity" and is something they might suspend your account for, as a safety measure, for your protection.

If you use a security token, you won't get that.

[Cincierta]

I actually ordered it from my home computer that I play the game and normally log into, and have made multiple mogstore and SE merch store purchases on it without problems before. However I don't have a security token, only since I've never really felt the need for one.

[Risvertasashi]

Certain things can trigger 'suspicious activity' suspensions even if you login from the same device. Your ISP shifting IP addresses around or NAT'ing, your browser losing its cookies, and probably other things known only to SE.

As has been noted, using a security token bypasses many of these measures and is usually recommended for people that get flagged frequently.

[Brill_]

I've heard that temp suspensions are normal for people without security tokens.

Only time it happens to me is if I log in from some place I don't normally log into. It just locks my account and forces me to reset my password. Once I do, I can get back in.

[HyoMinPark]

This happened to me when I pre-ordered Encyclopedia Eorzea II as well. Pre-ordered from my iPad, which was on my home internet, which is what I have always done. /shrug

[Kuzulo]

I'm going to have to remember not to buy stuff, I guess; I'll also have another reason to remain subscribed to Wow.

It makes no sense to do this to a player, who is subscribed to the game.

Is the security "token" a goofy thing, like with Wow? I refuse to use that with Wow, since people have had trouble with it if a level of authorization is down (or if something is wrong with their phone, or what not.) Also - since we are now on the BFA expansion, while the only problem I ever had (from a probable web trojan, from wowhead or something) was during the Burning Crusade expansion (so eons ago, with Blizzard nearly instantly giving me back the account, as well as all items), it doesn't seem to have a point.

Yeah, I just read about the FFXIV one:

You need to write down an "emergency removal code", in case something goes wrong/you can't access your phone.

[polyphonica]

It makes no sense to do this to a player, who is subscribed to the game.

Really, the main issue is that they make it sound scarier than it really is. "Temporary suspension" makes it sound like you've been banned for doing something wrong or something, but really it should just say that your account was "locked." All you actually have to do is reset your password, and it immediately unlocks. And as was mentioned, if you use a token, you will avoid this entirely. If they could update the translation of the email text to use more helpful language, it'd avoid this sort of shock factor.

That said, I do recommend the one-time password solution anyway, since it also gives you a free teleport destination in-game. I would also recommend storing your emergency password in a password vault like LastPass or something like that (and using a service like that in general to have unique, secure passwords for all your online services).

[Penthea]

However I don't have a security token, only since I've never really felt the need for one.

Get one. Usually people see the need for it when it's too late. The security token makes it significantly more difficult for someone to hack your account. It also reduces the chances of being flagged for suspicious activity. It's free and is only a small extra step for logging in. The security token is a preventive measure so it works best to get it before you run into account related issues.