We would like to share an update on efforts we are making to strengthen our enforcement against Real Money Trading (RMT) activity.

As detailed in our weekly “Actions Taken Against In-Game RMT & Other Illicit Activities” announcements, we have always taken a strong stance against RMT activity.

However, given that we continue to observe a certain level of RMT activity in the game each week, we will be increasing staffing, upgrading our tools, and adding new procedures to further strengthen our enforcement and provide our community with a safe and secure gaming experience.

The following is an explanation regarding how RMT activity negatively impacts the game and promotes fraudulent activity.

■ The negative impact of RMT and how it promotes fraudulent activity
The act of selling and buying in-game data (such as items and characters) with real-life currency, or assisting in such activity, is referred to as Real Money Trading (RMT). RMT upsets the balance of the game, and is therefore prohibited under the FINAL FANTASY XIV User Agreement.

We are aware of groups that engage in RMT, which we refer to as “RMT vendors,” whose only goal is to make real-life profit. These vendors do not care about adhering to the User Agreement and will often obstruct the gameplay of normal players to benefit themselves. Furthermore, RMT vendors very commonly engage in real-life criminal activity, such as the unauthorized access of accounts and the use of stolen credit card information.

The majority of items and gil sold through RMT were produced as a result of such fraudulent activity. Purchasing from RMT vendors promotes these fraudulent activities and is prohibited under the FINAL FANTASY XIV User Agreement. Furthermore, as a reminder, doing so also leads to promoting activities deemed illegal in real-life.

We strongly encourage players to refrain from engaging with these groups, as there would be no reason for RMT vendors to exist if players do not use their services.

■ Reporting RMT Activity
Should you witness any RMT activity, we ask that you contact us using the in-game reporting menu, which can be found under [System Menu] -> [Support Desk] -> [Contact Us] -> [Report Cheating].

Additionally, RMT advertisements in chat can be reported by selecting the character’s name in the chat log, opening the subcommand menu and choosing the [Report] -> [Report RMT Activity] option. These reports will be processed automatically, and the reported character will be restricted from sending further messages once they are determined to be advertising RMT activity.