Are they supposed to ask for the credit card details?

[BlahBlueKillYou2]

I went to put sims 3 world adventures on my computer. It installed and I had to redeem the code on origin to play the game. I put the code in and it came up with code already redeemed. I did it multiple times (incase I put it in wrong) and it kept coming up. So I asked EA support how can it be fixed.

He said that it was registered on another ea account. And said have I got anymore email addresses. I said yeah but I only use the one I've given you for origin. He asked what about old email addresses. I was like okay ill give you another one incase. And then he asked me to confirm by IP address with the link he sent me (At this point It felt a bit sketchy, I asked him why he needs this and he said to confirm details. And I did go on a forum to double check this and see if anybody had the same question, and someone said its fine) So I gave it to him..... Then he asked for 4 digit code to credit card and billing address. At this point I was very sketchy and uncomfortable. (My family has been scammed before-not by EA lol, totally different circumstances. And I didn't want that to happen again) So I said nevermind thanks for help. Changed my password and turned my computer off by the wall. I also have a transcript saved of the convo and screenshots. 

[puzzlezaddict · Accepted solution]

@BlahBlueKillYou2  This is actually to be expected when EA customer support is trying to verify ownership of an account.  The account recovery form you'd submit instead asks for the same information.  EA is pretty strict about restoring access to an account—people often try to steal other players' accounts with a bit of information—and all the extra info is part of the process.

As for handing over the info online, it sounds like the support rep was actually trying to match what you provided to what's already on file in the second account.  Even if you didn't save your credit card info, EA would have the payment info in its database.  So you wouldn't have added more personal information to your account.

The last four digits of your credit card number aren't by themselves enough to identify you or your card; think of how many credit cards exist just in one country.  But since there are 10,000 possible combinations of four digits, it would be almost impossible for someone who isn't you to guess correctly, unless they also had your information, in which case you'd have bigger problems on your hands.

This is really the only way to get an account back when you don't have access to it, whether you've forgotten the username or can't access the email anymore.  If you're not comfortable doing it, then the only alternative, unfortunately, is buying World Adventures a second time.

[puzzlezaddict · Accepted solution]

@BlahBlueKillYou2  This is actually to be expected when EA customer support is trying to verify ownership of an account.  The account recovery form you'd submit instead asks for the same information.  EA is pretty strict about restoring access to an account—people often try to steal other players' accounts with a bit of information—and all the extra info is part of the process.

As for handing over the info online, it sounds like the support rep was actually trying to match what you provided to what's already on file in the second account.  Even if you didn't save your credit card info, EA would have the payment info in its database.  So you wouldn't have added more personal information to your account.

The last four digits of your credit card number aren't by themselves enough to identify you or your card; think of how many credit cards exist just in one country.  But since there are 10,000 possible combinations of four digits, it would be almost impossible for someone who isn't you to guess correctly, unless they also had your information, in which case you'd have bigger problems on your hands.

This is really the only way to get an account back when you don't have access to it, whether you've forgotten the username or can't access the email anymore.  If you're not comfortable doing it, then the only alternative, unfortunately, is buying World Adventures a second time.

[BlahBlueKillYou2]

Thankyou for replying puzzleaddict. I feel like an idiot, I didn't think the way you thought about the card info 😅 My anxious brain assumes the worse. All sense flew out the window haha... Thanks for your advice 😊👍🏻

[puzzlezaddict]

@BlahBlueKillYou2  Hey, I've been there, and I might be weirded out too if I didn't know the context.  But I've seen enough threads about the account recovery form to recognize the questions.

[nightforce321]

The question is, can they access credit card or debit card funds with the last four digits along with your first name, IPv4 address, DOB, and purchase dates? Those are the questions I was asked when I was trying to recover my Origin account. Looks like I'll just be creating a new Xbox account... what a pain in the *. 

[puzzlezaddict]

@nightforce321  All of the content you've listed is already on EA servers, so repeating it isn't introducing any new risk, unless you think the EA employee you're talking to is the one who will steal your data.  (That seems unlikely.)  However, if you're concerned about protecting your money, you could go through the process and then cancel the credit or debit card after you get your account back.  I'm sure your bank would be happy to issue you a new card with a different number.