BioWare Warns of SWTOR Beta Scams

Although the prequel movies have seemingly trashed the Star Wars franchise, many fans have placed all their hopes with BioWare and its upcoming MMORPG Star Wars: The Old Republic to restore balance back to the once beloved universe.

Unfortunately, evil is afoot, possible agents of the Sith who are determined to bring chaos to those who faithfully serve as fans of the upcoming game, playing on their desire to catch an early hands-on glimpse before the retail release. After all, temptation can lead one down the Dark path.

BioWare senior community coordinator Allison Berryman explains. "It has come to our attention that there are multiple individuals and sites claiming to sell testing accounts, 'beta keys,' or other offers of access to our Game Testing Program," she explains. "All of these offers are false. BioWare is not issuing invites to Game Testing via any method other than those we outline here on SWTOR.com."

She points out the obvious: these scams are out to steal your money, your credit card information, and/or your identity. She also warns Game Testers not to sell their accounts, as it's strictly prohibited by the Game Testing Agreement.

"We closely monitor the activities of all accounts involved in the Game Testing Program, and are quick to notice accounts that change hands," she added. "In the event that an account in the Game Testing Program does change ownership, we immediately take action to the fullest extent possible, including permanently banning the account from the Service."

In other words, swift justice sweeps in like a hot lightsaber plowing through a wash of Stormtroopers for anyone caught selling their Game Testing account. Dramatic, yes, but you get the point.

Fans who come across suspicious scams pretending to offer access to the Game Testing Program can forward all relevant information to bwacommunitysupport@bioware.com. When BioWare does send out invites for the Game Testing Program, the email will be directly from no-reply@bioware.swtor.com. Once received, the invitee will be directed to www.swtor.com/tester for further instructions. An account with the website must be established in order to receive the invitation.

"You may encounter e-mail scams that indicate you have been invited to the Game Testing Program - please make sure to thoroughly examine the e-mail and don't click any links unless you are sure it is authentic (make sure to expand the information about the sender, and check for spelling errors or other tricks that scammers often use)," she said. "If you receive an e-mail and are in doubt or are concerned about its validity, please forward your concerns to bwacommunitysupport@bioware.com."

Star Wars: The Old Republic is slated to launch sometime around Q2/Q3 2011.