Automatic ban for cheating/exploiting

Etherea1 · May 22

Hello. Yesterday during maintenance my account was banned for cheating/exploiting. I hope real support person will investigate logs and other evidence. I have at least one guildmate recieved same ban at the same time.
Case id for reference 250521-001559

Is there other players recieved bans fo no good reason? Please write there.

MalaVrazica · May 22

Same here.
No response to the ticket either.
Can we have this looked at? And can we provide some any kind of evidence we didn't cheat, or at least have a real person look at our cases?
And while this isn't fair, what happened to us, provide explanation to your players so we know was it an addon or something else that caused this, as I don't want this happening to other people as well...
Case Id: [250521-001288]

@ZOS_Kevin

randconfig · May 22

That's concerning... Did the ban give any details as to what you were banned for beyond "cheating/exploiting"?

Also what addons are you using?

Morvan · May 22

There's been a wave of AI bans this month, they said in the past that AI only sends data and an actual person needs to review it for the ban to be applied, but from what I've been seeing lately that doesn't seem the case.

Saw tons of people on reddit complaining about the same issue in this short window, Hyperioxes made a video about it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-g2WcKdCdE

Ilumia · May 22

Well if an AI flags an account for banning, and a real person needs to review it, that might still just be a technical signing off or checking a box. It doesn't necessarily mean someone is actively looking into it sadly.

Tandor · May 22

How would you know whether the ban was done solely by AI or with a staff member involvement?

Are we talking here about suspensions or permanent bans?

sarahthes · May 22

Morvan wrote: »

There's been a wave of AI bans this month, they said in the past that AI only sends data and an actual person needs to review it for the ban to be applied, but from what I've been seeing lately that doesn't seem the case.

Saw tons of people on reddit complaining about the same issue in this short window, Hyperioxes made a video about it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-g2WcKdCdE

It's not AI in a lot of cases, it's just executing a database query at a predetermined time.

ZOS_Kevin · May 22

These are not AI Ban waves. These temporary suspensions have been issued by our customer service team. If you believe you were incorrectly flagged in this ban wave, please place a ticket through the website and go through the appeals process.

Etherea1 · May 22

@ZOS_Kevin , could you pleasee provide link for appeal form. Regular support is not availiable as website account suspended too.

ZOS_Kevin · May 22

Etherea1 wrote: »

@ZOS_Kevin , could you pleasee provide link for appeal form. Regular support is not availiable as website account suspended too.

The link here, https://help.elderscrollsonline.com/#en/answer/8540, should have all the appeal information available.

alternatelder · May 22

ZOS_Kevin wrote: »

These are not AI Ban waves. These temporary suspensions have been issued by our customer service team. If you believe you were incorrectly flagged in this ban wave, please place a ticket through the website and go through the appeals process.

From what I keep seeing is that they aren't temporary, people are getting responses back that their ban will remain.

mrreow · May 22

AI has concluded that if you are farming mats in this game for hours upon hours then you cannot be a living, breathing human. This conclusion is the result of thousands of hours of superhuman, accelerated reasoning and is now baked into a complex convolutional network.

ZOS_Kevin · May 22

My understanding is they are temporary as investigations continue and then customer service carries things out from there. How the investigations are concluded are on an individual basis and outside of my purview. Don't have much insight beyond that, so very much encourage anyone who believes they were falsely impacted to appeal. The main point we wanted to clarify is these are not AI bans/suspensions. We have noted several times now that there is no process where any AI bot has the ability to ban anyone in-game. These are investigations handled by our team members in customer service.

DenverRalphy · May 22

ZOS_Kevin wrote: »

My understanding is they are temporary as investigations continue and then customer service carries things out from there. How the investigations are concluded are on an individual basis and outside of my purview. Don't have much insight beyond that, so very much encourage anyone who believes they were falsely impacted to appeal. The main point we wanted to clarify is these are not AI bans/suspensions. We have noted several times now that there is no process where any AI bot has the ability to ban anyone in-game. These are investigations handled by our team members in customer service.

Quoted and Bolded for emphasis because it can't be said enough.

Destai · May 22

ZOS_Kevin wrote: »

My understanding is they are temporary as investigations continue and then customer service carries things out from there. How the investigations are concluded are on an individual basis and outside of my purview. Don't have much insight beyond that, so very much encourage anyone who believes they were falsely impacted to appeal. The main point we wanted to clarify is these are not AI bans/suspensions. We have noted several times now that there is no process where any AI bot has the ability to ban anyone in-game. These are investigations handled by our team members in customer service.

This is just frustrating to read, I'm sorry. I get you can only convey what you're told, so I don't blame you personally here. But it doesn't add up. Clearly AI has a role in this, regardless if it's actually banning or not. People have noted several times now that they're getting actioned without reporting. People have also noted several times now that they're getting permanently banned, not temporarily suspended.

The concern isn't only with AI directly banning people or not, it's with the AI monitoring and how CS handles its reports. Also, I would think if people have to constantly appeal CS's actions, then some things need to be changed. It could be the standards are too strict, the AI tool isn't fine-tuned, CS are banning without investigation among other things.

Its costing you guys money and eroding people's desire to say or do anything in-game. Can't imagine anyone wants that.

zaria · May 22

Morvan wrote: »

There's been a wave of AI bans this month, they said in the past that AI only sends data and an actual person needs to review it for the ban to be applied, but from what I've been seeing lately that doesn't seem the case.

Saw tons of people on reddit complaining about the same issue in this short window, Hyperioxes made a video about it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-g2WcKdCdE

They said in the past that AI only sends data and an actual person needs to review it for the ban to be applied.
Well they said the same in New World, then people found that mass reporting other was very effective in PvP.
But in New World some streamer was permanently banned for milking an cow one of the first days so this was obviously false.

AD42 · May 22

It's time to BLOCK people. Without explanation. Without being able to contact support directly. AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, ABSOLUTELY INNOCENT PLAYERS. Now they will start recording videos and writing negative posts on social networks. When the add-on is less than 10 days away from being released.

Elsonso · May 22

"temporary as investigations continue"

Hopefully, as they process through these and release the suspensions that were not actual cheating or exploiting, customer service will gain a better understanding of what is, and is not, cheating and exploiting so that, in the future, these actions are more reliable.

sarahthes · May 22

Destai wrote: »

ZOS_Kevin wrote: »

My understanding is they are temporary as investigations continue and then customer service carries things out from there. How the investigations are concluded are on an individual basis and outside of my purview. Don't have much insight beyond that, so very much encourage anyone who believes they were falsely impacted to appeal. The main point we wanted to clarify is these are not AI bans/suspensions. We have noted several times now that there is no process where any AI bot has the ability to ban anyone in-game. These are investigations handled by our team members in customer service.

This is just frustrating to read, I'm sorry. I get you can only convey what you're told, so I don't blame you personally here. But it doesn't add up. Clearly AI has a role in this, regardless if it's actually banning or not. People have noted several times now that they're getting actioned without reporting. People have also noted several times now that they're getting permanently banned, not temporarily suspended.

The concern isn't only with AI directly banning people or not, it's with the AI monitoring and how CS handles its reports. Also, I would think if people have to constantly appeal CS's actions, then some things need to be changed. It could be the standards are too strict, the AI tool isn't fine-tuned, CS are banning without investigation among other things.

Its costing you guys money and eroding people's desire to say or do anything in-game. Can't imagine anyone wants that.

You don't need to use AI to build a tool to flag specific behaviours and patterns. You just need a database and someone to write a query. You don't need AI for every instance of a disallowed phrase to be flagged. You just need software with the phrases input to blindly flag. An AI would make contextual decisions. These automated bans we've heard about in the past for saying naughty words don't sound like there's any context behind them. Pretty sure you say the word, software picks it up, puts you in a queue. Nothing intelligent about it. It's just filtering software.

Eskibidus · May 22

Keep banning players, but please keep that unbanning process as painful as possible.
Not being able to log into your account page or even open a support ticket while banned is a top tier customer experience.

A friend of mine got banned for “suspicious activities” and the way to prove he’s legit? Answer questions like “What’s the last DLC you bought?” How can I remember if this game has probably more than 20 DLCs, and maybe I even play with ESO+? 🤡
(I think he is still banned).

Do better Zenimax, your ban and unban system is a mess.

crappyjazz1964 · May 22

sarahthes wrote: »

You don't need to use AI to build a tool to flag specific behaviours and patterns. You just need a database and someone to write a query. You don't need AI for every instance of a disallowed phrase to be flagged. You just need software with the phrases input to blindly flag. An AI would make contextual decisions. These automated bans we've heard about in the past for saying naughty words don't sound like there's any context behind them. Pretty sure you say the word, software picks it up, puts you in a queue. Nothing intelligent about it. It's just filtering software.

I don't think it's AI either and for that reason the official response can get away with what they're saying but we all know what's up and that it's still a terrible way to treat their player base. And new players getting caught up in this wave? What's that doing for the reputation of the game?

Desiato · May 22

I wish people would drop the hyperbole over AI. It doesn't matter what kind of software ZOS is using because it's a CSR making the decision.

I also think two different kinds of suspensions/bans are being conflated -- social conduct and cheating.

These are completely different topics. Someone being banned because they /say a more nasty variation of "oh poop" when alone in an area after dying to a bug or joking with a friend in group chat/tells is completely different than being suspended because they were potentially cheating.

This is an important distinction because cheating is actually a serious and complex issue, unlike oh poop.

I'm sympathetic to anyone who has had their account actioned in error due to a false positive, but I also understand actual cheaters will usually feign innocence and make a big stink about being banned. Because, of course, if someone isn't opposed to cheating, they probably don't mind lying either.

The bottom line is individual bans can't be adjudicated publicly, unlike specific policy like CSRs reading private conversations to the benefit of no one.

@ZOS_Kevin The social policies ZOS is enforcing is going to make it easier for actual cheaters to muddy the waters about why they were banned. You should really just let people chat in-game like normal humans do in 2025. A good place to start is to ONLY begin an investigation into a social TOS violation after an actual /report. Stop trying to police how friends chat with each other.

DenverRalphy · May 22

Desiato wrote: »

I'm sympathetic to anyone who has had their account actioned in error due to a false positive, but I also understand actual cheaters will usually feign innocence and make a big stink about being banned. Because, of course, if someone isn't opposed to cheating, they probably don't mind lying either.

So much this right here.

And too, when there's a sudden spike (or wave) of suspensions/bans going out, it's highly likely that new countermeasures have recently improved to spot methods that were previously elusive to the earlier gen protocols. And the vocal uproar is unsurprising as cheaters/botters have never been famous for acknowledging their guilt or complicity.

Not saying false positives don't happen. But false positives typically don't come in massive waves.

Rkindaleft · May 22

ZOS_Kevin wrote: »

My understanding is they are temporary as investigations continue and then customer service carries things out from there. How the investigations are concluded are on an individual basis and outside of my purview. Don't have much insight beyond that, so very much encourage anyone who believes they were falsely impacted to appeal. The main point we wanted to clarify is these are not AI bans/suspensions. We have noted several times now that there is no process where any AI bot has the ability to ban anyone in-game. These are investigations handled by our team members in customer service.

My sincerest apologies Kevin if this comes off as a little rude or nitpicky but if these bans aren't due to AI (and there are seemingly quite a few bans, given how much I've seen on the forums, Reddit and in Discords) then what exactly are these bans a result of? As Destai has said there are people that have been banned without reporting.

The way I see it, if the bans aren't influenced by any AI at any point it just means they're either being handled by a customer service team without appropriate training, or is it perhaps just some kind of 'ban first to make sure, and then ask questions later' policy?

There's obviously an issue here if these bans are not AI because people keep being incorrectly banned - and that can only be continuous human error.

Tigertron · May 22

I was also banned for cheating. lol. I do writs and that is pretty much it. Cheat how? Running from table to table?

I just finished upgrading to windows 11 and did not even log in for about a week. I got steam installed and my controller set up. I logged in and did writs. The next morning I get the email about being banned.

8 or 9 years playing. I’m 63 years old. I couldn’t care less about cheating on a game. Like I said most all I do is writs and once in a while IA for the ability to buy leads and patterns.

So now I feel targeted. Falsely accused. Defamed. Scapegoated. You have lost my respect.

At this point I’m not even concerned about getting my account back other than so I can gift the 20k.+ crowns I have to someone who likes this abuse.

JeroenB · May 22

Rkindaleft wrote: »

ZOS_Kevin wrote: »

My understanding is they are temporary as investigations continue and then customer service carries things out from there. How the investigations are concluded are on an individual basis and outside of my purview. Don't have much insight beyond that, so very much encourage anyone who believes they were falsely impacted to appeal. The main point we wanted to clarify is these are not AI bans/suspensions. We have noted several times now that there is no process where any AI bot has the ability to ban anyone in-game. These are investigations handled by our team members in customer service.

My sincerest apologies Kevin if this comes off as a little rude or nitpicky but if these bans aren't due to AI (and there are seemingly quite a few bans, given how much I've seen on the forums, Reddit and in Discords) then what exactly are these bans a result of? As Destai has said there are people that have been banned without reporting.

The way I see it, if the bans aren't influenced by any AI at any point it just means they're either being handled by a customer service team without appropriate training, or is it perhaps just some kind of 'ban first to make sure, and then ask questions later' policy?

There's obviously an issue here if these bans are not AI because people keep being incorrectly banned - and that can only be continuous human error.

I think your focus is on the wrong thing; computers can do a lot of complex smart (and dumb) things without needing to use "AI"...

parse all the chat text
if you notice an account using more than three words from <this list> per hour
then flag the account for review
is not AI.

monitor process interactions with the game executable
if you notice interactions that match patterns from <this list>
then flag the account for review
isn't AI either.

More importantly, as I read it, Kevin didn't say they don't use AI, rather that the final decisions are not made by AI (or any other automated tool), but by a human. And it would obviously be impossible to manage the game if they did not use automated tools to monitor and flag behaviour for review. Whether one of those tools happens to use "AI" or not seems irrelevant to me.

Expressing displeasure at 'private' chats being monitored seems a worthwhile discussion to have, as does the issue of false positives in cheating detection and especially the customer service experience to recover from that. Throwing outrage at "AI" is misdirection and just distracts the attention from these important points.

Twohothardware · May 22

ZOS needs to go back through fast and unban a lot of the people that have been getting caught up in these ban waves. Whoever is going over the criteria for the ban and checking the data is not doing their job right. I've been reading case after case posted here and on Reddit. At this stage in the game few to nearly noone is using cheats on ESO. They're getting false flagged.

I just read a post today on Reddit about a guy that got caught in the ban wave and he said all he had been doing is farming resources legitimately throughout the day on his single account. The only legit bots I've ever seen are using brand new characters that are like lvl 5 with random gibberish names and they have numerous accounts working together. Nobody uses automated scripts to bot farm on a maxed out character account they've been playing on for years because they know sooner or later it will get caught and banned.

umagon · May 23

This might be one of those situations where someone who was exploiting sold and/or bought items on the trader. And zos froze all the accounts that may have unknowingly purchased from or sold items to the person exploiting.

FluffyDoom · May 23

umagon wrote: »

This might be one of those situations where someone who was exploiting sold and/or bought items on the trader. And zos froze all the accounts that may have unknowingly purchased from or sold items to the person exploiting.

OMG - that makes perfect sense, how would ZOS know if someone is using the guild trader system to launder the gold bought from the websites (that are constantly advertising in zone chats). No way to know if the seller and/or buyer are in on the scheme. No way to prove you're innocent either if you happen to buy/sell something that was tied to gold sellers/buyers.

Already stopped doing any chatting thanks to fears of a random typo and now going to stop using guild traders and also no more crown item trades for gold - even on that safe discord server.

It's not worth a ban for days or to lose my account forever!

Very sad

dcrush · May 23

I got banned as well. Tried to log into the game and it said my account was permanently banned then I checked my mail and saw a ticket that said my account was “temporarily banned” for “cheating/exploits”. So which is it? You can’t even be consistent in your messaging about bans. I’ve appealed the ticket via mail, based on experience communicating with “customer service” I will have to go through several rounds of auto/scripted replies before I get a response from actual person.

For me, this came very quickly after I reported someone for anti-LGBTQ+ hate speech in zone chat so at first I thought that person had reported me but then I saw this thread and realized the same thing has happened to me.

Do better ZOS, this is embarrassing.

Edit: I have two accounts, one is an Epic games account from when they had a free version of the game and that one ALSO got banned. I barely play on that account. It would be laughable if it wasn’t so ridiculous.

Hotdog_23 · May 23

ZOS_Kevin wrote: »

My understanding is they are temporary as investigations continue and then customer service carries things out from there. How the investigations are concluded are on an individual basis and outside of my purview. Don't have much insight beyond that, so very much encourage anyone who believes they were falsely impacted to appeal. The main point we wanted to clarify is these are not AI bans/suspensions. We have noted several times now that there is no process where any AI bot has the ability to ban anyone in-game. These are investigations handled by our team members in customer service.

If you say there are no Al auto bans, then I believe you. But with all the smoke, there must be fire somewhere. Maybe not AI auto ban, but the process is too easily rubber-stamped by a person for it to be happening this much if what I am reading is also to be believed to be true with all the bans/suspension taking place.

If the process is saying a simple pop-up of suspected bannable offense and some just clicking “OK” to ban without investigation, then this is not the right way to treat your customers. I really hope someone with authority looks at our concerns about all the recent bans taking place and looks into improving the process.

My suspicion is that customer service is too understaffed to deal with all the bans happening in real time.

Stay safe