Someone's on my cd key!

[SirDooFuss]

This one got me thinking though, what prevents someone in a store from simply taking a snapshot with his mobile phone from cdkeys from the games in the racks? :scratch:

(if not on the case itself, the little book inside, if they put the cd in it at the cash register, you can open the case in the rack)

That's why blizzard gives you a new CD Key for free if you return the CD case (with sticker on it). They disable the old (stolen) CD key, so the thief can't use it anymore.:grin:

 

[tepe]

You can buy used game from real life game stores too

If it was a used game there is nothing from keeping the person who previously owned it from retaining the CD-key.

<edit> I see Sir-Doofus already pointed this out. I have always been very skeptical about buying used games for online play. Your better off always buying new (unopened packages) games.

 

[stfrn]

When my brother first bought WoW, about a month after it had been relased, the CD was already in use. Turns out someone had bought the disc, installed, and returned it to the store claiming it was broken, and they just reshelved it.

 

[FrankWest]

I meant a random person in the store... it can be done fast and without anyone noticing it, so...

While you do hear about this happening from time to time, I don't think it's really as cut and dry as you do. As far as I know, store policy pretty much everywhere isn't to let customers rip off the security strips and shrinkwrap that keeps game/CD cases from being opened. You know that annoying plastic and stickystrips they have? I imagine it'd be pretty hard to get into these things and put them back without anyone noticing it. And even if someone gets away with it, odds are no one's going to be silly enough to come along and buy the copy of the game with all the security measures ripped off of it.

And if they do... well... that's kinda sad in and of itself.