It is a fraudulent practice of sending messages intended to deceive an Internet user. The perpetrators send messages with tempting offers to encourage Internet users to share their credentials (login, password) and personal and/or banking information by posing as a trusted person to steal their accounts. They can invite you through a form, a Flashcode, or even a link to a site similar to Howrse.

The thief may contact you in-game by a private message, post a message on the forums, or use their profile presentation.
They can pose as part of the support team, as an Owlient employee, or even use the account of one of your friends that they have previously stolen.

They may try to lure you into their nets with particularly tempting offers, a threat of account closure, or any other technique that could deceive your vigilance or scare you.

They may send you a link by PM, a QR Code, or ask you to search for information on a search engine as "good faith" (for example: "if you don't believe me, look at xxxx on Google, you will see").
The site or the form on which you will arrive will ask for your identifiers (username and password). Once the information is submitted on the site, the thief recovers it and will be able to connect with your identifiers and steal your horses, Divines, Passes, Items, and Equus.

They can also use your account to attract other players, including your friends. You risk a double penalty by seeing your account sanctioned for phishing as well.

Phishing PM example:
"Hello! You have been selected by the Howrse raffle. This raffle is organized by Owlient and rewards random players every month. Just scan the QR code that will be sent to you, or click on the link to our form. You can fill out this form and access your winnings from a list of several rewards! Please do not hesitate to contact Owlient support or the account delivering this message to ask any questions. Goodbye."

↪ First and foremost, NEVER share your password with anyone. The Howrse team (administrators and moderators) will NEVER request your password.

↪ Use a unique password for your Howrse account!
Avoid using a password that you already use elsewhere, such as for connecting to your e-mail.
The password should include random letters, numbers, and symbols. It should not include your player name, the name of your pet, or any other easily identifiable element.

↪ When in doubt, do not click on the link and report the message through the related reporting tool or contact our Customer support team.

↪ When you receive a private message, check who the sender is and if there is a link in the message. Private messages from the Howrse team appear in the "Official" tab.

↪ Do not share your personal information!
Make sure you don't share personal details on the forums, private messages, your profile page, or anywhere on the game (name, first name, e-mail address, where you live, etc).

↪ Be on your guard if you are offered attractive but suspicious offers or if someone threatens you.

↪ Account thieves can hook their victims with:
➞ A external page with a copy of an event organized by Owlient (Tombola, Lottery, etc);
➞ Free Passes, Equus, items, or Divine horses (if it’s free, it’s probably too good to be true);
➞ A made up a problem with your account.
➞ Threats! They can try to threaten you with a ban, or Karma loss, for example, to scare you.

This list is not exhaustive, account thieves can be very creative!

↪ Pay attention to external links and always check our forum communications and in-game offer inserts to be sure they are Howrse official promotions.

↪ When you click on a link, if a warning message appears, please take a few minutes to check if it is a secure link.

↪ Official communications appear in your private messaging via the "Official" tab.

↪ When in doubt about a link, do not click on it.

↪ Report suspicious private messages using the tool available in the game.