Phishers adapt to the environment and current trends. Even the slightest speculation about a new World of Warcraft beta always spawn hundreds of phishing sites. As always, the quality of these sites vary. Some are hardly believable while others appear very real. Another scam related to beta opt-ins is the premature sale of beta keys.

Let’s make something completely sure: The Cataclysm expansion is no-where near release. Educated guesses indicate we’ll see an Alpha version in the first quarter of 2010. The Alpha is not open to the public and it is impossible to opt-in, regardless of what anyone tries to persuade you. Naturally, the Cataclysm Beta will be publicly available at some point and when it does, the word will come centrally from Blizzard.

To increase safety, I can recommend the Blizzard Authenticator. It comes in both a Mobile version and a physical version. An authenticator is worth every penny.

As usual, MMOwned delivers. Please find below an example of a fake Cataclysm Beta e-mail and also be sure to read my post on avoiding fake e-mails from Blizzard.

Q: World of Warcraft: Cataclysm – Closed Beta

A: Blizzard Entertainment would like to present to you the World of
Warcraft: Cataclysm Closed Beta!

If you are looking at this page, you are one of the special few who will
recieve FREE invites to the World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Closed Beta.
You will be able to transfer one (1) of your current characters onto
our Closed Beta realm and embark on the epic journey against the
dreaded Deathwing!

All participants of the Closed Beta must confirm their account by
typing their account information at the link on the bottom of this
page, so that we can verify if you are currently a subscriber to
the World of Warcraft. An e-mail will be dispatched to you, providing
further information about the World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Closed Beta.