Electronic Arts started its investigation, and while it’s still ongoing, they are already finding suspicious activities.

Electronic Arts posted a new update, and we’re going to quote the relevant parts: „[…] Our initial investigation shows questionable activity involving a very small number of accounts and items. Although it is not a large number, if these allegations prove out, this activity is unacceptable.  We want to thank our committed community members for bringing the issue to our attention so quickly. Next, let’s be clear about what will happen now. When our investigation is completed, we will take action against any employee found to have been engaging in this activity. Any items granted through this illicit activity will be removed from the FIFA Ultimate Team ecosystem and EA will permanently ban any player known to have acquired content through these means.

[…] Content granting is the process by which specific in-game items are directly distributed to a specific player account. This is different from a points or pack grant and usually takes the form of a specific individual item. […] Unless they are issued to replace lost content, they usually take the form of ‘non-tradeable items’ – meaning they have no exchange value in the game.  They cannot be offered on the transfer market for redeemable value and may not be shared with other players. There are a few scenarios where we grant content that has not been earned or acquired through gameplay.  The three most prevalent are: Worldwide Customer Experience; Testing & QV; Discretionary Content Granting (Athletes, Partners, & Employees).

[…] We have launched a rigorous investigation, narrowing how this may have happened and identifying those accounts which have received content through this illicit method. We will permanently ban any accounts identified as receiving items transferred nefariously, and we have suspended all discretionary content granting for an indefinite period,” the publisher says.

The scheme allows the employee to grant the items the customer paid for to their account directly with the help of the previously described content granting. However, keep in mind that all this happens over digital cards that will become worthless in a year, as FIFA 22 will replace FIFA 21 with its Ultimate Team money-grabbing scheme.

Source: PCGamer