Safety and EA rules
Is it safe? The risk, without the sales talk
Two different risks, and what you can do about each of them.
Two risks that are easy to mix up
When players ask whether ordering coins is safe, they usually mean one of two things. The first is the game: will EA notice and punish the account? The second is the seller: will the money vanish, or worse, will someone take over the account? They have different causes and different defences, so this page keeps them apart.
Neither can be brought to zero, and any shop that says otherwise is selling a feeling rather than a fact. What can be done is to make the second risk small and to understand the first one well enough to decide for yourself.
In one line
EA forbids bought coins and can act on them; a careful order protects your money and your login, not your standing with EA.
What EA writes, and what it can do
EA's help article on playing FC by the rules opens its coin section with three words: "Don't buy Coins." The EA User Agreement says the same in its Play Fair rules, which forbid buying, selling or farming game currency, and EA names comfort trades among the things that damage the game's economy.
- Remove the coins it believes were bought, or delete the Ultimate Team club.
- Limit or close the Transfer Market for the account, in the game and in the apps.
- Take you off leaderboards, shut you out of online matches, of every FC title or of EA games as a whole, or suspend the console.
- Close single features instead of the whole game, with an e-mail, an entry under My Penalty History and a pop-up in the game.
EA notes that such steps can follow even a first offence. It does not publish how often it acts, and no shop can see into its checks, so treat any promise of a method EA cannot detect as advertising.
How an order here limits the damage
This part is about risk two: your money and your EA login.
Your payment
You pay on the checkout's own payment pages, by card on a secure card page or by wallet or crypto; card numbers never touch this site. Refund claims stay possible for 21 days after the payment.
Your login
In any case the trader gets only the e-mail address of your EA account and backup codes. Each code works once and you choose how many to hand over.
Your club
The coins go into the club on the platform you chose on the card. The order only closes once you have checked the balance and confirmed it yourself.
Five habits that protect the account
- Give the EA account a second sign-in step with two-factor authentication, then keep its backup codes away from your phone, on paper if need be. EA describes the codes as the last way back in on a new device when the usual sign-in method is unavailable.
- Give the codes for the order only on the checkout's delivery form, never in a chat with someone who writes to you first.
- Stay logged out of Ultimate Team on every console, PC and app until the coins are in.
- Keep the order to yourself in EA's forums and in the game: EA's rules also forbid promoting coin trading there.
- Watch the inbox of your EA e-mail during and after delivery; EA sends notices about restrictions there.
Warning signs at other sellers
EA's own security advice warns that sites promising game currency without earning it can carry malware or try to steal the login. A few signs deserve a second look, wherever you shop:
Payment outside a checkout
A request to pay by bank transfer, gift card or to a private account leaves you with no refund route at all.
Prices far below the rest
Coins have a market price. An offer at half of it is usually paid for in some other way.
Rush and pressure
Countdown timers, "last packs" and chat messages pushing for a quick decision are there to stop you checking.
To compare what a fair price looks like today, the page on FIFA coins value lists every pack in pounds.
Questions buyers ask
Does EA tell me if it takes action?
Is there a way to dispute a restriction?
Does a market ban follow me to the next game?
Does this site see my card details?
Decided? The card is at the top
If you have weighed the risk and want to go ahead, the order takes a minute.