This morning my account was hacked and i found out at work. I am not very upset because I have faith blizzard will be able to restore what was taken from me. I took the necessary steps to secure my account: changed my password, created a new email address specifically only for my battle.net account, and ordered an authenticator. While I was doing these things this morning, I was wondering what the motivation is for hackers? Is it to be hurtful and cause others problems? Is it to use your characters as a mean to transfer money to make real life money? I am not too sure of the answer, but I would like some insight so I can soothe my mind.

---

Q u o t e:
While I was doing these things this morning, I was wondering what the motivation is for hackers? Is it to use your characters as a mean to transfer money to make real life money?

---

That's actually less complicated than one might think and you largely hit the nail on the head. Those who would compromise accounts do so for the sake of profit, generally in the form of selling virtual currency for real world currency. We've posted an article about this in the past, actually:

http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/basics/antigold.html

Less well known, though, but as you've surmised is that these individuals will use compromised accounts to distribute their ill-gotten gains and engage in other forms of exploitation as well.

It sounds like you've taken the right steps to ensure your security, but if you haven't already checked them out, you might find the articles we've posted in our sticky on the subject helpful:

Account Hacked? Security Issue? Look Here!
Account Hacked? Security Issue? Look Here!

Good luck on a swift and complete restoration, Akiava!