Account & Security

Why was my account banned?

Learn about automatic and administrator account restrictions and what to include in an appeal.

16 viewsUpdated Aug 17, 2026

Why restrictions can happen

An account can be restricted by an administrator or by an automated protection rule. One example is the optional Surf CAPTCHA auto-ban threshold, which can ban an account after a configured number of consecutive incorrect CAPTCHA attempts.

Other restrictions can result from suspected abuse, multiple-account activity, traffic-quality problems or violations of site rules.

What to do

Use Contact Us and include your username, the approximate time the issue occurred and any relevant campaign or transaction ID. Avoid creating another account to work around a restriction, because that can make the review more difficult.

Didn’t find what you need?

Support can help with account-specific or technical issues.