Pokémon GO Players Hit With Repeated 7 Day Bans

Pokémon GO players are reporting a problem with Niantic's anti-cheat system, claiming they're being hit with multiple bans for single - or sometimes no - infractions.

It follows past occasions - acknowledged by Niantic - where players have been falsely flagged for cheating.

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Pokémon GO Players Hit With Repeated 7 Day Bans

Speaking to Eurogamer, several players have reported that although Niantic rightly gave them a 7 day ban for cheating, at the end of that period they've been hit with subsequent exclusions despite no repeat offences.

Spoofing - using third party software to alter your location - usually results in a 7-day ban for a first offence, a 30 day ban for a second one, and a permanent ban for a hat-trick. However, players are reporting two, three, or even four, 7-day bans, suggesting an issue with Niantic's anti-cheat procedure.

"In early March I was given a strike for using third-party software," one player admitted to Eurogamer. "I took the blame for it because I did decide to spoof to do a Lucky Trade with someone. Since then, I have continued to be striked and as I'm writing this, I am on my fourth strike. I'm afraid my account is going to be terminated after respectfully following the rules."

Meanwhile, another player says their account has "recently been hit with a seven-day strike. I followed the standard procedure of submitting a ban appeal to Niantic (only on the second strike), but all that I've gotten back was a copy and paste response. I replied to that email and have not heard anything back from them yet."

Some players are also reporting being slapped with a ban despite claiming they've not done anything wrong.

Niantic reportedly banned over a million cheaters last year, though we hope those efforts haven't resulted in some players being wrongly excluded from the game.