Trello deactivated my account even though I am not Russia/Belarus-based.
Asked by Hazel:

Atlassian sent me an email that landed in my spam folder unfortunately. It reads the following:

"We are contacting you to let you know that Atlassian is winding down its operations in Russia and Belarus, and our records identify you are using Atlassian's no?charge product(s) within these identified regions. As such, this email constitutes notice that, in accordance with our [Cloud Terms of Service](https://click.e.atlassian.com/?qs=9e4a6256dc8e61220a0ea2baf75d5bf3b0afafbc01b85182b056f6bbb3b394db0461dcbfa8c8fc0b5fae5f07e62b59dadab91b7893b4952375ad680edf23e3a3), we will terminate your Atlassian account in 30 days."

However, I am based in the US and have never used a Russia-based VPN or anything like that while using Trello, so I am not sure why my account was marked as being from these countries.

I've been forced to create a new account just to access my Trello boards as I use them daily for work - this is the account I'm using to create this discussion. I have been using Trello since 2016, well before they fell under the Atlassian umbrella.

I created a ticket with Atlassian, but I have no idea how long it will take to get back my account.

Is anyone else going through this who's account was wrongly flagged? Is there a number I can all since the support response times are taking forever?


Answers:
author: Nic Brough -Adaptavist-
body: Welcome to the Atlassian Community!

I am sorry this has happened. I can give you a bit of an explanation, but it's not going to be ideal or explain exactly why you have been hit.

There are a **lot** of accounts for Atlassian to look at. There's no chance a team of humans could verify every account, so obviously, there is a huge amount of automation of the shut-down process, and although Atlassian have mostly done a good job of identifying accounts that have been forced to support the illegal invasion of Ukraine, the process is not perfect. There are both false negatives and false positives.

From what you've said, you have been flagged as a false positive (probably just that your email address on your account **looks like** it is provided by an organisation that Russian law has forced to support the invasion)

You have done the right thing - a support call, and temporary access via a non-sanctoned new account.

But all you can do is wait for the support call to be processed. You're not alone here, there are other false-positives I know of, and I know Atlassian do get them fixed, but it is not quick, there's a lot of support to do!

I've asked Atlassian to move yours higher on the to-do list, as you've asked here, but I can't tell you how long it might take.

Just to help out, I would, if it were private, ask for the domain of your email on your Atlassian account, but in public, I don't want to get you added to any spam lists. Atlassian can see your domain on your Atlassian account though, so can you confirm that the account you used to post this question is on the same as the blocked account? Or at least that they are both on the same domain?

comments: author: Hazel
body: Thank you - Atlassian support has been quick to respond and I am currently in contact with a Customer Advocate. He has informed me that my account should be reinstated within 48 hours. I will reply here once it is reinstated for reference for anyone with a similar issue.


author: Melanie Hoffmaster
body: Hi Hazel, I just got this email today. Same situation, did they resolve your issue?


author: Hazel
body: Support got back to me within 48 hours and reinstated my account just shortly after hearing from them. Let them know you are not located in these countries and they will process your request for account reinstatement shortly after that. Best luck!


author: Melanie Hoffmaster
body: Thank you Hazel!

Thankfully I saw the email right as it came into my inbox, but my confusion was palpable. They did help and I've been taken off of the block list, but have zero idea why they think I use a Russian VPN. I've never used a VPN. I'm just wondering now how I can prevent this from happening again, or how they can keep this from happening?


author: sunjincheng
body: How can I restore the deactivated account? Is it directly related to the vpn that it was blocked for no reason?


author: sunjincheng
body: How long can the account be restored My colleague's account was blocked and requested to be unlocked. Thank you


author: Lara
body: Hi [@sunjincheng](/t5/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/5341368)

Please reach out at <https://www.atlassian.com/company/contact/purchasing-licensing#/> so our team can take a closer look at the account.

I've gone ahead and removed the email address from your message for privacy reasons.

All the best,

Lara  
The Trello Team


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