About
About BanWave
An independent community site for people caught in AI account ban waves.
Who we are
BanWave started on July 26, 2026, the day Anthropic confirmed that a SEPA direct-debit fraud scheme had triggered one of the largest ban waves in AI industry history. Tens of thousands of fraudulent accounts were banned — and thousands of legitimate, paying users, many of them German SEPA subscribers, were banned alongside them with no warning and no clear path back.
We are not Anthropic, and we are not affiliated with any AI vendor. We are builders and writers who have watched the same pattern repeat across multiple ban waves — OpenClaw third-party clients, harness tools, and now the SEPA fraud wave — and noticed that every time, the affected users had nowhere central to go.
Why we track ban waves
Ban waves share a structure: a fraud or abuse vector is discovered, a blunt automated rule is deployed, and legitimate users matching the pattern get caught in the crossfire. The information those users need — how to appeal, how to get a refund, what alternatives exist — is scattered across social media threads and support tickets.
BanWave exists to put that information in one place, in the languages the affected users actually speak: English, German, and Japanese. Every guide is based on public reporting and community experience, updated as each situation develops. When the next ban wave comes — and there will be a next one — this is where you start.
BanWave is an independent community and information site. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or operated by Anthropic PBC. Event coverage is compiled from public reporting and community reports; always verify account-specific details with official Anthropic support.