First-person forum account: a Claude subscriber with chronic depression who travels between countries on their therapists' advice says an automated fraud check flagged their changing log-in locations, put the paid account on hold and suspended it, cutting off a chatbot they relied on for emotional support and triggering a panic attack and a depressive episode

Reliance on the chatbot. The poster writes that they live with severe chronic depression, that their therapists recommended changing environments, and that they therefore travel extensively. During their darkest periods, they say, Claude was a safe space rather than only a work tool: when depression made their thinking foggy they would talk to Claude, which 'helped me organize my chaotic thoughts, calmed my anxiety' and which they describe as a lifeline for their mental well-being and stability.

The suspension. Because they travel constantly, their access locations shift between the Netherlands, Singapore and transit countries. 'A few days ago', they write, 'Anthropic's automated fraud system flagged these constant IP and location shifts as "suspicious activity."' Their paid subscription 'was put on a permanent "Hold" status, and my account was suspended. No human warning. No manual review.' They add that Anthropic 'blacklisted my card, and their support is just ignoring my emails.'

The effect. 'When I realized I was locked out, it triggered a massive panic attack and pushed me straight back into a severe depressive episode.' The poster describes the loss as the removal of a paid-for mental health coping mechanism, asks whether others have faced a location-based ban while travelling for health reasons, and asks how to reach a person on Anthropic's safeguards team; they want their access and conversation history back.

Context. Anthropic's help-centre article 'Safeguards warnings and appeals' says the company 'may ban an account for a variety of reasons', listing repeated Usage Policy violations, 'Account creation from an unsupported location' and Terms of Service violations, and that a user who feels wrongly suspended can log in and fill out an appeal form for the Safeguards team to investigate. It also says an organisation 'paused because of unusual activity' can request a review, and carries a notice that response times are longer than normal. The article describes policy in general; it does not describe an automated location check or address this account.

Limits. Single anonymous account; no suspension notice, emails or screenshots were published. The poster's attribution of the suspension to location changes is their own reading of the flag, and whether the check involved AI is not stated. The date of the suspension ('a few days ago') and the poster's location at the time are not given.

A Claude subscriber with chronic depression reports that an automated fraud flag on their changing log-in locations put their paid account on hold and suspended it, cutting off a chatbot they relied on for emotional support; they say the lockout triggered a panic attack and a return to a severe depressive episode, and that their card was blacklisted and support emails went unanswered (first-person account, uncorroborated).

At the time of posting the account remained suspended and the subscription on hold; the poster said support had not answered their emails and asked how to reach a person on Anthropic's safeguards team. No response from Anthropic is reported. Anthropic's help centre says a banned user can log in to reach an appeal form and that its response times were longer than normal; whether the poster used the form is not known.