I got the same issue today. Trying to plunder a cargo Lynx from another faction. Spamming the Attack button until I realize I selected a friend's ship. I went into this combat with no warming. No box to ultimately prevent me from doing such thing.
Even if I broke the combat without firing a shot, I am now a pirate, lost all my assets. And worst of all, can't play with my friends any more...
Should I wait to final release to play back with my friends? Delete my characters and losing all my assets, premium ships and everything I could gather after 100 hours of playing at Naval Action?
I hope we can sort this out and find a solution.