The "Xbox Games" forum, which includes Retro Game Reviews, has been archived and is now read-only. You cannot post here or create a new thread or review on this forum.
Last night I appear to have had my XBL account hacked, this person has somehow managed to clear out my MS points balance as well as transfer another £21 for purchases which appear in my transactions list on Xbox.com but also appear to have been transferred off my account. These purchases were for a downloadable copy of FIFA 13 & an online pass for this game, a third transaction for a further £42.50 looks like it was declined (either by Paypal, my bank or MS).
Luckily I was actually online when these transactions occurred and spotted them in my email client. I quickly logged into my XBL account (via Xbox.com) and changed my account password which was a good thing as I have repeated emails from MS which would appear that this person was still attempting to access my account after the password change. Once I logged back into my account using the new password (which required a further security check) I found out that I could not remove the payment method from my Xbox account, there is an option to do this but the site does not seem to let you (says something like this option is not available at this time).
Anyway, after getting in a queue to chat to an online MS advisor, one long wait later and I did get to report this problem. The advisor told me that once you enter payment details into your XBL account (either Paypal or Credit card) only MS can remove it! I would strongly suggest anyone in this situation to contact them and get this done. I always redeem pre-paid codes for MS stuff (live subs & points purchases) and actually can't recall ever linking my Paypal account to my XBL account, perhaps it was when I first joined? (which was about 5 years ago).
Anyway, this MS agent has now put a temporary ban on any purchases being made using my XBL account until they complete an investigation on this reported activity. I have to call their helpline when it opens at 9am this morning (the number if anyone needs it is 0800 5871102) to launch this investigation and hopefully get my stolen money back.
Just a heads up really in case anyone on here is also unlucky enough to experience this, as a quick Google search would appear to suggest that this problem is not quite as rare as you might think...
Luckily I was actually online when these transactions occurred and spotted them in my email client. I quickly logged into my XBL account (via Xbox.com) and changed my account password which was a good thing as I have repeated emails from MS which would appear that this person was still attempting to access my account after the password change. Once I logged back into my account using the new password (which required a further security check) I found out that I could not remove the payment method from my Xbox account, there is an option to do this but the site does not seem to let you (says something like this option is not available at this time).
Anyway, after getting in a queue to chat to an online MS advisor, one long wait later and I did get to report this problem. The advisor told me that once you enter payment details into your XBL account (either Paypal or Credit card) only MS can remove it! I would strongly suggest anyone in this situation to contact them and get this done. I always redeem pre-paid codes for MS stuff (live subs & points purchases) and actually can't recall ever linking my Paypal account to my XBL account, perhaps it was when I first joined? (which was about 5 years ago).
Anyway, this MS agent has now put a temporary ban on any purchases being made using my XBL account until they complete an investigation on this reported activity. I have to call their helpline when it opens at 9am this morning (the number if anyone needs it is 0800 5871102) to launch this investigation and hopefully get my stolen money back.
Just a heads up really in case anyone on here is also unlucky enough to experience this, as a quick Google search would appear to suggest that this problem is not quite as rare as you might think...
Page:
DL wrote:
Sorry pete but just watched this and it seems really easy to do. I don't know how relevant it is now though :¬)
''Guys, don't do this for no reason. Only hack that person if it's like..... relevant''
What the hell is that supposed to mean? Am I to feel privileged that some thieving scrote thinks that I'm ''relevant'' or do all hackers not adhere to this unofficial code of conduct?
If it really is that easy to hack an XBL account then MS have a big problem. I would have thought this kind of thing is actually illegal is it not? I'm sure if someone posted a guide on how to break into peoples homes on YouTube it would be removed pretty quickly...
Anyway, cheers for that link DL did my blood pressure the world of good! ;)
Think the only thing I can really do is to get MS to remove my inked payment method and only add MS points to my account as and when I require them. Of course if MS really are going to bin off this system next year then long term this probably isn't going to be an option.
Sorry pete but just watched this and it seems really easy to do. I don't know how relevant it is now though :¬)
''Guys, don't do this for no reason. Only hack that person if it's like..... relevant''
What the hell is that supposed to mean? Am I to feel privileged that some thieving scrote thinks that I'm ''relevant'' or do all hackers not adhere to this unofficial code of conduct?
If it really is that easy to hack an XBL account then MS have a big problem. I would have thought this kind of thing is actually illegal is it not? I'm sure if someone posted a guide on how to break into peoples homes on YouTube it would be removed pretty quickly...
Anyway, cheers for that link DL did my blood pressure the world of good! ;)
Think the only thing I can really do is to get MS to remove my inked payment method and only add MS points to my account as and when I require them. Of course if MS really are going to bin off this system next year then long term this probably isn't going to be an option.
DL wrote:
Tell us your pin number again pete ... we wrote it down last time, but we seem to have lost the scrap of paper :¬)
Sorry pete, it sounds like a nightmare. Hope you get it sorted satisfactorily
I'll have you know that my financial details are actually stored very securely DL, they are tucked well away on Chris's Facebook account.......in Japanese! :P
Regarding the credit card thing, I believe the law treats these purchases slightly differently (than cash/debit card etc.) as I believe that the card issuer is jointly responsible. I suppose in effect you are not directly purchasing an item/service but buying the credit. Obviously very simplified there and probably not 100% factually correct but that's basically how it works......I think!
As my the funds/MS credit piked off my XBL account were mine I presume I'm on my own?, although as previously stated MS Europe have actually been pretty helpful so far. Hopefully I will not need to take this any further, although having £50 stolen is not good and it's incredibly annoying it's not going to ruin my life and as my XBL account is now blocked from any further purchases once MS get to the bottom of this hopefully it will not happen again.
The FIFA 12 thing HF mentioned highlights what appears to me to be massive security flaw in some of these kind of things. As with XBL this problem is 'allowed' to happen by the fact that you can currently transfer funds/points....whatever from one user account to another. If there was a facility to lock any purchases to a particular registered device then this could not happen. As I mentioned earlier the FIFA 13 stuff bought using my account appears to have been transferred to different console serial number/ID than mine.
Tell us your pin number again pete ... we wrote it down last time, but we seem to have lost the scrap of paper :¬)
Sorry pete, it sounds like a nightmare. Hope you get it sorted satisfactorily
I'll have you know that my financial details are actually stored very securely DL, they are tucked well away on Chris's Facebook account.......in Japanese! :P
Regarding the credit card thing, I believe the law treats these purchases slightly differently (than cash/debit card etc.) as I believe that the card issuer is jointly responsible. I suppose in effect you are not directly purchasing an item/service but buying the credit. Obviously very simplified there and probably not 100% factually correct but that's basically how it works......I think!
As my the funds/MS credit piked off my XBL account were mine I presume I'm on my own?, although as previously stated MS Europe have actually been pretty helpful so far. Hopefully I will not need to take this any further, although having £50 stolen is not good and it's incredibly annoying it's not going to ruin my life and as my XBL account is now blocked from any further purchases once MS get to the bottom of this hopefully it will not happen again.
The FIFA 12 thing HF mentioned highlights what appears to me to be massive security flaw in some of these kind of things. As with XBL this problem is 'allowed' to happen by the fact that you can currently transfer funds/points....whatever from one user account to another. If there was a facility to lock any purchases to a particular registered device then this could not happen. As I mentioned earlier the FIFA 13 stuff bought using my account appears to have been transferred to different console serial number/ID than mine.
There was a huge problem like this regarding FIFA 12 and the ultimate team where accounts would be hammered for purchasing lots of packs to transfer to another account, among others. It is disappointing how common it is
Tell us your pin number again pete ... we wrote it down last time, but we seem to have lost the scrap of paper :¬)
Sorry pete, it sounds like a nightmare. Hope you get it sorted satisfactorily
Sorry pete, it sounds like a nightmare. Hope you get it sorted satisfactorily
Credit card companies tend to be more keen to help than banks.
I'm lucky that thus far I've not been a victim of auch frud however I have on a couple of occasions had to call on the advice of a credit card firm and on the other to hand the issue over to them to persue,
First one was when I received a DOA monitor with a new PC I'd had built but I was to report any transit damage to the PC within 24 hours.
I couldn't boot it without a monitor of course so asked them to refund the price of the monitor and I went and bought one from a well known retailer near me.
They collected the dead monitor a few days later and I left it a month.
Rang and asked about my refund 'yes in a couple of days'
No refund after a couple of days so called again to be told 'our accounts department has far more important things to be dealing with'
This was of course a red rag to a bull for me.
Rang RBS who issued the card and told them, they put me through to a department that was dedicated to chasing refunds, told the guy and he said 'tell them you're going to hand everyhing over to us and send us all the documentation you have if they won't help you'
Rang the company back and told hem they had 3 days otherwise I was going to turn it over to the card company.
Two days later the refund appeared back on my card account.
On the second occasion I'd renewed a domain name with a registrar based in Switzerland and their system screwed up and charged an American Express credit card I had twice.
Communicated with them and they'd refused to refund me or acknowledge the problem.
Rang Amex who refunded the second charge then and there.
When renewal time came I moved the domain to a more competent registrar.
Moral is, if these companies start having to deal with the problem they will soon put measures in place to prevent the problem happening.
I must stress though that on both occasions I did try to reach a solution with the party concerned first.
I'm lucky that thus far I've not been a victim of auch frud however I have on a couple of occasions had to call on the advice of a credit card firm and on the other to hand the issue over to them to persue,
First one was when I received a DOA monitor with a new PC I'd had built but I was to report any transit damage to the PC within 24 hours.
I couldn't boot it without a monitor of course so asked them to refund the price of the monitor and I went and bought one from a well known retailer near me.
They collected the dead monitor a few days later and I left it a month.
Rang and asked about my refund 'yes in a couple of days'
No refund after a couple of days so called again to be told 'our accounts department has far more important things to be dealing with'
This was of course a red rag to a bull for me.
Rang RBS who issued the card and told them, they put me through to a department that was dedicated to chasing refunds, told the guy and he said 'tell them you're going to hand everyhing over to us and send us all the documentation you have if they won't help you'
Rang the company back and told hem they had 3 days otherwise I was going to turn it over to the card company.
Two days later the refund appeared back on my card account.
On the second occasion I'd renewed a domain name with a registrar based in Switzerland and their system screwed up and charged an American Express credit card I had twice.
Communicated with them and they'd refused to refund me or acknowledge the problem.
Rang Amex who refunded the second charge then and there.
When renewal time came I moved the domain to a more competent registrar.
Moral is, if these companies start having to deal with the problem they will soon put measures in place to prevent the problem happening.
I must stress though that on both occasions I did try to reach a solution with the party concerned first.
pctech wrote:
There was a thread on a forum run by that guy that pops up on TV offering money saving tips where he is throwing his weight behind the idea of portable bank account and sort code numbers.
Imagine what a target that server farm would be for the likes of these hackers
Yeah, what could possibly go wrong...?
Your suggestion of linking a credit card to your XBL account and then reporting any fraudulent activity to the card issuer is worth considering in my view, especially if the MS points system is scrapped next year.
I had £500 piked out of my current account a few years ago, took me a few weeks to get it back as the bank were not exactly mega helpful. It was all sorted out in the end but it was only after a load of hassle.
There was a thread on a forum run by that guy that pops up on TV offering money saving tips where he is throwing his weight behind the idea of portable bank account and sort code numbers.
Imagine what a target that server farm would be for the likes of these hackers
Yeah, what could possibly go wrong...?
Your suggestion of linking a credit card to your XBL account and then reporting any fraudulent activity to the card issuer is worth considering in my view, especially if the MS points system is scrapped next year.
I had £500 piked out of my current account a few years ago, took me a few weeks to get it back as the bank were not exactly mega helpful. It was all sorted out in the end but it was only after a load of hassle.
There was a thread on a forum run by that guy that pops up on TV offering money saving tips where he is throwing his weight behind the idea of portable bank account and sort code numbers.
Imagine what a target that server farm would be for the likes of these hackers
Imagine what a target that server farm would be for the likes of these hackers
Apparently MS plans to scrap the points system next year so you'll only be able to buy stuff using a card or paypal.
They really need to allow you to do this yourself.
If you must link a payment method maybe use a credit card so you can get your money back quick and let them chase MS
They really need to allow you to do this yourself.
If you must link a payment method maybe use a credit card so you can get your money back quick and let them chase MS
Yeah, it's not good at all really. Think I was dead lucky to be able to stop it as it was actually happening, the feeling of being hacked in real time was just weird! I have spoken to MS Europe this morning who were actually very helpful TBH, the agent I dealt with confirmed that my account is now 'locked' for making purchases but it took me nearly 3 hours to get to report this online last night which I don't really think is really acceptable. He said the reason I cannot remove the payment method from my XBL account is because they need this to still be in place to (hopefully) refund me the funds that were transferred across into my XBL account. He insinuated that the Console Serial number and ID the FIFA stuff was transferred to were not the same as mine. When you see cheap codes for things like this for sale online it does make you wonder where they get them from doesn't it?
Anyway, if the investigation proves that it was third party who got into my account (which is worrying as no one other than myself knew the login details, unless they came from someone within MS?) then they should refund me the amount I am currently out of pocket (about £50 in total).
As for your Japanese Facebook hacker, that's bizarre but as in my case they must have had your login details from somewhere?
Anyway, if the investigation proves that it was third party who got into my account (which is worrying as no one other than myself knew the login details, unless they came from someone within MS?) then they should refund me the amount I am currently out of pocket (about £50 in total).
As for your Japanese Facebook hacker, that's bizarre but as in my case they must have had your login details from somewhere?
Page: