Xbox Live phished/hacked/somethinged

[Sketcz]

No, Microsoft are a bunch of ***** regardless.

Read the following comedy of errors from NeoGAF

PistolPete
My account was hacked. I noticed it immediately and called Microsoft. Before you ask, my password was not weak. It was a string of multiple character types that would be impossible to guess, and I know a phishing scam when I see one so something else far worse is at play here.

So after a 1 month wait, I was notified by Microsoft that I violated the terms of service by using my first initial instead of my full name when setting up my account. Essentially I have no recourse, and all of my XBL content is gone. Everything - GONE.

I have 5 accounts on PSN with different names and Sony gave me 2 free games for each when they were hacked. When the same happens on Xbox Live MS deletes your account so you lose everything you've already bought.

You say it's not their fault, it's the user, but I've read reports from users who have secure set-ups, strong passwords, and have not been phishing scammed. I personally believe there's more to this story, but MS are obviously trying to cover it up.

[Flabio]

Oh I'm not comparing, just trying to disabuse the notion that the Sony hack was a 'victimless crime'.

The main reason Sony got more column inches in the games press was the involvement of Anon, Geohot and those Lulsec chaps. Quite simply, it was more of a story.

[EvilBoris]

I guess the Key difference is that 6 million PSN users were affected for over a month , perhaps not financially (although games lost functionality and paid content became inaccessible) like this issue, which has affected very few people and even then it has yet to be proved that this is a security failing on MS' behalf. I'd say that it's not a case of double standards because the 2 situations are entirely different and the scale of these issues is considerably different.

More people on this forum have had their actual card details taken or their PayPal account hijacked than have been affected by people who have had their windows ID phished.

[Dogg Thang]

Until proven otherwise, Microsoft have NOT had a breach on their systems

Whether MS have had a breach or not is not dependent on proof. They either have or they haven't. Whether it can be proven does not affect that.

And if there has been a breach, this is a sorry lesson indeed because people are right about the reaction to Sony versus MS. And the difference? Sony came clean about it, informed people and took their system down to do something about it. Whether MS have had a breach, and we couldn't possibly prove it one way or another, they clearly have a problem that relates to their systems and how they're handling info. Seems the **** hasn't hit the fan mainly because they are staying completely quiet about it - that's the lesson here and it's one that does us no favours.

[fuse]

I have 5 accounts on PSN with different names and Sony gave me 2 free games for each when they were hacked. When the same happens on Xbox Live MS deletes your account so you lose everything you've already bought.

The 'same thing' hasn't happened to a single person with Live. I feel bad for the user you're talking about and I would hope MS will resolve something that petty, but this is not the same issue as with Sony.

You say it's not their fault, it's the user, but I've read reports from users who have secure set-ups, strong passwords, and have not been phishing scammed. I personally believe there's more to this story, but MS are obviously trying to cover it up.

Trust me, if it turns out the source of these recent attacks is a breach of data security at MS then I will be absolutely up in arms. There is absolutely no evidence of this being the case right now though.

[Matt]

I do find some people's reactions quite incredulous. But there you go. Not the first time

There is clearly a fundamental issue with Live as evidently thousands of people (and probably more) are having money stolen from them. Whether it's a security flaw or a functionality flaw it is a flaw regardless. It seems more and more people are getting hacked each day, and MS don't seem to give two ****s.

Any comparisons to Sony are stupid. Full stop. This appears to be something different, this is affecting people financiallly. Just because "Sony got hacked" does not excuse this absolute shambles.

As someone who is a "victim" of both, let me explain the clear, basic details for the seats at the back of the auditorium. Sony gets hacked. They tell me. What did I have to do? Change my password. What did it cost me? Nothing. My opinion of it all - a minor inconvenience, but these things happen.

My MS account gets hacked, I have to tell them. What did I have to do? Call them about 10 times in total, even after the issue was resolved because they'd not sorted things out in a satisfactory situation. What did it cost me? 2100 points and ?85, which I got back after chasing up PayPal. My opinion of it all - a huge ****ing inconvenience.

Am I biased? I don't think so. If I'd lost money through the Sony hack I'd of been pissed.

[Flabio]

And I'm out.

[Sketcz]

Any comparisons to Sony are stupid. Full stop.

They're not stupid though. Since you go on to eloquently point out, quite rightly, how MS have ****ed up with this debacle. So I actually think comparisons are absolutely necessary in this case, to highlight how two different companies deal with similar situations.

As someone who is a "victim" of both, let me explain the clear, basic details for the seats at the back of the auditorium. Sony gets hacked. They tell me. What did I have to do? Change my password. What did it cost me? Nothing. My opinion of it all - a minor inconvenience, but these things happen.

My MS account gets hacked, I have to tell them. What did I have to do? Call them about 10 times in total, even after the issue was resolved because they'd not sorted things out in a satisfactory situation. What did it cost me? 2100 points and ?85, which I got back after chasing up PayPal. My opinion of it all - a huge ****ing inconvenience.

I'd like to point out that I had been intending to import an American 360 this month with my latest freelancer cheque, received for work done over Christmas. After seeing how MS are handling this, and ****ing over honest users by deleting their accounts for using an initial instead of a first name, I don't want to touch them.

I'm lost for words at how utterly ****ed this all is.

[Matt]

They're not stupid though. Since you go on to eloquently point out, quite rightly, how MS have ****ed up with this debacle. So I actually think comparisons are absolutely necessary in this case, to highlight how two different companies deal with similar situations.

You are correct. One company stopped issues dead by shutting down a service, taking the negative press, being honest, and only coming back online when they could be sure they were secure (or as secure as anyone can be these days). The other company blame the users and take zero responsibility.

[toythatkills]

Similar situations? Christ.

PSN was shut down because it was insecure. Any piece of information on the service could realistically be stolen by anyone who tried.

You are correct. One company stopped issues dead by shutting down a service, taking the negative press, being honest, and only coming back online when they could be sure they were secure (or as secure as anyone can be these days). The other company blame the users and take zero responsibility.

Xbox LIVE is not insecure. The service has not been hacked (as far as current information suggests.) There's no reason to take the service offline, not a single one. You can't take down a service thirty million people use just because a couple of them might have got phished. If the situations were similar, if Xbox LIVE got hacked like PSN did, the first thing they'd do is take it offline.

What they should do is improve security on making purchases, like asking to confirm card details, etc. What they should NOT do is take it offline.

[Matt]

Not a single reason? Not the seemingly thousands of unauthorised payments that Live is processing? That's a great reason to do something, but instead they're blaming the users.

While their servers may be secure, the service itself clearly isn't. Something is going on. MS should be talking about it, not brushing it under a carpet. We have no real idea how this is happening. The only facts I know for sure is people are getting money stolen from them, and MS are blaming those people.

[MisterBubbles]

So if Live has or ever was in the future even in small numbers you think M$ would tell us all, like F *** they would, remember when RROD started and M$ tried to deny that, saying that it must be users doing something wrong with their 360 ( see a resemblance here ), and all the M$ fanboys have your fingers in your ears going LA LA LA not listening. Its just gaming snobbery i think.

[EvilBoris]

The only facts I know for sure is people are getting money stolen from them, and MS are blaming those people.

Was it their fault you use the same username/password in multiple places?

I had the same password for both Origin and Live

[EvilBoris]

http://kotaku.com/5873877/microsoft-refunds-money-lost-in-phishing-scam-promises-better-customer-service

[Matt]

Yet it happened to a friend of mine who did not have an Origin account.

Hold on, does that mean it can't be anything to do with the Origin hack? Wasn't that "reason" soon dismissed.

So I'll go through this again because clearly MS can do no wrong in manys eyes.

My account was compromised. Payments were made for retail titles on Live, something I had never done. Live does not require any confirmation, you just click "Buy Now" or whatever it is. So once they have control of your account, it's easy to spend as they see fit. The big MS servers I'm paying for with my monthly Live subscription aren't doing any checks to spot irregularities, no they want to take your money as quickly as possible. I had no email saying I had made the purchases until a day later! Another issue.

And then, as you've read this thread at least twice to be able to quote me, you can see all the bull**** I had to wade through to get my account back, my DLC back, and then my account able to buy things again.

There are so many things wrong with this I can't believe anyone in their right mind could be blas? about it. I know many people here love Live and MS and suck on the PR teat that feeds them, but come on people, gamers are having money stolen from them and we have no idea how this is happening. And to make matters worse, MS aren't changing their Live service to stop these things from happening.

But of course, how can any of this possibly be their responsibility....