The company is finally taking Xbox Live security seriously

Jan 10, 2012 10:10 GMT  ·  By

Microsoft has issued a refund to one of its Xbox Live users after she fell prey to a phishing scam and saw her account used by hackers to purchase thousands of Microsoft Points.

After hackers started stealing accounts from all sorts of Xbox 360 owners and then used them to buy various things, mostly relating to FIFA premium DLC, things have gotten even more serious recently.

Such was the case of an Xbox Live user from the U.S., which saw her account stolen through a phishing scam. She immediately contacted Microsoft to report this theft and, despite the company saying that her account was locked, her credit card saw quite a few transactions, being used to buy Microsoft Points.

According to Kotaku, her account was later sold to a Polish Xbox 360 owner through a shady website, but Microsoft managed to set things right.

"While we do not ordinarily comment on specific cases, Microsoft can confirm that the account in question has been reinstated to its rightful owner and all unauthorized charges are being refunded in full," Microsoft said about this case.

The company once again highlighted its desire to make Xbox Live users feel safe, saying that it was working closely with victims of such scams.

"The online safety of Xbox Live members remains of the utmost importance, which is why we consistently take measures to protect Xbox Live against ever-changing threats. However, we are aware that a handful of customers have experienced problems getting their accounts restored once they've reported an issue. We are working directly with those customers to restore their accounts as soon as possible and are reviewing our processes to ensure a positive customer support experience."

Despite such frauds and account thefts growing in number, Microsoft once again mentioned that “there has been no breach to the security of our Xbox Live service."

Did you encounter any problems with your Xbox Live account or did you manage to stay away from such scams?