There is a lot of confusion these days on the matter of some Xbox live accounts that were somehow forcefully taken by cybercriminals. While some feared a massive hacking operation is behind the entire incident, Microsoft claims they all fell victims to phishing.
Xbox
forums are flooded with complaints from members who believe their accounts were taken over by hackers, but the official
Xbox Live UK Facebook page claims that there was no hacking involved.
The Sun published an article in which they revealed that a lot of users around the world reported that the credit cards attached to their Live accounts were utilized to make small purchases, the average loss being estimated at £100 (115 EUR or $80) per account holder.
In response to the article, Xbox UK rushed to make a statement in which they deny that Xbox Live was hacked.
“Xbox LIVE has not been hacked. Microsoft can confirm that there has been no breach to the security of our Xbox LIVE service. In this case, a number of Xbox LIVE members appear to have recently been victim of malicious ‘phishing’ scams,” reads the statement.
“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.”
Microsoft is currently working closely with victims in an effort to precisely pinpoint the origin of this unfortunate situation.
If this is the case and in fact a
phishing campaign is behind the incident, members are advised to avoid any suspicious emails, Facebook or Twitter notices in which they are promised all sorts of fabulous deals.
Information such as email addresses, passwords or credit card data are never required in an email by legitimate companies, so make sure you stay clear of such phony alerts, especially the ones that lead to an online form that requires this type of data.
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