Xbox live users beware!

[[BAN!] JontheGeekGuy]

Protect yourself! Never give out personal info. Xbox will never ask you for your password. When in doubt call 1-800-4-MYXBOX and ask!


From TechSpot - Technology News, Reviews and Analysis

Xbox Live users victims of massive phishing scam


By Lee Kaelin
November 23, 2011, 9:30 AM EST

Comments 8






Gamers using Microsoft's Xbox Live service have become the latest target of online phishing attacks as news spreads like wildfire about fraudulent transactions appearing on the credit card statements of its users.
Microsoft was very quick to jump the gate declaring their gaming platform had not been hacked, in a statement on Facebook. "Xbox Live has not been hacked. Microsoft can confirm that there has been no breach to the security of our Xbox Live service."
It appears that the ever-increasing number of affected users, now spanning 35 countries have been the victim of sophisticated online phishing attacks. Those using the service have been discovering payments, sometimes spanning months, in their credit card statements.
Those responsible for the theft have apparently been taking small amounts of money from users' accounts for several weeks, making the attack hard to detect. The fraud involved sending emails to Xbox Live users, directing them to sophisticated but fake websites offering free Microsoft point incentives. Having registered on the fake websites, the scammers then had all the personal information they needed to proceed.
In nearly all the cases, the purchases are for Microsoft Points, the currency the software giant uses to allow customers to download additional content, games and in-game objects. These appear to have been used to buy downloadable content from EA Sports, specifically Ultimate Team Packs for its FIFA 12, Madden and NBA titles, which can be traded between players for real money without EA or Microsoft recording the transaction.
According to the Sun newspaper, a Microsoft representative has said they'll offer refunds to anyone that can prove they have not handed over their password. That is a nice gesture, but how exactly does a person prove they are not guilty of providing a password when their account is already compromised is uncertain.
This incident follows on from the recent breach of Valve's Steam user forum that resulted in user information being stolen, and the devastating attacks on Sony's PSN network in April that forced the Xbox competitor's gaming service be turned offline for several weeks.

[[Swag] M4z0ra]

Yeah, its been goin on for a while now, thanks for posting to let everyone know.

[[GFY] pandamancan2]

dude that happen to my friend i felt bad for him he had a charge of 150 bucks on his card on microsoft points. He said he tried to put gas in and was denied soo pissed. i was like... good thing i removed my card info.

[turkey head war]

yeah I set mine up with passwords so secret that I don't even know how to get back into my acct.

[[GFY] pandamancan2]

Lol well no one would ever guess my emails haha there are like 5 different ones linked into my xbox. and one is possibly the hardest to figure out.

[[DnBr] DanielWalker.]

Thanks for letting us know Dude. I wouldnt give out the time of day to some randomer never mind my Info lol.

[Hans]

Psh. Why would people be so stupid and do such a thing. Oh wait I was stupid once. I learned from my mistakes and got my account back and 3 games the guy bought, 4000 ms points and all my money refunded.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[DefectiveFaerie]

Yeah. Phishing is bad with a lot of stuff. I've gotten like three fake messages from the IRS trying to get banking info.


Shapoople! ~my magic tapatalk word

[[Bs™] Kingz Of Leon]

Never had it happen to me and it better not ever! D:

I'll have to smack a ho.

[SeaBass]

Coming from the IS field, I can tell you that the best type of passwords to use are phrases. The regular lower and upper case, numbers and symbols passwords can be broken in less that 15 minutes with software that is available on the internet. So a password of say 1Pl@yC0D would be easy for a program to break through.

However if you use a phrase for some reason it is a lot more difficult for the software to decipher your password. I didn't believe it myself until I took a class on cyber security, but for some reason it worked. My password was cracked and I used my 15 digit Vin number from my car, but of course mixed it up as much as possible.

So you want to use phrases sort of like the following

Examples of some base word phrases: Take the first letter of each word.

Can't See the Forest Through the Trees: cstfttt
Put Up or Shut Up: puosu
If the Shoe Fits, Wear It: itsfwi
You Can Lead a Horse to Water: yclahtw
The Last Mile Is Always Uphill: tlmiau
I Think, Therefore I Am: ittia
Oh Say Can You See: oscys
My Dog Freeway Loves Cheddar Cheese: mdflcc

Next lengthen your password by adding the website name or computer software name to the base phrase. For example:

cstftttGmail
puosuVista
itsfwiEpinions
yclahtwWin7
tlmiauMac
ittiaAboutdotcom
oscysPayPal
mdflccEbay

Scramble your password by adding numbers and characters to the phrase.

CstftttGm@il
Puo5uVista
1tsfwiEpinions
Ycl@htwWin7
7lmiauMac
ittiaAboutdotcom
o5cysPayPal
mdfl((Ebay

As a regular good habit of keeping your information safe you should change your password on a monthly basis. It's become 2nd nature to me, and I've yet to experience an issue, and hopefully never will.

Hope this helps!