Here’s What To Do If Your Xbox Live Account Is Hacked and What You Can Expect
These days, getting your Xbox Live account hacked is becoming more and more likely. It has happened to many people (myself included). So, here is what you need to do when your Xbox Live account is hacked and what you can expect.
Step 1: Awareness
First off, the way that you can tell if your Xbox Live account was hacked is just simply by turning on your Xbox 360. Instead of logging you into Xbox Live automatically, you will be sent to the dashboard, with a list of your profiles. Once you click on your regular profile, it won’t allow you to log in and say that your information is wrong. This means that someone downloaded your profile to another Xbox and it is no longer tethered to your Xbox.
So, what you must do is hit the big ‘X’ in the center of your Xbox 360 and click on ’download your profile’. Once you re-enter your password and download your profile, immediately go to the marketplace, try to buy something, and if you notice fewer points, get to your computer. *Or, if your credit card is linked with your account, get to your computer as well.
Step 2: Billing
Go to: https://billing.Microsoft.com and log in with your Xbox 360 email and password. Once in the main page, click on billing and take a look at the recent charges. If there is anything out of the ordinary (in my case, it was a ton of consumables called ‘Silver Jumbo’), you need to call Microsoft.
Step 3: Contacting Microsoft
If you are a glutton for punishment, you could call Microsoft directly at 1-800-4MY-XBOX and wait an insane amount of time, or go here: http://support.xbox.com/en-US/contact-us?xr=footnav#2:9 and click on ‘Request a Call From Support’. All you then need to do is enter your phone number and wait for them to call you (usually within a few minutes).
Step 4: Explaining Your Situation
So, after you receive a call, tell the rep that your Xbox Live account was hacked and that points and/or money was stolen from your account. They will ask you some personal information to make sure that you are you and then the process will begin.
Step 5: Filing a ‘UA’
Once the process begins, tell them to first, remove your credit card from the account entirely. This way all your credit card info is taken away from the account and cannot be stolen anymore.
Second, just tell them that you want to file a ’UA’ (it took ten minutes of pointless talking before we got to this point so just say it up front), which sends your problem to the next level and in effect, locks your account. In order to do this, make sure you are near your console and the rep will walk you through the process of getting your console serial number and console ID. This is all done through the console dashboard so don’t worry about unplugging your console.
Step 6: How Long Will Your Account Be Locked
After the UA is filed, they will ask you for a secondary email and a phone number. The email is so they can send you all the new information and findings from the investigation. Whereas the phone number is just in case they need to ask you questions immediately.
One thing that they will tell you with the ‘UA’ is that your account will be locked. I received a few varying responses but they said the longest period of time that you would be without it is 25 days. Luckily, they give you one month of Xbox Live.
Step 7: Now What?
After the UA was filed, it took about 2 days for my account to finally be locked. Once it was locked, I received an email from Microsoft saying my account was locked, they were looking into it, and they gave me a complimentary 1 month token for Xbox Live. This can be used for a new account or, once your current account is brought back, it can be added to that one.
Then you play the waiting game.
Step 8: The Conclusion
I mentally prepared myself to wait for up to a month but it actually only ended up taking 6 days. An email appeared in my new address I supplied them and it said they had noticed a breach and they gave me back the Microsoft Points that were taken from my account.
*For anyone with a credit card, you can expect to see your purchases refunded within 30 days.
This turnaround time and ease isn’t normal, you should still expect about a 2 week wait before your account is active so I do recommend using that complimentary 1 month subscription on a new account (especially if you can’t live without Call of Duty).
Lastly, once you regain control your account, change your password. It gives you a better chance of not being hacked again.
So, all in all, my process took about 8 days and everything was taken care of with little hassle. As I said before, not every case is as smooth as mine. If you want to read horror stories, or voice your experience with your hacked Xbox Live account, head over to HackedOnXbox.com.
