Microsoft warned its Xbox Live users today to be on alert of any potential scammers who want to steal your sensitive personal information. Just recently, the Playstation Network suffered an intrusion by a hacker who stole personal user information such as credit card numbers for nearly 77 million users.
As reported, this issue seems to be an isolated issue. According to Microsoft, users who play the Modern Warfare 2 game on Xbox Live may receive potential phishing attempts. “Users may receive potential phishing attempts via title specific messaging while playing Modern Warfare 2. We are aware of the problem and are working to resolve the issue. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and thank you for your patience.”
Microsoft has been working on a planned Xbox Live system update but no details mention if this is a precautionary update or if something already happened similar to Sony. Sony’s Playstation Network has been offline for nearly a week and the intruder who broke into the network has stolen personal user information such as credit card numbers.
Not surprisingly, a lawsuit was filed accusing Sony of not taking “reasonable care to protect, encrypt, and secure the private and sensitive data of its users.” Sony apparently took too long to notify users that their personal information had been exposed, according to the lawsuit. Customers were unable to make an “informed decision as to whether to change credit card numbers, close the exposed accounts, check their credit reports, or take other mitigating actions.” The lawsuit is asking for monetary compensation and free credit card monitoring.
Microsoft jumped on Sony’s PlayStation Network troubles and offered gamers a solution. “Of course it’s regretful that Sony is encountering issues at such a busy time, and Microsoft takes no joy in the problems gamers are having playing their favourite games online.” Stated the representative of Microsoft’s distribution network. “That being said, we are expecting Microsoft’s robust online network to see an increase of traffic from those gamers who own both systems. Being able to play their games via the Xbox LIVE network could make all the difference for some gamers, and the Xbox Nations event will allow all of them to do just that – whether they have a Gold subscription or not.”
The infamous group “Anonymous” issued a formal statement regarding the incidents and denied any involvement. “For once we didn’t do it.”
Further reading: Microsoft, Playstation, Xbox 360
