Supposedly a friend's XBL account is being hacked. What should I do?

[Slate]

Let me start by saying my friend (Who I'll call Sk8er even though that's not his Xbox tag) Who's account is possibly being hacked has a friend (Or cousin or whatever) Who has sent stupid messages in the past. They were always easy to spot out (I.E "I hate you don't talk to me again") But this one really has me concerned, I don't know if its real or not but if real this could be one of the worst hackers ever. See below, This is the message I got.

"hello minions, as u may have just noticed this account will be hacked by Sunday May 2, 2010. if u kno this kid tell him that he needs to send a 1600 microsoft points card to me.

Contact Me:

AIM- (name)
Email: (email address)"

Now, As you can see the person left both an AIM and eMail. I edited those out in case its a joke of some sort, Besides if its real I would much rather not have anyone send this loser a hate mail and then get their email hacked and whatever else one can imagine. I assume if its real and since he/she sent both an AIM and eMail this person probably hacked those too because who would be stupid enough to leave their real AIM and eMail at the bottom of a ransom message? (If its real and hes that stupid damn hes going to get what's coming to him)

Again, I do not know if this is some really stupid joke from Sk8er's friend/cousin but here's a few other parts to the story: After I got this message I asked another friend who I'll call Jack for this topic about the message. He said he asked Sk8er about the message and got a text message back saying "No". Then Jack asked Sk8er to send a private chat to him and he never got one. Also, I sent SK8er a message to his Youtube channel asking about the whole matter (And asking him to send me a message from a friend's account) So I'll probably get a message back tomorrow (Or whenever I get it) I think that tomorrow may be too late so here I am, Wondering what the heck I should do if this is real. Again, I know darn well there's the possibility his friend/cousin is sending a stupid message again (Not sending a chat invite doesn't prove Sk8er is being hacked) But I'm honestly concerned about this, I really am and if its real I want to get this hacker arrested or whatever I can do to make him stop. So, What do you think I should do? Just wait and see what develops from my Youtube message? Perhaps I'll ask this "Hacker" To prove its real by sending a picture message? I realize I may be wasting my time if its a joke but I want to know what to do if this is real.

Austin

[Leo_A]

Why should you do anything if it's real? It's not you or your account being threatened. Let him worry about it.

I doubt he has anything to be concerned about if he's kept his account secure and not provided his information to anyone else.

[Slate]

Ok, I honestly want to type a curse word here right now. I sent this supposed hacker several messages and now he's threatening ME that he'll hack MY account!

My message:

"Sk8er is your friend sending dumb messages again" (I said more but this is generally what I said)

Reply:

"kid, im serious, tell this (name) kid that he needs to give me 1600msp by sunday may 2..... im serious his account will get hacked tomorrow..... i have his email and password

After that I said "BTW, If its real this is one of the dumbest ways to hack an account I've ever heard"

His reply?

"well if its the dummest way have fun getting hacked"

THen he sent another message.

"ok u kno waht kiid this ni99a is getting hacked rite now"

Now, I realize this could still be his dumb assed friend but when someone threatens to hack MY account I'm REALLY going into overdrive mode. I REALLY need to know what I should do!!!

Edit: Why am I wconcerned, Because of hackers in general. I didn't really think of it before but now? Crap.

Austin

[Leo_A]

Shouldn't of contacted him if you really are concerned that he has the capability to illegally gain access to XBL accounts. Now he has your gamertag.

If you're concerned about it, make sure you do things like remove your credit card information and such from your account and try to make it more secure (It's been years since I initially got my XBL account on my 360 so I'm unsure how you recover a gamertag, but if there's a password involved and such that you use elsewhere that is more easily hacked, wouldn't hurt to change it).

What is your friend doing about it? If he's not concerned, how come you are?

Edit - I'm confused about all your post. Was it your account or your friend's account that was threatened? If it was your friends account, how come you apparantly recieved replies from this hacker when you contacted your friend in your second post?

[Slate]

Guess what, He joined a party I was in and its not Sk8er or his dumb cousin. Its really a f---ing hacker.

Edit:I I didn't believe it was a hacker, I sent messages to the account through Xbox first and then a message to my friend on Youtube. I don't have any replies from Sk8er yet. And yes I did change my password just now... I feel like changing my gamertag now though and I thought I'd never do that. Firends of mine in the XBox party still don't believe its real and are joking about it but I still think if it wasn't real Sk8er would have told me by now.

[Gameguy]

Guess what, He joined a party I was in and its not Sk8er or his dumb cousin. Its really a fucking hacker.
Contact Microsoft and/or the police.

[LaughingMAN.S9]

how fucking old are you?

[Slate]

how fucking old are you?

Under 20, Over 15. I know I probably come off as childish but I feel threatened now.

Austin

[Berserker]

Sounds to me like your friend wants some free points.

Just a suggestion, but in the future you might want to avoid associating with people who fuck with your head like that and/or try to scam shit off of you.

[LaughingMAN.S9]

heres my advice, whether or not its true, dont give em shit



if its false, no problem, no harm no foul


if its true, you just gave him a renewable source of free ms points whenever he feels he's running low, in the future dont make your security hint for lost passwords to easy to guess or track down using google and your facebook for info on your background, if its true thats probably how he got it

[Slate]

Sounds to me like your friend wants some free points.

Just a suggestion, but in the future you might want to avoid associating with people who fuck with your head like that and/or try to scam shit off of you.

I thought of both these things before but in all the time I've known my friend he's never ever asked me for points once nor has he asked for 48 hour trials. Also, Even if he was trying to get points I think my friend probably would have told me it was him by now. I know the possibility he just wants points (And is really sticking to this) Is there but why would his friend threaten to hack my account if he just wanted points? There's no point. I also thought perhaps I shouldn't have messaged him but it was too late, It was half an hour later after I sent those messages.


heres my advice, whether or not its true, dont give em shit



if its false, no problem, no harm no foul


if its true, you just gave him a renewable source of free ms points whenever he feels he's running low, in the future dont make your security hint for lost passwords to easy to guess or track down using google and your facebook for info on your background, if its true thats probably how he got it

My account is still fine, its my friend's that's in question. And even if he (This supposed hacker) does get ahold of my account hes not getting a credit card.

[SamuraiSmurfette]

1) Call xbox support.
2) report him for hacking, harrassment, and blackmail
3) profit

[Icarus Moonsight]

The ultimate hacker block... Disconnect.

I don't own a 360 yet, so I don't know this, but can't you change gamertag and password? If he is getting access by having the password, changing it to a strong string one before he does would be the first thing that should be done.

Slightly boneheaded to initiate contact with a known extortionist.

[Berserker]

I thought of both these things before but I think my friend probably would have told me it was him by now. I know I could be wrong and the possibility he just wants points (And is really sticking to this) Is there but why would his friend threaten to hack my account if he just wanted points? There's no point.

Of course there's a point - the point is to scare you into thinking he's serious so that you'll give him free MS points. The only problem is that his whole story reeks of bullshit.

So... supposedly somebody hacked this guys account (who has sent out stupid shit before by the way), and sent out a message to everyone notifying them that he's going to hack the account he would've already had to have hacked to send the message in the first place? Unless you give him X amount of free shit? What is he going to do, travel back in time and stop himself?

It's bullshit. The fact that he hasn't called it off yet only underscores the point that you probably shouldn't be associating with him in the first place.

[Gameguy]

1) Call xbox support.
2) report him for hacking, harrassment, and blackmail
3) profit
It's actually extortion, not blackmail. But I agree, even if it's BS and this person can't do any harm to you, get him in trouble for it. That's why I mentioned going to the police, they might not do anything for you but since it's a bit more than someone hacking for fun(the extortion part) there's a chance that they'll be willing to do something.

Can you change your password?

[Slate]

Of course there's a point - the point is to scare you into thinking he's serious so that you'll give him free MS points. The only problem is that his whole story reeks of bullshit.

So... supposedly somebody hacked this guys account (who has sent out stupid shit before by the way), and sent out a message to everyone notifying them that he's going to hack the account he would've already had to have hacked to send the message in the first place? Unless you give him X amount of free shit? What is he going to do, travel back in time and stop himself?

It's bullshit. The fact that he hasn't called it off yet only underscores the point that you probably shouldn't be associating with him in the first place.

I'm beginning to think it is a case of his cousin or someone he knows doing it or someone who has access to his Xbox. I wonder who it is because the person who came into the party didn't sound like anyone I recognized, Not even my friend's dumb cousin/friend. It was a deep voice.


It's actually extortion, not blackmail. But I agree, even if it's BS and this person can't do any harm to you, get him in trouble for it. That's why I mentioned going to the police, they might not do anything for you but since it's a bit more than someone hacking for fun(the extortion part) there's a chance that they'll be willing to do something.

Can you change your password?

I already changed my password. I can't get in contact with Microsoft yet since its like midnight... I may end up calling the police about this. Sounds damn good especially since I may have both a valid Aim and eMail address.

Edit: Wouldn't I have been hacked by now if this were true? This started two hours ago.


Slightly boneheaded to initiate contact with a known extortionist.

No, its really boneheaded. I just didn't believe its a hacker (I'm still questioning it) SHouldn't my account be hacked by now? he sent that threatening message an hour, forty five minutes ago. Not quite two hours but still, Is hacking a lengthy process or something? I can't imagine it would be. I haven't signed out yet but still...?

[Slate]

OK, I was just going through my messages and I found a message from who I believe to actually be my friend. He sent a message that was like "Free microsoft points, Go to this site for them" Now I'm almost sure hes behind it somehow. I'll have to see if he ever does send me a message back on Youtube about this.

EDIT: This message was weeks ago. However another friend sent the same kind of message so I think it (The message) Was just going around then.

[Gameguy]

I already changed my password. I can't get in contact with Microsoft yet since its like midnight... I may end up calling the police about this. Sounds damn good especially since I may have both a valid Aim and eMail address.

Edit: Wouldn't I have been hacked by now if this were true? This started two hours ago.
Even if it's BS, he can still get in trouble. Just to be quick, I looked up extortion on Wikipedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extortion


The actual obtainment of money or property is not required to commit the offense.

In the United States, extortion may also be committed as a federal crime across a computer system, phone, by mail or in using any instrument of "interstate commerce." Extortion requires that the individual sent the message "willingly" and "knowingly" as elements of the crime. The message only has to be sent (but does not have to reach the intended recipient) to commit the crime of extortion.
He still tried to get you to send him the MS points. Doesn't a federal crime involve the FBI?

The police can trace a person through an email address if they wanted to. Do you have any saved emails from this person?

[Slate]

Even if it's BS, he can still get in trouble. Just to be quick, I looked up extortion on Wikipedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extortion



He still tried to get you to send him the MS points. Doesn't a federal crime involve the FBI?

The police can trace a person through an email address if they wanted to. Do you have any saved emails from this person?

No eMails, I just have the AIM and eMail address that was sent (And all associated messages except what I sent) But if this whole hacking thing is false someone is using it as an excuse in case they are reported. Its not like I won't report it, I'm just thinking.

[PapaStu]

You can contact MS at any time. 1-800-4MY-XBOX Report the threats about the account, it's take over and the threats against yours.

Account 'hacking' has been going on for a while now. It started to become common when people began to care about gamerscores. Others who first got Recon armor in Halo 3 had it happen as well. Predominately these 'hackers' are calling MS and getting passwords reset to what they wanted and doing an account recovery to take it over.

[Nebagram]

Report him to Microsoft and get the arsehole kicked off XBL. Simple as.

[bcks007]

Couldn't you just call your friend about this?

[Slate]

You can contact MS at any time. 1-800-4MY-XBOX begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 1-800-4MY-XBOX end_of_the_skype_highlighting Report the threats about the account, it's take over and the threats against yours.

Account 'hacking' has been going on for a while now. It started to become common when people began to care about gamerscores. Others who first got Recon armor in Halo 3 had it happen as well. Predominately these 'hackers' are calling MS and getting passwords reset to what they wanted and doing an account recovery to take it over.

I'm definitely calling Microsoft about this. My Gamertag hasn't been hacked yet (Apparently) But for some reason I'm having trouble trying to change my password on Hotmail. It constantly takes me to a page that says the service is having a problem... After I'm at the password reset screen for a few seconds.


Couldn't you just call your friend about this?

I don't have his number, The best I could do was send him a Youtube message. (I still don't have a message back)

[jcalder8]

This story in general is just fucked up.

Your friend's account got hack
Your friend's account will get rehacked if you don't give the hacker, who has already hacked the account to send out the message, MS points
You play a game with the hacker already in your friend's account
You know it's not your friend playing a joke
You know what all his friends and cousin's sound like over Xbox Live so you know it's not one of them despite the fact they have done it before
You have no way of contacting your friend except through Xbox Live

What have we learned?
Your friend is a moron
Call MS and get the account closed so you don't have to deal with this
Move on with your life

[Slate]

This story in general is just fucked up.

Your friend's account got hack
Your friend's account will get rehacked if you don't give the hacker, who has already hacked the account to send out the message, MS points
You play a game with the hacker already in your friend's account
You know it's not your friend playing a joke
You know what all his friends and cousin's sound like over Xbox Live so you know it's not one of them despite the fact they have done it before
You have no way of contacting your friend except through Xbox Live

What have we learned?
Your friend is a moron
Call MS and get the account closed so you don't have to deal with this
Move on with your life

There's two parts that may have not been clear on my part, I didn't play a game with him (He joined an open party I was in and just talked) And I can contact my friend through Youtube. I haven't been able to talk with him yet though as he hasn't signed in since before it started, If I can get in contact with him I will. I'm not sure what else to do at this moment.

[heybtbm]

This whole thread is hilarious...BUT...

You can "hack" (i.e. take over) anyone's XBL account with a simple phone call. You just need 3 key bits of info on the person and XBL support will think you're the real person and re-set the password. You just recover their gamertag on your machine and setup a new password. Periodically, Youtube has step by step tutorials on how to do this that last a few days before they're taken off.

Just ask the top players on the Halo 3 leaderboards how many times this has happened to their accounts. It's no mistake that top players usually have 10 or so active gamertags at one time.

Oh...and if your account does get stolen...MS just deletes it. Achievements and all. No investigation, no second chance. Your account if gone forever for something that wasn't even your fault.

My advice is to not piss of the wrong people. Also...don't be at the top of any leaderboards.

[diskoboy]

This is why I don't play games online.

[Slate]

Wanna see the latest in this?

"REMINDER:
-This kid Derek has 1 more week to provide me with 1600 Microsoft Points.

Contact:
AIM: (Aim)
Email: (email)

Again, as soon as i receive the legit 1600 Microsoft Points Code i will reply with the account info"

I'm believing its a real hacker since hes leaving both an email address and aim name at the bottom to possibly hack more people. But do you really think he will send the account info back even if Derek goes with it? I'm tired of this whole matter already. I'm honestly thinking of calling the police about this.

[Gameguy]

Wanna see the latest in this?

"REMINDER:
-This kid Derek has 1 more week to provide me with 1600 Microsoft Points.

Contact:
AIM: (Aim)
Email: (email)

Again, as soon as i receive the legit 1600 Microsoft Points Code i will reply with the account info"

I'm believing its a real hacker since hes leaving both an email address and aim name at the bottom to possibly hack more people. But do you really think he will send the account info back even if Derek goes with it? I'm tired of this whole matter already. I'm honestly thinking of calling the police about this.
As long as you have the conversation saved so you'd have proof, go for it.

What's the point of him sending you account info? To prove he could have done it after he already got what he wanted? Or did he already take over the account?

[exit]

Not sure if this has been asked, but is this friend someone you've known, or someone you recently met online. If it's someone you personally know, why not call them up and tell what the hell is going on. If it's someone you met playing a game or something, well then you've been had, because this all just sounds like BS to me. Because seriously, why would he threaten you when it's not even your account and if this is true, who's to say he'll even hand the account back over.

Personally, I would ignore it if I were you and tell the dude it's not your problem and to go threaten someone else on his friends list.

[Berserker]

I'm believing its a real hacker since hes leaving both an email address and aim name at the bottom to possibly hack more people. But do you really think he will send the account info back even if Derek goes with it? I'm tired of this whole matter already. I'm honestly thinking of calling the police about this.

I think the real question you should be asking yourself is why hasn't this guy, Derek, contacted Microsoft yet when his account's been "hacked" for going on 4 days now? Would you have waited this long if it was your account that had been taken over?

Anyway, whether or not this is a put-on or the real deal, I think you should follow the advice a few others have put forth here and contact Microsoft yourself - give them his XBL handle, and let them conduct their own investigation. I bet it'd be pretty easy for them to lock that account down and check the IPs of where those messages are coming from.

[PapaStu]

Why have you not contacted MS yet? Seriously. Call them, get it over with.

[Leo_A]

Why have you not contacted MS yet? Seriously. Call them, get it over with.

And then give serious consideration of dumping rid this supposed friend of yours. Doesn't sound like his friendship is worth a dime. He sounds like a loser that is only trouble. Since there's been no evidence this friendship was anything beyond a online relationship, I'd also urge caution in the future with people on things like forums, YouTube, and Xbox Live. They might not be what you thought they were.

And if by some extraordinary chance you are ever in a similar situation in the future where a friend is being threatened on XBL, let them handle it instead of trying to intervene. It's their problem and none of your business unless they seek your assistance with something like advice.

This has to be a hoax since it seems as if you were the only one even concerned about it (For reasons I'm still unclear about since it wasn't even your account) and he didn't seem to care one way or the other about his account or your concerns (A clear sign to me that he was probably the person behind this stunt). Let them handle it and offer advice if they ask.

You didn't accomplish anything except possibly compromising your own account, agonizing over something that was out of your hands, and probably putting on a real entertaining show for your friend the thief and whatever accomplices he had in order for you not to recognize the voice.

Get this guy banned and cut off contact with him and move on a little bit wiser.

[Guru of Time and Space]

First world problems.
I hope you get hacked.

-GoTaS