Microsoft accuses Chinese ‘gaming' website of hacking Xbox accounts
Microsoft has accused a Chinese gaming website of hacking Xbox account and illegally gaining virtual gaming currencies.
iGSKY, which presented itself as a gaming service website, offered players a way to pay for in-game credits and rare items across games like FIFA, Final Fantasy and Aion Kinah.
Microsoft on Friday filed a complaint against the company in federal court.
The tech giant's probe into iGSKY began in December 2016, when the company's in-house fraud investigators purchased over 11,000 FIFA points for $60, according to a report by The Verge.
Immediately afterward, Xbox Live received notice that the login information for an eight-year-old account had been changed. That account then went on to purchase 11,000 FIFA points for $127.54.
Microsoft later received a notification telling them that the points were available, asking them to spend them as soon as possible.
The owner of the Xbox account contacted Xbox afterwards to complain that he had been locked out of his account, and that unauthorised transactions had taken place.
Microsoft accused Gameest International Network, the parent company of iGKSY, of engaging in "international trafficking of stolen Microsoft Account credentials", saying in their complaint they had "fraudulently obtained virtual gaming currencies."
The company added that Gameest was "reaping millions of dollars in illicit profits."
A judge has granted a temporary restraining order on Gameest, freezing its domestic assets as well as any PayPal account linked to the site.
The website has since been taken now, though it is still available to view through archives.
Topics Cybersecurity Gaming Microsoft Xbox
Yvette is a Viral Content Reporter at Mashable Asia. She was previously reporting for BBC's Singapore bureau and Channel NewsAsia.
