Not all gaming sites can be trusted
A Chinese “gaming” website known as iGSKY, has been accused by Microsoft of hacking Xbox accounts and illegally procuring virtual gaming currencies. iGSKY gave players a way to pay for in-game credits and items across a wide range of games including the popular FIFA series and Final Fantasy.
How’d iGSKY hack the accounts?
Microsoft began to investigate in December of 2016 after noticing some suspicious activity and after the company’s fraud department purchased 11,000 FIFA points for $60 USD. After making said purchase, an email was received from an eight-year-old account which then purchased the same number of points for almost twice as much. Shortly after the account’s original owner emailed customer support saying he had been locked out of his account and noticed unauthorized purchases. Microsoft then went on to further investigate and claimed that iGSKY had made nearly $2 million by hacking player accounts and their associated credit cards and then using the website as a way to launder the cash.
Based on the evidence found, Microsoft filed charges of fraud and racketeering among others on May 19th, naming iGSKY’s parent company as Gameest and its alleged owner as Weiwei Chu. The site has been taken offline, but since it is based in China it will be difficult to directly shut it down. However, a judge has issued a restraining order on the company’s domestic assets. The case is still ongoing.
