Nintendo Accounts Hacked: How To Protect Your Account From Being Next

[Chris]

I do not know how many of you were aware of the rising number of Nintendo accounts being hacked, but this has been an on-going issue for at least a month or two now. A couple of us on the staff team (myself included) were among those Nintendo accounts targeted recently resulting in charges of several hundred dollars to our credit cards. Luckily Nintendo's customer support team were able to help us get our money back. Now they are issuing the advice that Nintendo account owners should set up 2-step verification to prevent their accounts from being accessed. Follow the advice below to ensure that your account is protected against fraud:

Steps to protect your account:

How to Set Up 2-Step Verification for a Nintendo Account

Description:
Instructions on setting up 2-step verification for a Nintendo Account.

Additional Information:

• Once 2-step verification is enabled, you will need to sign in using BOTH your password and a code sent to your smart device via the Google Authenticator app.
• 2-step verification adds an additional layer of security that can help prevent unauthorised access to your account.
• This option is not available for child accounts (ages 16 and under) or supervised accounts.

Complete These Steps:

1. Go to https://accounts.nintendo.com and sign in to your Nintendo Account.
2. Select "Sign-in and security settings", then scroll down to "Two-Step Verification" and click "Edit".
3. Click "Enable two-step verification".
4. Click "Submit" to have a verification code sent to the email address shown.
   • If the email address is incorrect, click "Change" next to the "Email Address" menu setting under "User Information" to change it.
5. Enter the verification code from the e-mail, then select "Submit".
6. Install the Google Authenticator app on your smart device.
   • This is a free app, available through Google Play (Android) and the App Store (iOS).
7. Use the smart device app to scan the QR code displayed on your Nintendo Account screen.
8. A 6-digit verification code will appear on your smart device. Enter the verification code into the field under step 3 on the Nintendo Account screen, then select "Submit".
9. A list of backup codes will appear. Click "Copy" to copy all the codes, then paste them somewhere safe.
   • A backup code will be required for sign-in if you don’t have access to the Google Authenticator app. Make sure to keep these somewhere safe.
   • You can use these (one time each) if you do not have access to the Google Authenticator app.
10. Click Backup codes saved", then "OK".
    • Once set, you can return to the "Two-step verification settings" section to review the backup codes and remove the 2-step restriction.

You can read more on this topic here: Nintendo Warns Of An Increasing Number Of Credit Card Fraud Reports, Offers Advice.

 

[Peter]

wow I wasn't even aware that this had happened?! Thanks for the tip, definitely going to set it up

 

[Jacob]

excuse me for being naive but what happened to your account that you lost so much money? was a hacker buying games and loading it onto a separate switch somewhere else or did they get your credit card numbers from the hack and spend money elsewhere? Did you download any shady games recently, or did they likely target your specific nintendo ID? I guess I'm just wondering if it came from a transaction within the eshop itself or if third parties like twitter/facebook were a gateway to your account. Scary stuff D:


Regardless TYSM for the heads up!

 

[Chris]

excuse me for being naive but what happened to your account that you lost so much money? was a hacker buying games and loading it onto a separate switch somewhere else or did they get your credit card numbers from the hack and spend money elsewhere? Did you download any shady games recently, or did they likely target your specific nintendo ID? I guess I'm just wondering if it came from a transaction within the eshop itself or if third parties like twitter/facebook were a gateway to your account. Scary stuff D:


Regardless TYSM for the heads up!

For myself and another staff user: they accessed the Nintendo account, linked it to their own Fortnite account, and then made two large in-game transactions for Fortnite currency.

 

[Jacob]

god that game is such a blemish

edit: jk jk but thank you for the reply!

 

[mocha.]

Thanks for sharing this Vrisnem! Prime time for hackers nowadays with the quarantine underway. I had my playstation hacked a few weeks back and it was quite scary - more so for those that aren't in secure jobs at the minute.

 

[Khaelis]

Luckily, I never save my information on accounts. I always manually enter it -- bit of a hassle, but it saves me the trouble in case of something like this ever unfortunately arises for me.

Regardless, thank you for the head's up! I'm not worried, but no one is immune to these sorts of awful things.

 

[dragonair]

This has been an ongoing issue for more than 2 months lol. If this happens to you do not contact your bank and initiate a chargeback. This will most likely get your account banned. Reach out to Nintendo support as soon as possible.

 

[Shiluc]

Thanks for the heads up! Surprised I didn't have 2FA enabled already, yikes!

 

[Midoriya]

Thanks for the heads up! Enabled it just now just in case.

 

[rianne]

Yep, this happened to my partner a couple of months ago. The scammer bought a Nintendo Switch Lite and a bunch of Fortnite ****. The bank was able to reimburse them after he opened a fraud claim.

 

[radical6]

just set it up. I dont know why i had my paypal linked but i unlinked it too.

And of course..people are hacking for fortnite.. smh.

 

[kiwikenobi]

I hope this is actually safer. The Google authenticator is rated so poorly in the app store...

 

[LuchaSloth]

I actually just had this happen to me. I can't condone that google authentication app, for the reasons stated in the negative reviews for it...but, I did speak with customer service and change a bunch of my info, and unlinked my fund options (going to be annoying to manually enter that stuff in the future...but, it's better than the alternative). Someone had bought V-bucks using my account (just as Vrisnem said). Further proof that Fortnite is the worst game to ever exist.

Nintendo told me the funds should be reversed within 5 business days, and all I need to do is wait.

But...yeah, take this as a heads-up. I read this topic the other week, ignored it...and then this literally just happened to me. I should have unlinked my accounts back then instead of playing dumb to it.

 

[Alienfish]

Thanks for the heads up!

Just a PSA to everyone, NEVER EVER save any CC/debit card info on any computer or device, you don't know who gets to see that regardless of hacks or not, you don't want them sold to phishing 3rd parties. A lot of payment companies have poor security and might sell stuff. Just type it in manually every time and make sure to cover your web cams also!

 

[Lellyna]

thanks for the warning I noticed I keep fake emails on PayPal or Apple to change my password I think people are getting desperate cos of the corona virus sigh

 

[LuchaSloth]

I also deleted my Epic Games account...because, I can't for the life of me remember why I even made one. I think they were offering free games, but that was also linked to my Nintendo and Xbox accounts, so I requested a deletion there as well. It's definitely not like I'm going to miss it.

 

[mondogecko9]

Just enabled 2FA, I did it as soon as I could since the Nintendo Network ID was how the hackers got into the accounts and I always used to log in with NNID

 

[Antonio]

I actually just had this happen to me. I can't condone that google authentication app, for the reasons stated in the negative reviews for it...but, I did speak with customer service and change a bunch of my info, and unlinked my fund options (going to be annoying to manually enter that stuff in the future...but, it's better than the alternative). Someone had bought V-bucks using my account (just as Vrisnem said). Further proof that Fortnite is the worst game to ever exist.

Nintendo told me the funds should be reversed within 5 business days, and all I need to do is wait.

But...yeah, take this as a heads-up. I read this topic the other week, ignored it...and then this literally just happened to me. I should have unlinked my accounts back then instead of playing dumb to it.

You can use Authy with it as well which I use for all my sites, including this...

 

[thatveryawkwardmayor]

this happened to me as well! nearly $300 good thing i was able to get a refunded