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[L Thammy]

Don't know if it applies to Europe or Japan, probably not. It seems like a fairly simple design problem.

Keeping it short, you just have to change a few digits in a Club Nintendo PIN to register one that isn't yours. Way too easy, you don't even need a keygen or anything like that. Three of us in the US/Canada Club Nintendo thread have had their Smash Bros PIN stolen so far, and we're told by customer service that it's also common for Pokemon.

For Nintendo, it probably means that a lot of people are scamming them to get more stuff. For us, it means that we may have to go through customer service to get our rewards. Thankfully they're very good with this, Agent Unknown and I both had it cleared up, but it really shouldn't be happening this often in the first place. The system shouldn't be this easy to exploit.

There aren't many more details, but here are the relevant posts from the Club Nintendo thread:

Some asshole used my registration PIN when my copy was in the mail. :|
Contacted Club Nintendo about it, has anyone had any luck with this?

How does that work?

Did they open it up?

Probably not. Last I checked, Club Nintendo codes were ridiculously easy to break. You just change the last letter in a code you already have and boom.
(And by "checked" I mean "heard". This is exactly why I don't cheat myself some extra coins with this exploit.)

I've got the same problem. Smash Bros. for Wii U from BestBuy online store "The PIN you entered has already been registered. Each PIN may only be registered once." wow...how can this happen?

Looks like the problem is quite common.

Nintendo really need to put some kind of buyer protection, around Club Nintendo Codes, into place. This kind of thing is unacceptable for those who've stayed loyal to them. Does this happen in the other Club Nintendo Programs or is this purely a North American thing?

Hello,

Thanks for contacting us. Sorry to hear about your Super Smash Bros. for the Nintendo Wii U PIN not working. I checked the PIN and found that it was already registered in another Club Nintendo account. Unlike the serial number, the PIN included with new systems can only be registered in one account.

If you have any additional questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to reply to this email. Be sure to include your original email as well as this response if you do.



Sincerely,

Nintendo of America Inc.

So what now?

Customer support e-mail tells me that my problem can be solved, but I need to call. I'll do so tomorrow and l'll post the results.
I told them that I can provide proof of purchase on request and that the PIN was probably registered by someone who is trying to scam them. Not sure if that helped.

Good grief. Tell them it's your PIN from a game you bought brand new, so either they distributed the same PIN twice or the other person was not the rightful owner of the PIN code, in which case their PIN system is pretty faulty if people can guess the PINs or accidentally enter them via typo.

Edit:

I just tried registering my Smash U copy several times and I keep getting a message that either says "The PIN you entered has already been registered" or "The PIN you entered is invalid," what in earth? How can this come from a new, sealed copy of the game? Anyone else run into this while registering their Smash U copy? Guessing I better call customer service ASAP?

Edit: OK, I see the posts above, I'm not the only one. Has code cracking happened with other major titles? Will customer service probably fix this for me?

It seemed this has happened in the past but it's more active now that Smash U is out. Give customer service proof of purchase once contacted.

I remember someone posting how they were guessing 3DS PINs at one point, but I didn't think the problem was widespread, but I guess it would be tempting for all those 3DS owners to scam a Wii U code to get the soundtrack. Of course, it's also possible Nintendo screwed up and printed double copies of PIN codes by mistake somehow just for this particular game.

Just called Club Nintendo, the customer service person registered it for me. Didn't need to provide proof either, which is surprising. I could see someone exploiting that - although the additional effort might be a deterrent.

She mentioned that they've been getting a ton of calls like this and they know someone is generating the codes. I'm not sure if they know just how easy it is to do this, but that isn't her job.

On their end, they have to check US and Canadian codes separately. The person using my code was in the States, but when I sent in an e-mail (twice), they only checked Canada. They still told me to call anyhow, so I guess that's fine, but you might want to be careful about this. And emphasize your "zeds" if your code has one of those.

Wondering if I should make a thread since it's a large issue. Kind of worried that it might encourage more people to steal codes when they know it can be done.

Agent Unknown, the3ye, good luck.

It happened to me once during the first year of CN. I entered a code and it said it was invalid so I changed one digit and it worked. Looking back I feel bad that I didn't just call Nintendo to take care of it instead of stealing someone else's code.

Called the customer service line and I talked to a very helpful and friendly Nintendo rep who confirmed this has been happening a lot with both Smash U and also Omega Ruby customers trying to redeem their pins.He assured me right away that I'd be able to get my credit for the game and the CD but wanted to try a few things first as he says he's personally been able to fix it a lot of Smash U codes wiithout having to escalate. After trying to reset the status of the code on his end several times it still wasn't showing up in my history so he tried to enter it manually on his end and it wouldn't even let him do that so at that point he put in a ticket to have a supervisor get it taken care of and said I should have the coins, survey and credit for the soundtrack CD all listed in my account within the next 24-48 hours if not sooner, maybe even tonight. Anyways, ace service by that rep, makes me wish they did phone surveys after. Based on my experience I encourage anyone with the PIN issue to call the main Nintendo customer service line right away.

edit: Also like Thammy I wasn't required to offer proof. I asked the rep if he needed me to provide UPC, e-mail a copy of the receipt, ect and he said that wouldn't be necessary and hasn't been required in most cases with this and that my Club Nintendo account info was all he needed.

 

[Wario64]

We knew there's a Club Nintendo scamming problem for months. Have you seen the prizes lately?

 

[L Thammy]

We knew there's a Club Nintendo scamming problem for months. Have you seen the prizes lately?

Knew it was coming, laughed anyway.

 

[BasilZero]

We knew there's a Club Nintendo scamming problem for months. Have you seen the prizes lately?

Lol well played.

 

[Mr. RPG]

We knew there's a Club Nintendo scamming problem for months. Have you seen the prizes lately?

Golden.

 

[Vylash]

We knew there's a Club Nintendo scamming problem for months. Have you seen the prizes lately?

damn

 

[MercuryLS]

We knew there's a Club Nintendo scamming problem for months. Have you seen the prizes lately?

I've got a bunch of points and all the rewards look terrible.

 

[Kriken]

We knew there's a Club Nintendo scamming problem for months. Have you seen the prizes lately?

Hahaha...

*looks at unused coins and surveys*

 

[ShockingAlberto]

I assumed this was going to be about Team Top Hat.

 

[Cody_D165]

We knew there's a Club Nintendo scamming problem for months. Have you seen the prizes lately?

that first post magic

 

[heyf00L]

We knew there's a Club Nintendo scamming problem for months. Have you seen the prizes lately?

No I haven't. I stopped looking at the "prizes" months ago. I have about 5 codes unregistered, too. When getting Platinum isn't even worth it anymore, I simply can't care about CN anymore.

It's a shame.

 

[Gartooth]

Good to know I wasn't the only one that this happened to.

I plan on contacting Nintendo next week about this. Normally I wouldn't go to such lengths, but I already have Smash 3DS registered and want the soundtracks + Mewtwo.

 

[Illucio]

First post saddens me...
Please don't let this be Nintendo of America's excuse for terrible if not no Club Nintendo rewards whatsoever.

._. NINTENDO OF AMERICA. WHY YOU NO LOVE US AND OUR MONEY!?

 

[illmatic22]

We knew there's a Club Nintendo scamming problem for months. Have you seen the prizes lately?

Whoa

 

[Kieli]

We knew there's a Club Nintendo scamming problem for months. Have you seen the prizes lately?

Agreed. Don't care all that much about Club Nintendo.

Although the calendar was quite nice.

 

[Kid Ska]

We knew there's a Club Nintendo scamming problem for months. Have you seen the prizes lately?

lol

 

[the3ye]

Called N today, same response as in email. I will try again tomorrow. If not I'll be an asshole and gonna take code from ebgames shelf...

 

[Ibuki]

Im sure this isn't the answer for everyone, but I guess I hit redeem twice and it said the same thing. I went back to the main screen and the survey was waiting in my to-do list. It's worth a shot.

 

[Kyou]

I assumed this was going to be about Team Top Hat.

No he was just buying every single game for full price for six people all the time. Are you implying there was something dubious?!

 

[L Thammy]

Good to know I wasn't the only one that this happened to.

I plan on contacting Nintendo next week about this. Normally I wouldn't go to such lengths, but I already have Smash 3DS registered and want the soundtracks + Mewtwo.

I had the same concern. Make sure that you contact them by phone.

Called N today, same response as in email. I will try again tomorrow. If not I'll be an asshole and gonna take code from ebgames shelf...

That's weird. Did you specific that someone else was using your PIN?

Im sure this isn't the answer for everyone, but I guess I hit redeem twice and it said the same thing. I went back to the main screen and the survey was waiting in my to-do list. It's worth a shot.

In my case, CS specifically said that someone was using my code in the US. So I don't think it would have worked.

 

[the3ye]

That's weird. Did you specific that someone else was using your PIN?

Yes, he just said "PIN has been used for another account, I can't do nothing about it." Maybe lazy or tired CSR, can't say.

 

[NewGame]

We knew there's a Club Nintendo scamming problem for months. Have you seen the prizes lately?

1. Steal all the points
2. Not claim any prizes
3. Points expire
4. ???
5. PROFIT!

 

[L Thammy]

Yes, he just said "PIN has been used for another account, I can't do nothing about it." Maybe lazy or tired CSR, can't say.

If they say the same thing next time, try asking for their supervisor. There's no way that there's a technical restriction preventing him from doing it.

 

[Stencil]

They should have exclusive Club Nintendo Amiibos.
Those would be worth scamming for...

 

[L Thammy]

Bumping for people who might have missed this last night (posted it pretty late).

 

[MrNyarlathotep]

Don't know if it applies to Europe

Our Stars Catalogue is so unrelentingly shitty I doubt it's worth anyones time or effort to do so

 

[Vanillalite]

So far no issues, but I've taken to registering my games as soon as I get them home. It's the first then I do even before playing the game because I'm worried about this.

 

[Curler]

Any option of scanning a receipt/invoice, the code itself, and some form of ID or something? All would prove that the code is your and not some random guy. That is, if they can actually see whose account the code went to (and I assume they can).

Proof is proof.

 

[Fandangox]

We knew there's a Club Nintendo scamming problem for months. Have you seen the prizes lately?

What the fuck am I supposed to do with this 1500 coins anyway

 

[Big Chungus]

We knew there's a Club Nintendo scamming problem for months. Have you seen the prizes lately?

93 characters in that post, record for Wario64?

 

[L Thammy]

Our Stars Catalogue is so unrelentingly shitty I doubt it's worth anyones time or effort to do so

I wish we had your "unrelentingly shitty" Stars Catalogue.
Well, I wish we had Japan's catalogue more.

 

[Craft]

Well if you could generate a 3ds pin and a smash pin you can get a free game download code then sell that code on eBay for cash. That's probably why scammers are doing it.

 

[Seik]

We knew there's a Club Nintendo scamming problem for months. Have you seen the prizes lately?

I'm still salty over these last Platinum prizes.

Holy shit it was so fucking bad.

 

[Jashobeam]

i thought you could only register a game once, even if you have multiple copies, unless you use the code on another account.

 

[El Sabroso]

is not the only thing were ppl want to scam smash players

I'm glad that I purchased digital, that way it registered automatically

 

[SystemUser]

I think I just was a victim of a scammed code.


I registered with Club Nintendo around when after I bought a few 3DS games in June. I registered my 3DS XL at that time too. None of the rewards tempted me so I didn't spend any points.


I bought NES Remix recently and notice the 18 cart cases. I don't have quite enough points for one though so I started looking through old DS and Wii cases to see which games had points. I got lucky and and the used copy of Warioware DIY had an unused code. I tried my Wii Sports Resort code and it failed with a message that it had been previously used. I know that I definitely bought that game new because I wanted to try the "Motion Plus" (or whatever it is called).