He said it would be of "no surprise" if someone used the confidential information from "several" prior data braches to reward themselves through the PlayStation Network. Sony Pictures have nothing to do with the PlayStation Network and no personal data is floating around on the internet. Yet the suggestion is left hanging there.
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All Playstation devices mysteriously deactivated. Sony support cannot help. Help GAF
- Thread starter geordiemp
- Start date
He said it would be of "no surprise" if someone used the confidential information from "several" prior data braches to reward themselves through the PlayStation Network. Sony Pictures have nothing to do with the PlayStation Network and no personal data is floating around on the internet. Yet the suggestion is left hanging there.
KratosEnergyDrink
Member
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news...ny-leaves-victims-holding-the-bag-031315.html
http://money.cnn.com/2015/02/02/technology/security/sony-playstation-hack/
http://m.theinquirer.net/inquirer/n...ates-victims-of-2011-playstation-network-hack
http://gizmodo.com/why-sony-keeps-getting-hacked-1667259233
Only four of many articles about PSN. Perhaps the last one is most interesting.
The CNN article is hilarious, looks like marketing from MS. Nonetheless it is time for Sony to change their behaviour. To presume that all users of PSN are liars and thieves is not an acceptable behavior.
http://money.cnn.com/2015/02/02/technology/security/sony-playstation-hack/
http://m.theinquirer.net/inquirer/n...ates-victims-of-2011-playstation-network-hack
http://gizmodo.com/why-sony-keeps-getting-hacked-1667259233
Only four of many articles about PSN. Perhaps the last one is most interesting.
The CNN article is hilarious, looks like marketing from MS. Nonetheless it is time for Sony to change their behaviour. To presume that all users of PSN are liars and thieves is not an acceptable behavior.
Yes, I'm aware that SPE and PSN are unrelated. I was just making the point that the PSN breach isn't the only one Sony as a whole has suffered, with the larger point being that using the same user name and password across different sites is actually quite a common practice, so there is a degree of merit to the idea that a user database breach in another area of Sony could compromise PSN account security given the complete lack of two-factor authentication. But again, due to lack of familiarity, I'm not agreeing with the notion that Sony is a particularly leaky ship (the PSN breach and the SPE breach are the only two I'm aware of) and so the OP having the same e-mail address and password on some other Sony server is a likely cause of his woes.
Keihart
Member
Deactivate all consoles and change password, do it from de SEN page. Just in case you were hacked.
Shpeshal Nick
aka Collingwood
All these horror stories about Sony's customer service worry me. I've only ever had to call them twice in my life and both experiences were great. But maybe Australian PlayStation customer service is just better than the rest?
Once for my faulty PS2 and another fir my SingStar content on PS3.
Once for my faulty PS2 and another fir my SingStar content on PS3.
You haven't read a single thing have you? Read the OP again.
He can't do a blanket deactivation because the account hijacker has done so already. This is covered in the fifth line of the OP.
geordiemp
Member
Because I did not have the serial numbers it was a strange muddled conversation of a ps4 thats primary, but the 2 I have are not.
I was told by sony support my devices were all deleted on Friday (no time given)...and I noticed and reported on Saturday - it apparently was not long after sony maintenance.....fishy....
Them asking if the I made downloads on the current primary 6 months ago (jan 2015) I could not answer and it makes no bloody sense, beause if it is my second PS4 then why is it not primary. And why are my ps3 deleted as well if I had just swicted unknowingly...Oh my head....
I have serial numbers now so we can be factual. I will have macs. IP addresses all written down and should clarify. If sony speak to me civilised and helpful then we can get to the bottom of it. If they ignore me I am going to scream
Had the same thing happen to me once. Tried online support once and got nothing out of it, they told me they can't do anything. Ended up phoning in multiple times to get it sorted out.
I suggest you clearly state that your account must have been hacked and you never shared your account information with anyone at the start of your next conversation with support. Be persistent, ask to talk with their manager if they give you problems.
I've had it happen to me without sharing anything with anyone, ever.
I suggest you clearly state that your account must have been hacked and you never shared your account information with anyone at the start of your next conversation with support. Be persistent, ask to talk with their manager if they give you problems.
I've had it happen to me without sharing anything with anyone, ever.
Keihart
Member
Yeah :/
I don't get why they don't do it if he calls customer service, ridiculous. They should send him an email to do it or something like that.
knightfolk
Member
Sadly this thread would suggest, that now more than ever companies have to take this stance. Getting one over on a big company is a victimless crime in the minds of many nowadays.
http://m.neogaf.com/showthread.php?t=980228
drotahorror
Member
What I don't understand....
Say someone has your account info, then turns their ps4 into the primary of that account they had the info for. Why can you not just call Sony, give them the serial number on the ps4 or just provide proof some how, and then they deactivate the console remotely and let you reactivate?
I just don't understand why they can't do that. In this day and age, SOMEONE is gonna get their info stolen. There should be ways to protect people from losing potentially thousands of dollars. There should atleast be a 2 step process to activating/deactivating consoles. Although there should be a 2 step process just to login with someone's information when it's not on the primary console.
Say someone has your account info, then turns their ps4 into the primary of that account they had the info for. Why can you not just call Sony, give them the serial number on the ps4 or just provide proof some how, and then they deactivate the console remotely and let you reactivate?
I just don't understand why they can't do that. In this day and age, SOMEONE is gonna get their info stolen. There should be ways to protect people from losing potentially thousands of dollars. There should atleast be a 2 step process to activating/deactivating consoles. Although there should be a 2 step process just to login with someone's information when it's not on the primary console.
Reading your situation has me now convinced it is some sort of software error on Sony's end. I have 2 PS4s and after PSN went down for maintenance back in February I had my primary console deactivated for no apparent reason. I investigated the issue as much as I my patience would allow and ended up coming to the probably wrong conclusion that my account had been hacked.
No one else has access to my PS4's, I never game shared, my PSN account was not created before Sony had their major security breach, and I keep strong passwords that only I know. I did check with Sony if the serial number of the newly activated PS4 matched either of mine but it did not. I was never able to get any support in restoring my primary console but now I have only about a month's wait left for the deactivate all devices to become available again. After that I should be able to reclaim my console but this whole situation had me really regretting going all digital.
No one else has access to my PS4's, I never game shared, my PSN account was not created before Sony had their major security breach, and I keep strong passwords that only I know. I did check with Sony if the serial number of the newly activated PS4 matched either of mine but it did not. I was never able to get any support in restoring my primary console but now I have only about a month's wait left for the deactivate all devices to become available again. After that I should be able to reclaim my console but this whole situation had me really regretting going all digital.
I managed to actually convince the person I called to do another blanket deactivation when I had it happen to me, actually(I did get the wait 6 months line, but I was persistent enough to get them to do it). I don't believe it's a software error, because, as you said, another PS4 was activated. In my case, I had a PS4, Ps3, and Vita all deactivated and someone activated a PS4 and not all three of them. It's also worth noting that the OP has had remote PS+ game downloads to the newly activated PS4, which doesn't sound like a mistake to me.
Don't get me wrong, I don't think it's an out and out hack of sony's systems, but people do some scary stuff with social engineering nowadays.
You had to fill out a form?
Yoooooooooo.
This same thing just happened to me too! The Sony rep told me the date it even happened. June the 3rd!!!!!!!!!
I thought I was losing my mind when it said another ps4 was activated as primary.
Never was told about any form but I was passed from floor supervisor to floor supervisor lots of times. I don't think any of my calls were actually escalated to someone with any authority.
If it is was someone else who got my information I wonder if it's just someone deactivating devices for the lolz. They never downloaded anything and I dont have any linked credit cards.
foxdvd
Member
Does not mean nothing when sony allowed you to change your password...wait for it...to your same password. I found out my son did this and forced him to change to something different. Out of the millions that changed their passwords, I am going to go out on a limb and say my son was not the only one...and there is a possibility people went back to the old password later.
geordiemp
Member
OK, I tried again today with sony customer service UK with details of my 2 x ps4 including mac codes, serial numbers, DNS, IP address...the works.
Spoke to a guy called Giuseppe. He did not want my Mac codes, my serial numbers or any other identification as he confessed they dont have access to this information / cannot see it on their system.
All he can see is 3 Ps4 linked to my account, my 2 and the hacker. Thats it.
He cannot see if the hacker has downloaded or done anything other than purchases, which are none. Dont know what the previous rep was babbling on about, customer services confessed they cannot see which PS4 is which ! Wow...
He cannot deactivate the primary console for another 6 months...thats it, no more discussion. He cannot put me through to a higher authority and there is nothing more that they can offer.
He says that PSN is secure and its MY FAULT if someone else got into my PSN and stole my primary console status and probably helped themselves to my games (I counted I have 88 games on PS4 in my library...).
I mentioned that I created an article on Neogaf with 40,000 views and that some posers had said it was possible for them to deactivate all consoles again. He said it was not possible.
So, for 6 months I ahve 2 Ps4 and only 1 of them can access my digital library. My family or visiting friends cannot play the digital games we have bought on our main Ps4...its just for me who bought them.
I will have to wait 6 months or hope the hacker gets bored playing offline on my account, or the Ps4 is forced into a system update (which it wont if he is offline !). I hope in the day it took me to change passwords the hacker did not get too many games...
I have changed my email address and password, and have a new email address and password for my Ps4's. Its bloody long and very strong...but its too late.
Cant believe that I have had my PSN primary console identity stolen and Sony dont want to help, and my family cannot play games we have bought for 6 months unless they play on my account. This is disgusting.
I dont know what else to do, Sony have a terrible system of little checks for this crazy deactivate all consoles on PSN - basically nuclear strike on all your consoles and digital rights at the click of a button. Its just nuts, and should really be backed by a text pin or a phone call to your house (or one of the other additional security methods used by every company and their dog)
What next ?
Spoke to a guy called Giuseppe. He did not want my Mac codes, my serial numbers or any other identification as he confessed they dont have access to this information / cannot see it on their system.
All he can see is 3 Ps4 linked to my account, my 2 and the hacker. Thats it.
He cannot see if the hacker has downloaded or done anything other than purchases, which are none. Dont know what the previous rep was babbling on about, customer services confessed they cannot see which PS4 is which ! Wow...
He cannot deactivate the primary console for another 6 months...thats it, no more discussion. He cannot put me through to a higher authority and there is nothing more that they can offer.
He says that PSN is secure and its MY FAULT if someone else got into my PSN and stole my primary console status and probably helped themselves to my games (I counted I have 88 games on PS4 in my library...).
I mentioned that I created an article on Neogaf with 40,000 views and that some posers had said it was possible for them to deactivate all consoles again. He said it was not possible.
So, for 6 months I ahve 2 Ps4 and only 1 of them can access my digital library. My family or visiting friends cannot play the digital games we have bought on our main Ps4...its just for me who bought them.
I will have to wait 6 months or hope the hacker gets bored playing offline on my account, or the Ps4 is forced into a system update (which it wont if he is offline !). I hope in the day it took me to change passwords the hacker did not get too many games...
I have changed my email address and password, and have a new email address and password for my Ps4's. Its bloody long and very strong...but its too late.
Cant believe that I have had my PSN primary console identity stolen and Sony dont want to help, and my family cannot play games we have bought for 6 months unless they play on my account. This is disgusting.
I dont know what else to do, Sony have a terrible system of little checks for this crazy deactivate all consoles on PSN - basically nuclear strike on all your consoles and digital rights at the click of a button. Its just nuts, and should really be backed by a text pin or a phone call to your house (or one of the other additional security methods used by every company and their dog)
What next ?
cyberheater
PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 Xbone PS4 PS4
That is awful customer service. Just incredibly crap.
In the UK we have a citizens advice bureau. Have you tried something like that. Also. It might be worth going on the official Sony forum and starting a thread there. It might get more Sony traction.
Finally. Send all the info to sites like Kotaku. Someone might pick up the story and run with it.
Keep trying untill you have someone on the line that is helpfull.
Also record your phonecalls (don't know the UK law, but you might have to tell them you are recording it).
Ridiculous. Their support is inconsistent to let others circumvent the 6 month wait and not you. Also, I can't believe they can't see any of that information regarding what PS4's are on their system... You can on the webstore (I even name them on their so I know which ones are connected). I'm really sorry for your situation OP.
Im sure Ive rung up Sonys PS UK customer support to get a PS3 deactivated when it YLOD (so I couldnt do it myself) a few years back without trouble, so I just cant believe they dont have the ability to do more than the tools their customers have access to.
It really does seem that they are poorly trained and only a few actually know what they are on about. What really annoys me is that theres no apparent escalation process which Ive never heard of with any other companys customer support/service.
ps3ud0 8)
It really does seem that they are poorly trained and only a few actually know what they are on about. What really annoys me is that theres no apparent escalation process which Ive never heard of with any other companys customer support/service.
ps3ud0 8)
geordiemp
Member
Thanks - I guess I can make more noise, hope someone from sony actually reads the plight of genuine gamers being hacked and severed from the digital games they bought.
My thinking is that because it was only 1 day before I changed passwords hopefully the hacker will get bored and remove my account from his ps4 as he cannot go online to play games has to stay offline (unless he tries to hack me again)
geordiemp
Member
So if I go on sony PC web store I can see the names and ID of the hackers PS4 ?
Edit I wont do that, I am only entering my PSN password on my Ps4 from now on just incase my laptop has been bugged. Need to run los of scrubbing and virus cleaning on my laptop
#paraniod
The bit about it being your responsibility and your fault if you're hacked is especially priceless, given that Sony's lack of 2 factor authentication and the nuke all button is all on them. I don't think the 6 month period is a good thing either.
People are able to do a lot with social engineering.
People are able to do a lot with social engineering.
something similar happened to me but it was my PS3, suddenly it was deactivated for games, video and music so basically I couldn't do anything with it, it was not hacked or anything just that for some reason it was deactivated without my consent (I never game-shared) I could login and stare at the games but couldn't run any, couldn't listen to music or watch movies/videos, Sony (SPAIN) didn't help me at all they said it was my fault my account was compromised and someone did deactivate the console, I said whatever it is just please activate it again...
but no way, I tried everything and finally I went to the police and claimed Sony blocking access to my legally purchased property without any prior advice or reason, of course they said I had to take it to a lawyer and a week after they received a letter from him..."magically" my PS3 was activated again, not cool, not cool at all.
but no way, I tried everything and finally I went to the police and claimed Sony blocking access to my legally purchased property without any prior advice or reason, of course they said I had to take it to a lawyer and a week after they received a letter from him..."magically" my PS3 was activated again, not cool, not cool at all.
Sephiroth_VII
Member
If you're that paranoid, download Ubuntu or something and run it from a CD or flashdrive. That way, bar having a physical keylogger installed somewhere between your keyboard and your motherboard, your pc cannot possibly be bugged. You can also run AV-software from the cd to do a more through scan.
Miles Quaritch
Member
Sony's back end must be all kinds of ducked up if they can't even deactivate consoles when a customer demands it.
Pathetic doesn't even begin to cover it.
Pathetic doesn't even begin to cover it.
Corronchilejano
Member
This.
If Sony isn't going to help you, you might as well go to wherever your countries' consumer protection ministry is. I know posting on Gaf usually brings results, but you should attempt to at least get a legal push on your side.
Miles Quaritch
Member
All he'll get is a crime reference number.
What do you think they'll do? Hunt down the hacker? They'll give him a CRN and then tell him to contact his bank to get his money back and we know how Sony treats accounts that do a charge back.
If Sony can't/won't help, OP seems screwed short of doing a charge back and saying goodbye to his PSN account.
Sorry if I didn't write correctly, I meant to say that on the web store you can see every Playstation that is connected to your account, you can give each Playstation a nickname so you know which one is which.
panda-zebra
Member
Not sure what's worse here, the attitude of Sony Customer Support or that of a few GAFers and their pointy little fingers.
The hacker struck gold when he got into your account, OP.
The whole #BetterPSN thing seemed a bit pointless and a waste of effort to me, but when it comes to account security and the knock-on effects of such problems there's clearly a lot more that could be done.
The hacker struck gold when he got into your account, OP.
The whole #BetterPSN thing seemed a bit pointless and a waste of effort to me, but when it comes to account security and the knock-on effects of such problems there's clearly a lot more that could be done.
Keep calling and ask for a manager. Worked in tech support for 8.5 years for one of the best. They should all have a policy to escalate to next tier when requested but some front tier agents don't follow all the rules or have best personal tact. What an agent says unfortunately is not always what company trains them to actually say.
geordiemp
Member
Well it is certainly an disk based future from now on, that is for sure. For once I am actually wanting stronger DRM for this digital stuff, its too easy to steal someones rights.
You should be forced into connecting to Psn at least once a month or loose your digital rights...
Phoned 3 times already over past 2 days...and written an email letter with all details...They will not escalate or just refer me to their previous response.
geordiemp
Member
Good idea, will have to create a twitter account. Just done. Twittered and emailed as many people as I could find at Sony, see if someone can help. All it takes if them to press a button and deactivate all ps4 on geordie007 account and my son can play his games again.
Thanks Scaramanger as well
justsomeguy
Member
Jeez OP that's a horrendous situation 
I really hope you manage to get your account back really soon. Wish I could help.
I really hope you manage to get your account back really soon. Wish I could help.Ragnorok64
Member
Well this is scary. I just traded in a PS3 towards a PS4. I did a quick format and a factory reset, I believe. But when they plugged it in to test it I looked like my accounts' info were still on it. I did make sure to deactivate all the accounts on that system, before trading it in,but I changed all my passwords through the website when I got home.
Scary to think that if I hadn't done all that I could be in a similar situation. How many people trading in/selling their PS3s in even know to do all that?
Scary to think that if I hadn't done all that I could be in a similar situation. How many people trading in/selling their PS3s in even know to do all that?
geordiemp
Member
Too true...although I have never really traded anything in and just a hoarder. Not even 1 game lol
silver.tongue
Member
This thread is scary. I was thinking about deactivating my devices today so I don't run into the same problem but I'm afraid about what that would do to P.T. on my ps4.
Will I be able to re-activate the licenses on P.T. since it's been delisted from the store?
Will I be able to re-activate the licenses on P.T. since it's been delisted from the store?
EatinOlives
Member
In the past there have been a couple of "Help! Customer Service is being mean to me!" threads that ended up with the thread creators eventually being found out for piracy, etc., when people prodded them for enough information. I remember the last big thread on this was someone who claimed Microsoft had console-banned them "for no reason" and only after several pages did people find out he was pirating a shitton of games.
The problem with the dipshits who ARE pirates/etc. and try to pull a fast one on GAF is that once that happens posters become giddy with excitement of having caught a liar, and then it's a rat race to figure out who the next big "liar" is. So we come across people like OP who have a legitimate issue with his account and all some people want to do is play "detective-GAF" and try to poke holes in his story with zero desire to help.
geordiemp
Member
Yeah when I get my rights back I will be sure to press the nuke button on PC PSN every 6 months and keep no credit card on PSN so that a hacker is powerless even if they get my details. They would have to break into my home to disable my digital rights.
good point about PT..no idea..
Sony can easily profile a customer, Oh look this guy has 2 Ps4, 2 Ps3 and a Vita, he has 144 Ps4 digital content licenses on his PSN account...maybe he could be a good customer and not a pirate. Even detective GAF can check my geordie007 trophies and see I have a lot of games (half not even started...at Least I bought Batman on disk...). We also have 2 Xbox 360's and 2 x Xb1 is next up maybe (was thinking Xmas but this may pull it forward). I may have to switch to Xb1 for 6 months for new multiplat games as I am certainly not rebuying all this stuff or putting up with this juggling 1 account amongst 2 Ps4's and the family.
This is actually the biggest reason I threw in the towel trying to find a solution. It was incredibly discouraging to try and find help when most people posting online with a similar problem end up getting found out to have game shared.
geordiemp
Member
I was lazy and had the same email and password for far too many things on the internet...could of got hacked through my email or google sign in or god knows what.
Changed my email address and passwords for everything...bit late..I had credit card on my PsN and no attempt was made to purchase anything...small mercies. It is deleted now and will never be entered again. Physical disk future.
autoduelist
Member
If you're going to use the 'people use same username/password' as an argument in that way, then you also must acknowledge/conceed that -any- other site being breached (neogaf!) could just as easily cause that person's Sony account to be breached since the person is using their login info in multiple places. In fact, that's often what happens when a breach at some nickle and dime site happens -- the breachers test those username/pw combinations on 'major' sites to see if they can get access.
And that's not even getting into key loggers, etc.
I still have the same CC data on PSN I've always had, before, during, after the major hack. No issues, no fear, because thankfully that breach was relatively minor (they took PSN down while confirming this and rebuilding new security for obvoius reasons) even though it got tons of press.
deranged_666
Member
So, a question for those knowledgable about all of this...
In my Sony Network account, I have two PS3s listed. I only ever had one, and I never logged into somebody else's PS3 with my PSN. What I think happened is that, I upgraded my PS3 hard drive from the stock 80GB drive to a 500GB drive...and totally forgot to do the deactivation process before switching out the drives. So now one console is taking up two different activations.
I guess it doesn't do any harm leaving it on there, except it's eating up a movie, music, and game activation that is obviously not supposed to, and it's annoying to see the "Download to all of your PS3s" button when I'm doing a purchase from the PS Store on the web. Of course, I cannot deactivate it from the console, since the console is now apparently a different console with the bigger drive in it (and truth be told, I don't even know what I did with the 80GB stock drive). I really thought the activates were tied to a unique hardware ID, but apparently that is either not the case, or the hardware ID changes upon changing the drive.
If I "Deactivate All" on the web, and set my PS3, Vita, PSP, and PS4 up from scratch....can I just activate all of them then and there? Or is there a period of time in which the console needs to remain unactivated? I'm confused if the "6 months" that is being thrown around means that I wouldn't be able to re-activate my hardware for 6 months (and thus, losing my licenses), or if it's just a timer for the deactivate all function on the web.
In my Sony Network account, I have two PS3s listed. I only ever had one, and I never logged into somebody else's PS3 with my PSN. What I think happened is that, I upgraded my PS3 hard drive from the stock 80GB drive to a 500GB drive...and totally forgot to do the deactivation process before switching out the drives. So now one console is taking up two different activations.
I guess it doesn't do any harm leaving it on there, except it's eating up a movie, music, and game activation that is obviously not supposed to, and it's annoying to see the "Download to all of your PS3s" button when I'm doing a purchase from the PS Store on the web. Of course, I cannot deactivate it from the console, since the console is now apparently a different console with the bigger drive in it (and truth be told, I don't even know what I did with the 80GB stock drive). I really thought the activates were tied to a unique hardware ID, but apparently that is either not the case, or the hardware ID changes upon changing the drive.
If I "Deactivate All" on the web, and set my PS3, Vita, PSP, and PS4 up from scratch....can I just activate all of them then and there? Or is there a period of time in which the console needs to remain unactivated? I'm confused if the "6 months" that is being thrown around means that I wouldn't be able to re-activate my hardware for 6 months (and thus, losing my licenses), or if it's just a timer for the deactivate all function on the web.