PSN: Hacked, Charged, & Banned (HELP)

[Draqings]

POST REMOVED FROM r/PlayStaion

 

I really don't know what to do. Today my dad called me and asked if I purchased a bunch of stuff on my PSN account, which I hadn't, I have been swamped trying to figure out online schooling for the past few moths and have had 0 time to game, nor the funds to buy new ones. I checked my email and sure enough, over $1k USD of games was purchased in the last 6 days. So I didn't panic. I went to change my password. No dice, I can't log in I can't send myself a change password email, nothing. Still I did not panic. I went to the PSN support site. Spoke with the bot that told me to call or use live chat. I tried calling, was told that due to high call traffic I would not be assisted. It's COVID and a new console just dropped, completely understandable. So I went to the online chat, and the response I got from there, that made me panic. The conversation went as follows: Employee's name is changed and will be referred to as Jim.

______________________________________________________________________________________________

Jim: Thank you for contacting PlayStation, my name is Jim how may I assist you today?

Remember: Please do not refresh your screen as it will disconnect the chat session. Thanks!

Me: Hello, I have lost access to my account

Me: and have found purchases i did not authorize

Jim: Hi OP, nice to meet you. After reviewing your account, the system shows it has been permanently banned because activity that violates the PSN terms of service and user agreement was identified; unfortunately you will not be able to sign in to PSN using this account anymore. However, we recommend to create a new account if you want to have access to PSN services again. For more information, here is an article with a list of reasons why your account can be permanently ban, sadly no further details or information can be discussed: LINK REMOVED

With this information said, besides this please tell me, is there any other question, or anything else I can try to assist you with today?

Me: but I have not done anything is there someone I can contact about this? I think my account was stolen?

Jim: We’re highly sorry however there is no way for us to change the status of the account as we found a violation on the terms of service as we mentioned. We appreciate your understanding on the matter. Kindly allow us to mention that, if you have no more questions besides this, we do thank you for contacting PlayStation support, and hoping you have a nice day.

__________________________________________________

 

I was then booted from the chat. Worried that I may have just lost over 10 years of achievements and digital game purchases. I quickly checked my email again looking for a notification of a ban. Nothing. So I called again, no answer. I read over the last conversation and realized I may have come off as trying to get my account unbanned, and while this is true in the end, I had just been notified of this by a support worker, I just wanted some information. So I thought I would try again. After waiting for 30 min another employee was here to help! Referred to as Not Jim or NJ.

______________________________________________

Not Jim: Thank you for contacting PlayStation, my name is NJ how may I assist you today?

Remember: Please do not refresh your screen as it will disconnect the chat session. Thanks!

Me: Hello, I believe my account has been hacked. I do not know what to do

NJ: Thank you for that information. After verifying your account I can see it was permanently banned. Violation of the “Terms of Services and User Agreement” for the PlayStation Network was found in the Sony Entertainment Network account and it was banned according to the agreement. The details of the reason have been sent to the email currently linked to the account in question. To continue using our services you may create a new PSN account. Is there anything else we can help you with?

Me: I did not receive an email (edited from transcript to fix my spelling of receive)

NJ: I'm truly sorry but we have no other options for this case. I'm sorry but, we cannot provide further commentary with regards to this case. Thank you for contacting PlayStation and your understanding on this matter.

________________________________________________________

I am distraught, is there really nothing I can do? I know that I can dispute the charges on the card but it doesn't appear for there to be an option for me to dispute the ban or reclaim my account. I am honestly heartbroken. 10 years, of friends, clips, games, saves, and achievements, lost? All because I didn't log on for a few months? It doesn't feel right. It's making me feel sick. If this doesn't get resolved I think I may give up on PlayStation. This is the second time my account has been hacked and ever since the major breach back in 2011 I have been super carful with my passwords. I will continue to try calling the phone lines, and I will update the post if anything changes, but everybody: don't leave your emails unattended and change your passwords regularly. If anyone has any advise or kind words, I would love to hear them.

Best,

Draqings

[RAM555789]

Yeah try phone lines, but it sounds like you might be screwed.

[Draqings]

1 minute ago, RAM555789 said:

Yeah try phone lines, but it sounds like you might be screwed.

Thanks, good to know I'm on the right track.

 

It just feels so wrong.

I don't even know why the account was banned.

And unless I'm a high profile individual I'm powerless.

It just sucks.

[emosun]

And that right there is why online credit card account managing gaming is a stupid idea. 

 

Point nintendo 64. 

 

Yeah it seems like youre screwed just call your credit card company get your money back and make a new account if you want. Just know that your account is already not yours in the future

[aisle9]

You've got to talk to a human being on the phone. Online chat is where to go for simple questions and problems. They're not even going to try to help you with this. You have to talk to a human being. Make shit up to get past the automatic menu if you have to, just talk to a person. Your account is gone and you will probably never see it again, but unless you like the idea of buying a bunch of codes for games that now belong to someone else, you've got to get those purchases reversed.

 

If Sony is no help or you can't get to a person, call your credit card company ASAFP and open disputes on every single charge from PSN that you didn't make yourself. It can take up to a month or more to get your money back on a big claim like that.

[Draqings]

2 minutes ago, emosun said:

And that right there is why online credit card account managing gaming is a stupid idea. 

 

Point nintendo 64. 

 

Yeah it seems like youre screwed just call your credit card company get your money back and make a new account if you want. Just know that your account is already not yours in the future

I think the double whammy is the push for digital game copies is so high, and it can all be lost in less than a week

[Draqings]

2 minutes ago, aisle9 said:

You've got to talk to a human being on the phone. Online chat is where to go for simple questions and problems. They're not even going to try to help you with this. You have to talk to a human being. Make shit up to get past the automatic menu if you have to, just talk to a person. Your account is gone and you will probably never see it again, but unless you like the idea of buying a bunch of codes for games that now belong to someone else, you've got to get those purchases reversed.

 

If Sony is no help or you can't get to a person, call your credit card company ASAFP and open disputes on every single charge from PSN that you didn't make yourself. It can take up to a month or more to get your money back on a big claim like that.

Thanks, do you really think the account is gone, according to their website some permanently banned accounts can be reactivated like in the case of an inappropriate user name.

[RAM555789]

6 minutes ago, Draqings said:

I don't even know why the account was banned.

Well whoever hacked into your account did some shady stuff and violated the Terms of Service. When you created that account you agreed that Sony had the right to ban your account if it was found in violation of the terms of service regardless of if you were the one in control of the account. There a whole bunch of reasons it could have gotten ban but it probably links back to the purchases in some shape or form.

[emosun]

3 minutes ago, Draqings said:

I think the double whammy is the push for digital game copies is so high, and it can all be lost in less than a week

All my favorite games I already own the install files for so I really have no idea just how bad modern gaming has got with the whole "Rent a game until we take it away" lifestyle

[aisle9]

1 minute ago, Draqings said:

Thanks, do you really think the account is gone, according to their website some permanently banned accounts can be reactivated like in the case of an inappropriate user name.

I highly doubt you'll get the account back, but I've been wrong before. Sony may take pity on you, but if it's tied to funny business with the games purchased, you're probably not getting it back. Focus on the charges. Getting that $1K back is the overriding priority here, and if you call Sony and start asking about getting the account back, you're going to get hung up on long before you get to the fraudulent purchases.

[Draqings]

4 minutes ago, aisle9 said:

I highly doubt you'll get the account back, but I've been wrong before. Sony may take pity on you, but if it's tied to funny business with the games purchased, you're probably not getting it back. Focus on the charges. Getting that $1K back is the overriding priority here, and if you call Sony and start asking about getting the account back, you're going to get hung up on long before you get to the fraudulent purchases.

Good point. But won't they look up my account anyway? Should I make it clear that even though I do not agree with the ruling I am not asking them to change the status to prevent getting hung up on?

[aisle9]

22 minutes ago, Draqings said:

Good point. But won't they look up my account anyway? Should I make it clear that even though I do not agree with the ruling I am not asking them to change the status to prevent getting hung up on?

Don't bring up any more than you have to. Say nothing at all about your account being banned. Tell them that you saw $1,XXX.xx (exact amount is needed) worth of purchases made to your credit card by Sony PSN, and you did not authorize them. If they bring up your account being banned, say, "I'm only concerned about the fraudulent purchases."

 

Be polite, but be firm. Don't let the topic stray from the purchases, and if they refuse to help you with those or try to get rid of you as a banned account, get all the documentation you have of the fraudulent purchases together and write out a written statement of exactly what happened, when you discovered it, what steps you took, the date/times and outcomes of all contacts with Sony, anything and everything that establishes your case that the purchases were fraudulent and nothing else. Then call your credit card company to dispute the charges. Have the exact dates, times and amounts of each transaction in front of you when you call, and be ready to give a verbal statement. In fact, if they don't want to take a statement or tell you that they "have enough in their file", insist on the opportunity to give one. The call is being recorded, and fraud investigators will listen to it (source: I was one). When you give your verbal statement, read the written statement you're going to provide verbatim. You're not going to be questioned or cross-examined by the person on the phone, so don't worry about that. Before you hang up, get the fax number and email address to send your scanned evidence to (all the documentation, including your statement) and send it the next day.

 

On a four-figure claim, you'll probably get a call back from a fraud investigator looking for more information. That doesn't mean they doubt your claim, it just means they need more info to go back to Sony, because Sony is ultimately going to be told to pay that claim, and Sony's bank will fight it. Just stick to the same rule: polite. Polite. Fraud investigators are used to being screamed at, so someone being polite and helpful is always a welcome change of events and at the very least won't hurt your case. Source: I got screamed at a lot, and I appreciated common courtesy and worked a little harder for the people who were polite and helpful. I worked on the debit side where we literally could not refuse a fraud claim 95% of the time, but credit's a different world and I think they can. So, again, I can't emphasize this enough: no matter how stressed you are and no matter how on edge a call from a fraud investigator puts you, be polite and help however you can.

[Draqings]

13 hours ago, aisle9 said:

Don't bring up any more than you have to. Say nothing at all about your account being banned. Tell them that you saw $1,XXX.xx (exact amount is needed) worth of purchases made to your credit card by Sony PSN, and you did not authorize them. If they bring up your account being banned, say, "I'm only concerned about the fraudulent purchases."

 

Be polite, but be firm. Don't let the topic stray from the purchases, and if they refuse to help you with those or try to get rid of you as a banned account, get all the documentation you have of the fraudulent purchases together and write out a written statement of exactly what happened, when you discovered it, what steps you took, the date/times and outcomes of all contacts with Sony, anything and everything that establishes your case that the purchases were fraudulent and nothing else. Then call your credit card company to dispute the charges. Have the exact dates, times and amounts of each transaction in front of you when you call, and be ready to give a verbal statement. In fact, if they don't want to take a statement or tell you that they "have enough in their file", insist on the opportunity to give one. The call is being recorded, and fraud investigators will listen to it (source: I was one). When you give your verbal statement, read the written statement you're going to provide verbatim. You're not going to be questioned or cross-examined by the person on the phone, so don't worry about that. Before you hang up, get the fax number and email address to send your scanned evidence to (all the documentation, including your statement) and send it the next day.

 

On a four-figure claim, you'll probably get a call back from a fraud investigator looking for more information. That doesn't mean they doubt your claim, it just means they need more info to go back to Sony, because Sony is ultimately going to be told to pay that claim, and Sony's bank will fight it. Just stick to the same rule: polite. Polite. Fraud investigators are used to being screamed at, so someone being polite and helpful is always a welcome change of events and at the very least won't hurt your case. Source: I got screamed at a lot, and I appreciated common courtesy and worked a little harder for the people who were polite and helpful. I worked on the debit side where we literally could not refuse a fraud claim 95% of the time, but credit's a different world and I think they can. So, again, I can't emphasize this enough: no matter how stressed you are and no matter how on edge a call from a fraud investigator puts you, be polite and help however you can.

I think I'm just going to have to call my credit card company as I can not get through to anyone at PlayStation support. They have a lot of hoops you have to jump through just to call them and I keep getting the message that the lines are busy and to try again later. I may try again while I'm on break but I think someone needs to notify the public about the risk with purchasing the digital copy only consoles. This was unacceptable and feels like Sony stole from me. I will be calm, but dang this sucks

[dilpickle]

That sucks but hopefully a lesson can be learned. Use a strong password plus 2 factor authentication for all your accounts including emails.

 

After the last Sony hack I never associated a credit card with PSN. I only use codes. And I created a separate email just for PSN.

 

I also make it a habit to always delete any saved credit card info from any site I use. The only sites I still (mostly) trust at this point are amazon, apple, google. 

[aisle9]

7 hours ago, Draqings said:

I think I'm just going to have to call my credit card company as I can not get through to anyone at PlayStation support. They have a lot of hoops you have to jump through just to call them and I keep getting the message that the lines are busy and to try again later. I may try again while I'm on break but I think someone needs to notify the public about the risk with purchasing the digital copy only consoles. This was unacceptable and feels like Sony stole from me. I will be calm, but dang this sucks

Tweet at them? Most companies that big with a social media presence have a customer service account of some kind.

[Mark Kaine]

On 11/21/2020 at 5:15 AM, Draqings said:

Thanks, good to know I'm on the right track.

 

It just feels so wrong.

I don't even know why the account was banned.

And unless I'm a high profile individual I'm powerless.

It just sucks.

I agree, calling you have better chances generally....... 

 

 

explain to them what happened and that you want you account back... 

 

they *can* actually verify this stuff with ip addresses, etc. 

 

I'm also pretty sure they have to tell you the email address where they sent the info about the ban... again, they can verify these things with console id / ip adress... 

 

and to make this clear, the stuff was bought with your credit card that was linked to the account? 

 

 

in that case I would ask for a refund and also file a police report... 

 

Also ask to speak with a super visor if they play dumb (Sony cs, which they probably will lol) 

 

On 11/22/2020 at 2:32 AM, aisle9 said:

Tweet at them?

also this... 

[Mark Kaine]

On 11/21/2020 at 7:16 PM, Draqings said:

think I'm just going to have to call my credit card company

a charge back should really be the least option to take, at least tweet them first and see what they say, it's not that unusual to get an account back, like I said they can verify these things usually. 

 

 

[viral_dna]

Post about it on twitter and reddit, it will make them look bad, they might have someone reach out to you. Works for me lol
Also most of the time these large companies have poorly trained staff who don't know a pencil from a pen, I've had similar copy paste experiences with online chat, it's not even worth your time. Just start a chargeback process with your CC right away. Best of luck!

[Draqings]

Thanks for all your support peeps, I have Tweeted and called almost every day up until now and have had no luck. I did file a charge back and it went through. then I miraculously started getting emails again from PSN advertising games and releases and updates..... I tried calling again and now have a different help ID number so I have hope that maybe something changed. I am on hold ATM. Fingers Crossed.

[aisle9]

13 hours ago, Draqings said:

Thanks for all your support peeps, I have Tweeted and called almost every day up until now and have had no luck. I did file a charge back and it went through. then I miraculously started getting emails again from PSN advertising games and releases and updates..... I tried calling again and now have a different help ID number so I have hope that maybe something changed. I am on hold ATM. Fingers Crossed.

Don’t talk to them. Once the chargeback is filed, break all contact with the merchant. They will try to get you to say something, anything they can use to get that money back from you.

[Mark Kaine]

On 12/8/2020 at 4:17 PM, aisle9 said:

Don’t talk to them

well I really think you see this from a weird / wrong perspective, sure if all he wants is his money back this is sound advice , but you should have noticed he probably more likely wants his account back, and I've see it multiple times, they do this if it's proven to be "hacked" which they can figure out with ip addresses and whatnot. 

 

Also as you noticed , now that op did a charge back they suddenly wanna "talk"....

 

 

 

that's exactly the point to tell them to do their job, investigate and give him the account back, IF they want "their" money... 

 

if it really was a "hack" aka unauthorized access this can be proved and SONY is liable to keep the relevant records... 

 

 

PS:  I wonder what happened... 

 

 

 

[Ravendarat]

I had a similar issue a few years back, 3 or 4 I think, someone bought a bunch of NBA points on my account, like $700 dollars worth. I dont even own that game. Long story short I disputed the charges and got my money back than fought with sony for the better part of 2 weeks before they agreed to reinstate my account. They wanted me to pay for the $700 in NBA points before they would reinstate it. took a long time to get through someones head that I have no intentions of paying for things I never bought in the first place and had no use for. About 3 months later I sold my Playstation and have refused to give them money ever since. WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE I HAVE EVER DEALT WITH on any level.

[Draqings]

UPDATE!!!
I got through and it appears my ban has been updated to a suspension due to chargeback, YAY. This means I just need to take all of the evidence I have that my account was hacked and they hopefully will revoke the games from the account and lift the suspension. That being said its finals week so I need to study for now. But I plan to do this by the end of the week.

 

I will have a new update when I have news.

 

 

[Mark Kaine]

nice, well good luck! and yeah as you see above it isn't easy but possible. you just have to stay calm and be clear but firm. 

 

 

[Gohardgrandpa]

Sony customer service is shit. My son bought something on accident while in game so I called and they said I can’t undo the charge and if a dispute it with the credit card company they will ban my account.  
Sony is seriously shit customer service wise. I hope you get all your stuff figured out and don’t lose your account stuff.