Microsoft Files A Federal Court Complaint Against A Chinese Gaming Website

Microsoft recently filed a complaint in the federal court against a Chinese gaming website. Microsoft accused the Chinese gaming website iGSKY of hacking Xbox accounts and using some stolen credit card details to purchase special or rare items.

According to The Verge, the Chinese gaming website sells the purchased items to anyone who wants it. People who purchase the items are unwittingly providing iGSKY a convenient method of laundering its stolen money from the credit cards.

Microsoft is committed on providing its customers with safe and secure online experiences. This is why the company immediately filed the complaint after it found out the illegal operations made by the Chinese gaming website. Microsoft also wants to protect its Xbox customers from illegal trafficking of stolen properties.

As noted by Mashable, Microsoft's probe into the Chinese gaming website iGSKY began in December 2016, after iGSKY's in-house fraud investigators purchased over 11,000 FIFA points for $60. After the incident, the Xbox Live noticed something strange. The login information for an eight-year-old account had suddenly been changed. The said account again purchased 11,000 FIFA points for $127.54.

Microsoft is still unsure on how the Chinese gaming website was able to access the old account. Microsoft stated that its test did not indicate a much larger crack in the security of the Xbox Live. After the transaction has been made, the owner of the account contacted the Xbox support to complain that he had been locked out of the account and there are several unauthorized transactions made.

Microsoft already submitted evidence to build its charge of racketeering conspiracy, CFAA and fraud violations against the Chinese gaming website iGSKY. The judge on the case has given temporary restraining order on Gameest, the alleged parent company of iGSKY. The judge also freezes the Chinese gaming website's domestic assets along with any associated PayPal accounts.