UPDATE: Nintendo has responded to the stories pertaining to Switch accounts being hacked, and we've updated the article below with the company's full statement.
Last week, Eurogamer reported that Nintendo was investigating claims that Switch accounts had been hacked, leaving users at risk of having their credit cards and personal information used against them.
According to Eurogamer, “some account users reported their accounts had been used to buy digital items, such as bundles of Fortnite VBucks worth up to £100, via linked PayPal accounts.”
Below you'll find out how you can check whether your Nintendo Switch has been hacked, as well as learning how to increase your security…
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How to check if your Nintendo Switch account has been hacked
To check whether their accounts have been hacked, Nintendo Switch users should log in to their Nintendo accounts online here.
Next, users will need to locate the ‘Sign in and security settings’ tab on the left-hand side and check their ‘Sign-in history’.
The ‘Sign-in history’ section will reveal the locations and devices through-which their accounts have been accessed.
This should make it relatively easy to tell whether your account has been logged into by scrupulous hackers in another country or through another device.
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How to set up two-factor authentication on Nintendo Switch account
To increase their account's security and avoid being hacked in the future, Nintendo Switch users should set-up two-factor authentication.
With two-factor authentication enabled, users will need both a Nintendo password and a code sent to a trusted device to login - making it almost impossible for malicious individuals to access accounts that don’t belong to them.
Nintendo clearly sets out steps to enable two-factor authentication on their support website, but we will quickly summarise the points here.
- Log in to your Switch account here
- In the ‘Sign-in and security settings’ tab, click ‘Edit’ on the ‘2-Step Verification’ tab.
- Click ‘2-Step Verification settings’.
- Have a verification email sent to the email address you have registered with your account.
- Enter the verification code from the email to the website and click ‘Submit’.
- Install the Google Authenticator app to your iOS or Android device.
- Use the device to scan the QR code displayed on your Nintendo account.
- Enter the verification code that will appear on your device online under step 3 of your Nintendo account and click ‘Submit’.
- Next, a list of backup codes will be generated. Save them to your notes or somewhere safe in case of emergency.
- Lastly, click ‘I have saved the backup codes’ and finalise the process by clicking ‘OK’.
Whilst setting up two-factor authentication can be a bit of a hassle, it is totally worth it and can provide users with peace of mind that their device or account is almost impossible to hack into.
Nintendo responds to Switch-hacking stories
In response to reports of Nintendo Switch accounts being hacked, Nintendo has released this official statement:
"While we continue to investigate, we would like to reassure users that there is currently no evidence pointing toward a breach of Nintendo's databases, servers or services. As one action in our ongoing investigation, we are discontinuing the ability to use a Nintendo Network ID to sign in to a Nintendo Account. All other options to sign in to a Nintendo Account remain available.
"As a further precaution, we will soon contact users about resetting passwords for Nintendo Network IDs and Nintendo Accounts that we have reason to believe were accessed without authorization. In addition, we continue to strongly encourage users to enable 2-Step Verification for their Nintendo Account. If any users become aware of unauthorized activity, we encourage them to follow the steps in the Nintendo Account recovery process. During the investigation, in order to deter further attempts of unauthorized sign-ins, we will not reveal more information about the methods employed to gain unauthorized access.
"We apologize for the inconvenience and concerns caused to our customers, and we will continue working hard to safeguard the security of our users' data."
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